An All-Aussie Final as Rafter Beats Sampras

It looked like a routine backhand volley, a shot Pete Sampras has made countless times in countless matches.

But by the time Sampras hit the shot in the seventh game of the third set, the ordinary volley was not so ordinary. Sampras came up hobbling, having suffered a strained muscle in his left thigh.

The injury limited his movement and the top-seeded Sampras lost to defending champion and third-seeded Patrick Rafter of Australia, 6-7 (10-8), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the U.S. Open semifinals on Saturday.

Gone was Sampras’ shot at winning his fifth U.S. Open title. Gone was his shot at tying Aussie great Roy Emerson’s all-time 12 Grand Slam titles. And gone was his shot at avenging his loss to Rafter in a controversial final at Cincinnati.

Rafter, not Sampras, will be playing in today’s final against Mark Philippoussis of Australia. Philippoussis defeated 10th-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain, 6-1, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in an earlier semifinal.

“Sure, it’s disappointing,” Sampras said. “I take my losses very hard. Certainly, getting hurt adds a little salt to the wound because I’m going to have to deal with this leg the next couple of weeks.”

Said Rafter: “To me, I think it was just one of those hard-luck stories for Pete. If Pete was fit, it might have been a different story. I feel happy I won. Obviously there’s something taken away a little bit from his injury.”

After the injury, Sampras held service to lead 5-2 and immediately left the court to receive treatment from ATP trainer Doug Spreen. He had the leg massaged and wrapped but felt hampered whenever he tried to put weight on the left side and push off.

“It kind of shocked me a little bit,” Sampras said. “And then I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to continue to play. The adrenaline was really the only thing that kept me going. It was just bad luck.”

He actually started serving better and broke Rafter to take the third set.

“I thought he may have been sick,” Rafter said. “It was sort of more upsetting when he put an ace down. I’m thinking, ‘What’s wrong?’ ”

But it was not to be a replay of the 1996 Alex Corretja match in which Sampras survived on-court sickness and a match point in an epic five-setter in the U.S. Open quarterfinals and went on to win the tournament.

In the fourth set, Rafter broke Sampras’ serve in the opening game and did the same in the fifth. He finished the match by breaking Sampras at love.

Rafter plays his countryman Philippoussis in the first all-Australian final at the U.S. Open since 1970, when Ken Rosewall beat Tony Roche. Rafter won their previous two matches, not losing a set.

“No, I’m not scared at all,” Philippoussis said. “I’m playing some great tennis at the moment. I’m only 21.”

Moya, the French Open champion, worked his way back into the match by abandoning the baseline and started serving and volleying. It nearly got him to a fifth set, but he lost his temper and his serve in the seventh game of the fourth.

The lineswoman on the baseline called him for foot-faulting three times in that game. He cursed and made an unflattering remark about her weight. Moya was also upset because the chair umpire did not make an overrule.

In the post-match news conference, Moya would not comment about the foot-faults and then went on a rambling, John McEnroe-like rant about the chair umpire and officials.

‘We could play without him.” he said. “They could leave the court because they don’t overrule one ball. It is the easiest job I ever saw. There was one serve, also, I’m sorry to say, but the woman [lineswoman] was a little bit old. The ball was like 130 miles per hour. For me it was out. How can she see that ball? My God, that woman cannot see the ball. I saw it clearly out.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Final

* What: U.S. Open men’s singles.

* Who: Patrick Rafter (3) vs. Mark Philippoussis.

* When: 1 p.m., Channel 2

AUSSIE FINALS

U.S. Open All-Australian Men’s Finals:

1998--Patrick Rafter vs. Mark Philippoussis.

1970--Ken Rosewall def. Tony Roche, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5-2), 6-3.

1969--Rod Laver def. Tony Roche, 7-9, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

1966--Fred Stolle def. John Newcombe, 4-6, 12-10, 6-3, 6-4.

1964--Roy Emerson def. Fred Stolle, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

1962--Rod Laver def. Roy Emerson, 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

1961--Roy Emerson def. Rod Laver, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

1960--Neale Fraser def. Rod Laver, 6-4, 6-4, 9-7.

1958--Ashley Cooper def. Mal Anderson, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 10-8, 8-6.

1957--Mal Anderson def. Ashley Cooper, 10-8, 7-5, 6-4.

1956--Ken Rosewall def. Lew Hoad, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.

The United States National Championships was an amateur event until 1968, when it became the U.S. Open.