Aces in the Right Places

This time, there was no silver plate for Andre Agassi to use as a mock weapon against Pete Sampras when he pretended to whack him after the trophy presentation at Wimbledon.

A Tiffany crystal bowl doesn’t hold the same kind of threat, so Agassi resorted to brave, fighting words after Sampras defeated him, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-1), in the final of the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA on Sunday.

“Everybody knows I beat Pete when it really counts,” Agassi said. “If we tee it up in New York, I’ve got a hunch it’ll be rocking.”

Sampras laughed. And then he delivered a verbal ace.

“Well, I believe I’m 3-1 or 4-1 against Andre in [Grand Slam] finals,” he said.

Touche.

He walked over and patted Agassi and then shrugged. Yeah, the truth can hurt.

Later, Agassi, the court jester, tried one more time, saying: “Like you really need another win or something. I let you win Wimbledon. You could have at least let me win here. I want to officially say, ‘I hate you.’ ”

Well, he did say the match was going to be like a heavyweight bout. So why not have some fun?

Instead of a crystal bowl, Agassi might want a crystal ball for consultation before playing Sampras. For the second time in less than a month, Sampras had all the answers--during the match and afterward.

Sampras, who has won three titles this year and will regain the No. 1 ranking today, is 15-10 against Agassi and this was his first outdoor hard-court title since 1997 in Cincinnati. He has won 17 consecutive matches.

The resurgent Agassi has not taken a set off Sampras in their last two matches, losing, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, at Wimbledon. On Sunday, he did have a set point in the 12th game of the second set but sent a powerful return way long.

During their long and storied rivalry of the ‘90s, Sampras and Agassi, oddly enough, have not played many tiebreakers, only six in their previous 24 matches and only one since 1995.

One factor in this final was that Agassi’s serve let him down in the tiebreaker. The defending champion and top-seeded player served unusually well in both sets until that point. Sampras, the second-seeded player, had 11 aces to Agassi’s 10.

Two of Sampras’ aces came in the tiebreakers, one in the first and one in the second. Agassi’s lone double fault of the match came at an especially cruel time, the first point of the second-set tiebreaker.

That immediately turned the momentum and Sampras followed with an ace and took a 3-0 lead before Agassi could regain his equilibrium.

Sampras’ serve was so overwhelming that Agassi put only one return in play in each of the tiebreakers.

Agassi felt the match turned on two pivotal points. One was the squandered set point and the other was a break point he had in the ninth game of the first set. It would have given him a 5-4 lead and the chance to serve for the first set, but Agassi hit a passing shot just wide.

“I thought it was real good tennis,” Agassi said. “He was playing big and serving well and I had a couple opportunities. It certainly could have gone either way today. If we played that match 10 times, we’ll split that one 5-5.”

Agassi has won 17 of his last 19 matches, with both losses coming against Sampras. They’ve met 12 times in the final of a tournament and Sampras holds a 7-5 edge. The chilling news for Agassi is that Sampras is feeling loose and relaxed, having reached most of his historical goals, including surpassing Ivan Lendl’s record of total weeks at No. 1. This will be the 271st week Sampras has been No. 1.

Now he wants to have fun. It’s not as if he is going to turn into Agassi, or Andrew Ilie, but Sampras displayed more showmanship than usual here and intends to keep it up. Sort of.

“L.A. brings that out in me,” he said. “All the beautiful people. I’m to the point where I’ve achieved some goals--not go out and clown around--but enjoy it and let the people know that I’m enjoying it. Because I am.

“For years, in my early 20s, I was so focused and consumed by the sport. All I could think about was winning tennis matches. Sure I want to win. But people want to see me smile or do something a little bit different.”

Any plans for the New Yorkers at the U.S. Open?

“Maybe the Mohawk,” he said, laughing. “Or wear a Mets’ hat. You won’t see that much of change in me. I think winning four times there will hopefully help.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BY THE NUMBERS

15-10: Sampras’ record vs. Agassi

7-5: Sampras’ record vs. Agassi in finals

271: Weeks Sampras has been ranked No. 1 (men’s record)

17: Consecutive matches won by Sampras

59: Tournament titles won by Sampras

79: Agassi’s first-serve percentage Sunday

51: Percentage of total points won by Sampras on Sunday (82-160)

17: Percentage of break points won by Agassi on Sunday