Agassi Paints Sampras Into Corner

The ball was wedged between the flower planters in the corner of the court in the second set. Almost no one among the sellout crowd of 7,109 at UCLA’s L.A. Tennis Center noticed it was there.

Andre Agassi, of course, isn’t anyone.

From the other end, he spotted the ball and made sure order was restored before he resumed beating Pete Sampras for the third consecutive time. The artist merely wanted to make sure his canvas was clear.

That’s one of the differences between Sampras and Agassi. After the third-seeded Agassi won the Mercedes-Benz Cup final Sunday, defeating No. 4 Sampras, 6-4, 6-2, the loser talked about how his wavering concentration, among other things, cost him dearly.

Then there is Agassi, who notices everything. The Agassi camp is alert. He knows he is closing the gap on Sampras in their head-to-head series. (Sampras leads it, 17-14). His coach, Brad Gilbert, wants to make sure Agassi is ranked No. 1 everywhere, even in the top 10 poll of this newspaper. (“My guy better move up,” he said, smiling.)

The expectant father, Agassi, is even competitive in the baby race. This week, he announced he and girlfriend Steffi Graf are expecting a boy in mid-December. Shortly after accepting the first-prize check of $54,000, Agassi threw down the next generation challenge.

“I got $100 bucks that says my baby beats Pete’s baby,” he said.

Said Sampras, smiling: “Put it this way, he’s about 5-10. My wife is 5-9, I’m 6-1.

“We have a pretty good lead as far as height. I’m sure it [Agassi’s child] won’t walk pigeon-toed. . . . My parents didn’t pick up a racket, and I turned out all right. So there.”

The back-and-forth banter was in fun, and the verbal sparring was more competitive than the often ordinary final. Sampras has not defeated Agassi since late 1999, and has dropped seven consecutive sets to him, starting with the final two sets in their Australian Open semifinal in 2000.

Sampras, who has not won a tournament in 15 events, started off well, hitting crisp groundstrokes and finding the range with his errant backhand. He had five aces in his first three service games, and broke Agassi in the sixth game of the first set, taking a 4-2 lead.

Agassi called Sampras one of the best closers in the game. But not only did Sampras fail to close, he let the door swing open when he lost his serve at love in the next game, visibly bothered by the bright sun. And Agassi needs only the smallest of openings these days against Sampras.

“If you drop off just a touch, you are going to have an uphill battle,” Sampras said.

Sampras practically negated his nine aces with seven double faults. At 4-4 in the first set, he served three doubles and was broken. Agassi was the closer this time, winning 10 of the final 12 games.

“I thought I served OK,” Sampras said. “I can get better. It’s still my weapon. This year, this week, it was a little spotty at times. It was like a pitcher not having his fastball every night. I didn’t have it every night, but well enough to get through some tough matches.”

Pretty good isn’t enough against Agassi. This tournament, Agassi was the model of consistency. If he lost his serve, he broke back immediately. In the second set, he stayed resolute in the third game. The 10-minute game featured five deuces and Agassi finally broke Sampras on the third break-point opportunity with a forehand passing shot down the line to take a 2-1 lead.

Later, Agassi was asked whether Sampras’ title drought--he has not won a tournament since the 2000 Wimbledon--had more to do with Sampras or the level of competition on the tour.

“Both are a factor. I think Pete can win,” said Agassi, who won his fourth title of the year. “The fact he hasn’t, he probably doesn’t feel he’s been at his best. With that being said, it has gotten better. It’s tougher to win tournaments now. Only he can answer that. You give me his game right now, I’ll find a way [to win].”

Sampras compared the rivalry to Ali-Frazier but the past tense might have to be used to describe the state of Sampras vs. Agassi. Agassi has won four of their last five matches and this was the most one-sided victory in almost two years.

With Sampras approaching 30, his quickness in making the transition from the baseline to the net will not get remarkably sharper. Then there is his fragile health. On Sunday night, the ATP announced that Sampras withdrew because of an injured left thigh from the Masters Series event at Montreal, which starts today.

“I don’t look at myself as the grand old man,” he said. “We’re talking 30. And everyone here is older than 30, right? It’s all in your mind. I feel I still have the tools, the weapons; the enthusiasm might not be what it used to be when I was 22.”

For Sampras, the kindest words came from tennis legend Jack Kramer. Kramer, who turns 80 later this week, must have realized Sampras was feeling down and gave him some encouragement after the awards ceremony.

“Jack Kramer told me out there, ‘Keep going, you’ve got plenty of years,’ ” Sampras said. “And I know that. There’s no reason to panic because I’ve had a tough couple matches. I still have that confidence. It’s nice to hear that, but I know that already. It’s up to me and what I want to do. He’s been there. He knows what it’s like to get older.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BOX SCORE

Andre Agassi def. Pete Sampras, 6-4, 6-2, in the Mercedes-Benz Cup final:

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Category Agassi Sampras 1st Serve Pct. 85% 56% Service Aces 3 9 Double Faults 0 7 1st Serve Win% 65% 68% 2nd Serve Win% 45% 33% Break Points Won 4/7 1/7 Total Service Pts 45/73 31/61 Total Points 74/134 60/134

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