TENNIS : This Time, Sampras Gets Past Leconte

Pete Sampras overcame nemesis Henri Leconte, beating the Frenchman, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, Friday to reach the semifinals of the Grand Slam Cup.

In the semifinals, Sampras will meet Germany’s Michael Stich, who defeated Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.

In the other semifinal, Goran Ivanisevic plays Michael Chang.

Croatia’s Ivanisevic advanced Thursday, beating John McEnroe. Chang ousted Petr Korda.

Sampras, seeded third, can become the first player to win the biggest prize in tennis twice. He won the inaugural Cup in 1990.

The richest tournament in the world offers $6 million in prize money, with $2 million to the winner. Each semifinalist gets $450,000.

Sampras lost to Leconte in a memorable Davis Cup final in 1991 at Lyon, France, and was upset again by Leconte in the Paris Open in November.

Leconte, once a top-10 player who has dropped to No. 61, had Sampras in trouble in the seventh game, but the American fought off two break points.

Leconte blew a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker. Later he missed an easy volley to make it 4-3 for Sampras.

“I was hanging on in the first set,” Sampras said. “He was hitting some unbelievable return shots that were just too good.

“I got a little lucky in the tiebreaker and just went on from there.”