AMERICAN DREAM FINAL; RIVALS SAMPRAS, AGASSI WILL MEET FOR TITLE.Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. One's career has paralleled the other's from the jealousy-riddled snakepit of junior tennis to Grand Slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. finals to the streets of San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , where they taped a famous Nike spot. But while Pete Sampras Peter “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States. During his 15-year career he won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles in 52 appearances. Sampras finished as No. and Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi (born April 29 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. have risen together in tennis' hothouse hothouse: see greenhouse. , they are clearly different varieties - the modest sunflower and the Las Vegas-bred orchid. Today, on Wimbledon's grass where each has lifted the winner's trophy before, these American rivals will meet in a Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. championship match potentially as riveting as any match since the memorable duels of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. (born February 16, 1959 in Wiesbaden, Germany) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles — three at Wimbledon and four at the U.S. . ``It's going to be a classic confrontation,'' said Britain's Tim Henman Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE (born September 6, 1974 in Oxford) is a former English tennis player. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. after Sampras beat him in one of Saturday's semifinals. ``They are the two guys playing the best tennis. Some things are meant to be.'' Sampras will be trying to match Roy Emerson's record total of 12 Grand Slam titles and set a mark of six Wimbledon crowns against the only active player to have won all four majors. Sampras is the No. 1 seed, while Agassi is the world's new No. 1-ranked player. Sampras is tennis' best serve-and-volleyer, Agassi its greatest baseliner. The two have traveled a long way since they met for the first time, as juniors in a tournament in Northridge in 1983. Neither remembers who won. ``I think they (spectators) will really get a sense that we hate each other, caused a lot of grief for the other one's career,'' said Agassi, the 1992 Wimbledon champion, perhaps only half-jokingly. ``You get to see two contrasts in play, contrasts in personality. You get to see two guys who have grown up together and brought out the best in each other's games. The stage is set. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to go out there and not miss our cue.'' They reached this point with surprising ease Saturday. Sampras doused the inflamed passions of Britain's tennis fans with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 Centre Court victory over the sixth-seeded Henman. Agassi dispatched Australia's Patrick Rafter Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He was twice men's singles champion at the US Open, and twice runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in Bermuda. , the No. 2 seed, with straight-set simplicity 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Agassi's win put him back atop the world rankings, which was remarkable for a player who had plummeted to 142nd two years ago. In tennis' Byzantine ranking system, Sampras can't retain the top spot even if, as the No. 1 seed in a tournament he entered as No. 1 in the world, he wins today. This will be the fourth meeting of Sampras and Agassi in a Grand Slam final, though they have not faced each other in one for four years. Sampras defeated Agassi for U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
``I think he has a serve that is effective on grass because he plays it well and it's not easy to get in a rhythm against it,'' said Sampras, a champion at Wimbledon in five of the last six years. ``And he can take my serve away. Not too many guys can do that.'' Henman certainly couldn't, although he won the first set as Sampras, who had played just one set in five days because of rain, struggled to find his game. They stayed on serve in the second set until 5-4. At that point, Sampras broke and took the set when Henman double-faulted on the third set point he had faced in the game. ``I hadn't played much all week,'' Sampras said. ``If I lost that second set, there was a good chance I'd lose the match. I really felt that was a huge turning point. I elevated my game right from the beginning of the third, and I held on in the fourth.'' The loss was Henman's second to Sampras in the Wimbledon semifinals in two years. It came before a crowd that was supportive but far more subdued than the ones that had watched him earlier in the week. ``I felt like I made the best possible start, and I was getting on to his serve,,'' Henman said. ``It was just a question of trying to make a second push in the second set, and I just couldn't do that today.'' Rafter, the ponytailed serve-and-volleyer who would have ascended to the No. 1 ranking had he won, never had a chance against the confident Agassi, who has been seemingly reborn since his emotional victory in the French Open last month. ``Everything was on for him today,'' Rafter said. ``He was very strong. He was very powerful with everything he did. His serve was the best I've seen from him. He really never gave me a chance.'' Agassi did gave him one tiny opening. Trailing by 4-5 and 15-40 in the third set, the American fought off two set points, the second with a backhand crossing shot that left Rafter motionless. When the match ended, the two met at the net. Rafter later was asked what he had said to Agassi. ``Too good,'' he said. He might have been previewing the men's final. WIMBLEDON AT A GLANCE A look at what happened Saturday on the 12th day of the Wimbledon tennis championships: Weather: Warm and dry, with a mix of sun and clouds. High temperature was 73 F. Attendance: 29,566, a record for the second Saturday. Last year on the 12th day it was 26,338. The record for the second Saturday was 26,338 in 1998. The total attendance so far is 426,0267, an increase of 29,334 over last year. Winners: Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi advanced to the men's final; Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport reached the women's final. Stat of the day: Lindsay Davenport needed only 47 minutes to beat Alexandra Stevenson 6-1, 6-1. Quote of the day: ``We should see some fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to out there,'' - Agassi, on his Fourth of July final against Sampras. - Associated Press CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) Defending Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras celebrates as he beats Tim Henman. Dave Caulkin/Associated Press (2--Color) Fourth-seeded Andre Agassi is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a French-Wimbledon sweep. Adam Butler/Associated Press (3) Andre Agassi, serving to Patrick Rafter, plays for title against Pete Sampras today. Adam Butler/Associated Press BOX: WIMBLEDON AT A GLANCE (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion