For Pete's sake

Sampras reaches third straight Open final

Pete Sampras is looking to win his 14th career Grand Slam. AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pete Sampras took a huge step in his career revival Saturday, reaching the U.S. Open final by beating the heat and a steady Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), 6-2.

With power on his serves and dominance at the net, Sampras wore down the Dutchman for a straight-set victory and a chance to end more than two years without a title.

Sampras, who lost the Open final the past two years, goes for his fifth Open championship Sunday against top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia or sixth-seeded Andre Agassi, who played later Saturday.

"It's a pretty tough turnaround emotionally, physically, but I feel I can do it," Sampras said.

His play here isn't that of a 31-year-old who is past his prime. Schalken, who turns 26 Sunday, saw that firsthand.

"He was placing the ball so good," Schalken said. "I couldn't touch the ball."

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Fired up by his return to the Open, Sampras flashed his trademark fist pump after several critical points. And on match point, he didn't have to walk far to shake Schalken's hand at the net.

That's because Sampras finished him off with another one of his backhand volleys from near the net.

In all, Sampras won 62 of 85 points at the net while Schalken tried only nine and won them all. Sampras was just as dominant with his serve, belting 23 aces to five for Schalken.

Sampras, seeded 17th, was the world's top-rated player from 1993-98.

But he hasn't won a tournament of any kind since Wimbledon in July 2000 where he set a record with his 13th Grand Slam title. And he lost to Marat Safin of Russia and Hewitt in the last two Open finals.

His Wimbledon experience this year was one of the low points of his career. He lost in the second round to George Bastl of Switzerland, who got into the tournament only because another player withdrew.

On Saturday, Sampras didn't have the advantage of playing at night, when he is 20-0 at the Open. But on one of the hottest days of the tournament, Sampras never lost his serve.

The first two sets came down to tiebreakers after neither player broke service.

On the first one, Sampras won the first four points then dropped the next five. One point away from losing the set, he served, rushed to the net and won with a backhand volley.

Then he faulted before winning the set with another backhand at the net.

"Yeah," he yelled as he pumped his fist several times.

Schalken, seeded 24th, was within two points of winning the second set in both the 10th and 12th games, but Sampras came back.

In the tiebreaker, Sampras fell behind 2-0 then led 5-4 and had the next two serves. He won the next point with a service winner then took the set again in typical fashion: a strong serve, a return by Schalken and a backhand volley at the net.

"He comes to the net all the time, puts the pressure on me," Schalken said.

The first service break finally came in the fourth game of the third set and was the only one Sampras needed. Schalken got just one point and Sampras won the game with a crosscourt volley from the net.

Schalken had a chance to come back with two break points in the seventh game. But Sampras got back to deuce, then won the game with his 23rd ace and a backhand volley.

In the final game, Schalken was ahead 30-15 but didn't get another point as Sampras kept charging the net.

When his final volley got by Schalken, Sampras pumped his fist again, just one win away from ending his title drought.

The match lasted 2 hours, 23 minutes and, at times, it appeared Sampras was wilting. In the quarterfinals, he needed just 1:29 to beat No. 11 Andy Roddick in straight sets.

Hewitt won this year at Wimbledon and is the world's top-ranked player. At the Open, he's lost just three sets in five matches.

The Saturday night women's final has a familiar look: top-seeded Serena Williams against second-seeded Venus Williams.

They first met in a Grand Slam final in last year's U.S. Open, won by Venus. Then Serena beat her older sister this year in the French Open and Wimbledon finals to gain the No. 1 ranking.

On Friday, both struggled before winning. Venus beat No. 10 Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, and Serena topped No. 4 Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-5.

 

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