As epic as today’s Andre Agassi-Lleyton Hewitt semifinal groundstroke war stands to be, the stunning resurrection of Pete Sampras in his search for one last Grand Slam title is even more compelling.
And John McEnroe thinks the 17th-seeded Sampras can pull off a miracle and win his fifth U.S. Open. Sampras faces 24th-seeded Dutchman Sjeng Schalken in today’s first semifinal and – let’s face it – nobody expected either to be competing on Super Saturday.
“When you see him play, it’s hard to think he’s not capable of it,” said McEnroe, who faces Boris Becker in an exhibition prelude to tonight’s women’s final. “He’s silenced a lot of people. He’s got a realistic shot of winning this whole thing.”
USTA officials couldn’t have picked a more delicious men’s final four: two struggling-turned-surging American legends, the defending champ in Hewitt and the gate-crasher in Schalken. It’s a far cry from the first three Grand Slams that put America to sleep.
The level of baseline tennis in Agassi-Hewitt alone could be the tournament’s showstopper. “It’s gonna be a classic,” Sampras said of Agassi-Hewitt. “I really believe they’re going to have a lot of great rallies. It’s going to be some good tennis out there.”
Hewitt, 21, leads the series over Agassi, 4-2, with the Australian even beating Agassi in their first meeting when he was 16. That match was in Hewitt’s hometown of Adelaide in just his second ATP event. Hewitt won 7-6, 7-6 and Agassi remembers the young Aussie’s cheesy appearance that day.
“I remember he was wearing a safety pin in his shorts to hold them up,” Agassi said. “I actually think it was one on each side. I’m not kidding. I didn’t believe that was my opponent. He was very young and ended up playing a great match.”
Now he’s the defending champ, No. 1 in the world and the one to beat. “We’ve never played in a Slam, that part will be interesting,” said Hewitt, who has won his last three meetings with Agassi – the latest three weeks ago in Cincinnati. “He’s in great shape. I don’t care what age he is.”
Agassi is a year older than Sampras, 31, who won’t have the cool, breezy weather he thrived in Thursday night when obliterating Andy Roddick in a 90-minute straight setter. Sampras is 20-0 at Open night matches.
But with temperatures rising into the 80’s today and tomorrow, Sampras’ oft-questioned fitness will be put to the test in a midday cauldron. “It’s going to be warm, so he has to hope he gets off the court quickly,” McEnroe said.
“I’ve got my hands full against Sjeng,” said Sampras, who’s 4-0 lifetime against Schalken. “He’s an experienced pro. I’m focused. I’m not looking ahead at all [to the finals].”
Calls for Pistol Pete’s demise were plentiful 2½ weeks ago after his first-match flameout in a U.S. Open tuneup on Long Island against unknown Frenchmen Paul-Henri Mathieu. Slapping volleys into the net all evening, Sampras’ loss marked the 32nd straight tournament he failed to win.
Sampras admitted afterward how tough his Open road would be, acknowledging he desperately needed Hamlet matches to gain confidence. Flash forward to his flawless performance versus Roddick and the turnabout is shocking.
“He didn’t play badly in Long Island,” said his coach, Paul Annacone. “Was he great? No. But that kid returned unbelievably.”
