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'It's perfect' Sampras, Agassi put Open spotlight on men
Posted: Friday August 27, 1999 03:44 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- With Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in peak form and back atop the tennis world the men are poised to recapture the spotlight when the U.S. Open begins on Monday. Earlier this year the ATP Tour warriors passed the world number one ranking around like a live grenade with players briefly ascending to the top while on losing streaks or on holiday. "I took a week off and went to number one," joked Patrick Rafter recently. During that time, the charismatic teens dominating the women's game captured the imagination of tennis fans. But a sizzling summer has proved reports of the demise of Sampras and Agassi to be greatly exaggerated. And the resumption of their crowd-pleasing rivalry, along with the very real possibility of a Sampras-Agassi Open final, has pumped renewed life into the men's game. "I feel a certain buzz with the rivalry kind of kicking up," Sampras said recently. The four-time champion has often said that when Agassi is playing well it brings out the best in his own game -- a level universally feared by opponents. If Agassi's resurgence were not enough to spur Sampras on, then his own keen sense of tennis history should provide more than enough incentive to get the top seed through the grueling, two-week endurance test that is the U.S. Open. By winning his sixth Wimbledon crown in July Sampras tied Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles. A fifth U.S. Open trophy would leave Sampras alone atop the list of all-time greats -- his lack of a French Open title notwithstanding. Agassi already made some history this year. By capturing the French Open title Sampras so desperately craves, the Las Vegas showman became only the fifth man to have won all four major titles in his career. His stunning Roland Garros run sparked a tear in which Agassi has lost just four of his last 32 matches -- three times to Sampras, including the Wimbledon final, and once to Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov. The consistency of his recent play and his victory over Kafelnikov in last week's Washington final propelled Agassi to number two in the world and toward Flushing Meadows with his confidence soaring. "I couldn't ask to feel more confident going into the Open," enthused the 1994 champion. "I think everything is right where it should be ... It's perfect." Only Sampras has been hotter than Agassi. The 28-year-old superstar put together four consecutive titles -- Queens, Wimbledon, Los Angeles and Cincinnati -- before a 24-match win streak was halted when he retired during a match in Indianapolis last week with a painful twinge in his hip that he did not want to aggravate so close to the Open. "Pete's form has been dynamite," noted Rafter, who lost to Sampras in the Cincinnati final. The strong recent play of popular two-time defending champion Rafter and Australian Open champion Kafelnikov only adds fuel to the competitive fire as the world's best players head into the year's final Grand Slam event. "It should be very exciting with all the top four players doing so well," said Kafelnikov, who has put a series of early round losses behind him and regained the form that helped him capture the year's first major title. The third-ranked Russian took his 1999 record on hardcourts to 22-6 by reaching the Washington final and established himself as a legitimate contender to add the U.S. Open to the French and Australian titles already on his Grand Slam resume. Rafter has been resting an ailing right shoulder this week, a nagging injury that took the kick out of his kick serve. But he expects to be ready for his title defense. The Australia heartthrob is looking to become the third player in the open era to win the U.S. title three years in a row. Only John McEnroe (1979-81) and Ivan Lendl (1985-87) have previously accomplished the feat. Rafter was dumbfounded when he won his first major title two years ago and stunned when he repeated. But even with a sore serving shoulder he is thinking like a champion this time around. And why not? Since the new Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 1997 Rafter is the only player to hoist the U.S. Open men's singles trophy. "Last year I didn't think I had a chance but it's become more believable for me to win it this year," Rafter said. "This year I come in thinking I could win it again."
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