TENNIS ROUNDUP : Courier Will Face Ivanisevic Instead of Sampras

Jim Courier did his part to set up a dream final in the Italian Open at Rome on Saturday. But Pete Sampras didn’t.

Sampras and Courier, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, were seeded to meet in the first all-American final in the 50-year history of the Italian Open.

Second-seeded Courier, the defending champion, defeated sixth-seeded Michael Chang, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-0, in the semifinals, but Sampras, seeded No. 1, was eliminated by No. 4 Goran Ivanisevic, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Courier, who reached his fifth final of the year, will try to become the first player to win consecutive Italian Open titles since Jaroslav Drobny in 1950-51. Today’s final at the Foro Italico will be a best-of-five sets match.

Sampras had not lost a set going into the semifinals, but he ran into a player who has beaten him regularly on all surfaces. Ivanisevic’s victory was his fifth in six career matches against Sampras.

“I really like to play him,” the Croatian left-hander said. “I have a game he doesn’t like. Also, he doesn’t like to play lefties.”

Ivanisevic punished Sampras with his huge serve, recording 13 aces and 15 service winners. He had three service games with two aces and, in one game, he hit three consecutive aces.

“I felt kind of helpless trying to return his serve,” Sampras said. “Acing you two or three times a game is kind of discouraging.”

The match lasted only 1 hour 15 minutes, with not one game going to deuce. The two were even until the tiebreaker, when Ivanisevic gained the upper hand with two aces and two service winners.

The match was essentially over after the Croatian broke Sampras in the second game of the final set. From then on, Sampras appeared dejected and failed to mount a serious challenge.

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Defending champion Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini, seeded No. 1 and No. 2, both needed three sets to advance to the final of the German Open at Berlin. Graf outlasted No. 3-seeded Mary Joe Fernandez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and Sabatini beat Conchita Martinez, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Last week in the final of the Italian Open, Sabatini lost to Martinez, 7-5, 6-1.

Graf is seeking her seventh title in Berlin.

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Second-seeded David Wheaton beat unseeded Aaron Krickstein, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, and advanced to the finals of the $225,000 America’s Red Clay Championship at Coral Springs, Fla.

Today’s title match against No. 3-seeded Todd Martin will be Wheaton’s first final since the Queen’s Club in June 1991. The 23-year-old Wheaton hasn’t won a tour event since Kiahwah Island in South Carolina in 1990.

Martin, 22, a three-year pro, eliminated top-seeded Wally Masur of Australia, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), to set up only the fifth all-American final on clay since 1988. Wheaton is 2-1 against Martin, but the two have never met on a clay court.