Agassi, Kuerten Face Off in Final

Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil rallied to oust defending champion Pete Sampras and will finish the year as No. 1 in the world if he can defeat Andre Agassi in the final of the Masters Cup.

In a thrilling, seesaw semifinal Saturday, Kuerten fought back to win, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, ending Sampras’ chance to win the season-ending tournament for a record sixth time.

In the first semifinal, Agassi defeated Marat Safin of Russia, 6-3, 6-3, to reach his second consecutive final in the event that features the world’s top eight players.

If Agassi beats Kuerten in today’s final, Safin will finish the year No. 1 despite his defeat.

Kuerten lost to Agassi in the round-robin portion last week.

“For me, it’s amazing,” said Kuerten, who overcame hamstring and back problems during the match for his first victory in three matches against Sampras.

“I was so nervous, but I stayed there, I fought a lot. Beating Pete is special, it’s almost like I won the tournament already.”

Sampras, 29, has been the dominant player of the decade and was playing his 11th consecutive season finale. Sampras finished the year as No. 1 for six seasons in a row, between 1993 and 1998.

He won last year’s final against Agassi, but Agassi still finished the year ranked No. 1.

“He just played the bigger points a little bit better than I did,” Sampras said. “I was one for eight on break points, it’s just bad luck.

“He’s a tough guy to serve against because he stands so far back and returns well. More impressive was his serve.”

Safin suffered a twisted right ankle late in the first set but Agassi was dominating the match even before the Russian’s injury. Agassi returned well, played consistently from the baseline and dazzled the crowd with intelligent shot making.

“He has a huge serve. The guy has weapons that can come together on different levels on any given day,” Agassi said. “Today I felt like I just had an answer for them all.”

With Agassi up, 5-3, and Safin serving at 0-15, the Russian twisted his ankle and grimaced in pain as a trainer put tape around it.

When Safin returned, Agassi moved him by firing shots to both corners that Safin was unable to retrieve. A short forehand winner gave Agassi the set.

“It was a very hard-fought match, straight from the onset,” Agassi said. “We were both trying to establish control of the points. I felt like I was getting the better of him.”

Safin hit some good winners, but he was too inconsistent to trouble Agassi, who is the oldest player in the tournament at 30 and who won the title in 1990.