TENNIS ROUNDUP : Sampras Overcomes Becker in Finale of 1994 ATP Tour

Top-ranked Pete Sampras survived a barrage of aces Sunday and defeated Boris Becker, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, at Frankfurt, Germany, to win his second IBM/ATP Tour World Championship title.

Sampras, who also won in 1991, became the first two-time champion since the inception of the tour-ending event in 1990.

“This ends the year on a great note,” he said.

Sampras earned $1.225 million for his victory against Becker, who rose two places to No. 3 in the rankings despite the loss. Sampras increased his 1994 winnings to $3,607,812.

Sampras lost his serve only once, in the first set. Once he broke Becker in the second set, he took command of the match.

The critical moment came in the sixth game, when Becker served five double-faults and suffered his first break.

“I can’t explain what happened,” Becker said. “I lost my touch for five minutes and he took advantage of the opportunity.”

Sampras had lost to Becker in two sets in the round-robin portion of the tournament, and had lost to him at the Stockholm Open three weeks ago.

He advanced from the round-robin group only after Becker beat Stefan Edberg on Friday.

“I want to thank you, Boris, for letting me be here,” Sampras told Becker after the awards ceremony.

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Gabriela Sabatini’s 2 1/2-year search for a title ended in triumph when she won the Virginia Slims Championships at New York.

“It’s been a long time,” Sabatini said. “I’ve had a lot of frustration, a lot of tough matches that I lost.”

The Argentine, playing in her 44th tournament since last winning a final, overcame 12 double-faults to defeat mistake-prone Lindsay Davenport of Murrieta, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

“It’s good to know my game is not lost, that it’s still good enough to win,” said Sabatini, whose victory was worth $250,000.

Since winning the Italian Open in May 1992, Sabatini had reached seven finals without success.

Said Davenport: “Gaby has had a tough two years. If I had to lose to someone, I’m glad it was Gaby.”