Sampras Has to Get Past Rafter to Get a Shot at Slam History

The motivation to win Grand Slam titles was a bit different twenty-something years ago. Australian great Roy Emerson did not think solely of his place in tennis history when he won his 12th Grand Slam singles title.

“Records weren’t thought about too much then,” said Emerson, who won his 12 major championships from 1961-67. “I was trying to win as many as I could so I could get a good pro offer.”

Pete Sampras, who quit worrying about his finances long ago, is pursuing Emerson and history, both of which are a few service winners away at the U.S. Open. The 27-year-old is two matches away from winning his 12th Grand Slam event and tying Emerson’s record.

In today’s semifinals, the top-seeded Sampras will play defending champion and third-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia. The opening semifinal match is between another Australian, hard-serving Mark Philippoussis, and 10th-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain, the French Open champion.

Sampras is 8-2 against Rafter but lost their most recent meeting last month in a controversial final at Cincinnati. Sampras lost on an overrule on match point when Rafter’s serve was called an ace.

“Winning here last year, he is kind of the man to beat,” Sampras said. “He’s played well, pretty much breezed through this tournament. Our games are very similar. It’s just a matter of return of serve. If I return well, make him volley--hopefully over the course of a four- or five-set match--I can wear him down.”

Sampras practiced with Moya on Friday. Rafter took off Thursday, saying he was going to attend the Pearl Jam rock concert. It was on Thursday when Philippoussis had an stirring quarterfinal match against Thomas Johansson of Sweden, winning in a fifth-set tiebreaker, 12-10.

“This match taught me a lot about me personally, not just as a tennis player, but as a person,” Philippoussis said. “I just wanted to show I’ve got some guts out there, that I didn’t want to let go.”

Moya, who beat Philippoussis in their only meeting last year, is showing the same sort of tenacity at the Open. He survived three match points against Michael Chang in the second round and a five-setter against Jan-Michael Gambill in the third.

Since then, he has not lost a set.

“It’s a question of confidence,” he said. “I thought I couldn’t beat anyone, but after Chang and Gambill, I started to feel--if they couldn’t beat me before, how could they beat me? Now, I’m feeling fresh.”

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Today’s Semifinals

* What: U.S. Open men’s singles.

* Who: Pete Sampras (1) vs. Patrick Rafter (3); Mark Philippoussis vs. Carlos Moya (10)

* When: Philippoussis-Moya begins at 8 a.m.; Sampras-Rafter after women’s final.

* Where: New York.

* Television: Channels 2, 8