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Epic match a boost for Sampras

By SHARON GINN and Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 7, 2001

NEW YORK -- The buzz about Wednesday night's quarterfinal between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi had yet to subside Thursday. The four-set, four-tiebreaker marathon, won by Sampras 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5), not only prompted several standing ovations by the usually jaded New York crowd, it established Sampras as the tournament's sudden favorite.

The 10th-seeded Sampras has two days to rest before taking on last year's champion, No. 3 Marat Safin, in the semifinals Saturday.

"I've never been crazy about (having two days off)," he said. "But for me at this stage in the tournament, it's huge."

The Agassi match aside, Sampras has had no easy road. He beat 55th-ranked Julien Boutter in three sets in the first round but had to play two tiebreakers. In the round of 16 he wore down sixth-seeded Patrick Rafter in four sets.

The quarterfinal match with Agassi was mentally and physically draining. Since neither player was broken -- Sampras said it was the best he'd seen Agassi serve -- winning the 3-hour 32-minute match required the kind of subtlety and cunning seen only in classic matches.

Sampras, 30, who hasn't won since Wimbledon in 2000, said he didn't mind not being considered the player to beat going into the Open. But "what I don't appreciate is the retirement talk," he said.

"It's gotten a little bit carried away. I don't know how it all started, why it all started. I haven't said anything about it."

DAVIS CUP: Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe named the six players who will represent the United States against India in the qualifying round to be held Sept. 21-23. Andy Roddick, 19, leads the list. He is joined by other up-and-comers James Blake and Rob Ginepri, and three tennis veterans: Todd Martin and doubles players Don Johnson and Jared Palmer. Johnson will make his first Davis Cup appearance.

MARATHON MATCH: Todd Woodbridge and Rennae Stubbs outlasted Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond in a super tiebreaker to win the mixed doubles title.

The top-seeded duo claimed its first Grand Slam title together 6-4, 5-7, 11-9. It's the first time a first-to-10 tiebreaker has been used in lieu of a third set in mixed doubles at the Open.

Wimbledon champions Paes and Raymond, a former University of Florida standout from Wayne, Pa., were seeded second.

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