COMMACK, N.Y. -- Pete Sampras will have a chance to win his
first title in 16 tournaments when he opposes Tommy Haas on Sunday
in the final of the Hamlet Cup.
The 30-year-old Sampras, the No. 3 seed playing as a wild card,
needed only 74 minutes to beat No. 5 Thomas Johansson 7-5, 6-3 in a
semifinal Saturday night.
Haas, the sixth seed, ousted Australian Open finalist Arnaud
Clement, 6-3, 7-6 (3) earlier in the day.
Sampras, the record holder with 13 Grand Slam titles, has not
won a tournament since capturing Wimbledon in 2000. In reaching
only his third final this year, Sampras served 11 aces -- five more
than Johansson.
Sampras also won 36 of 41 first-point serves as compared to 19
of 29 for Johansson.
"I'm ready for tomorrow's final, and for the U.S. Open," said
Sampras, playing the Hamlet for only the second time in preparation
for next week's U.S. Open.
He won the Hamlet in 1990 and went on to win the Open as well.
"I needed matches to get ready for next week," Sampras said.
"I had to retire from Cincinnati because of blisters on my hand,
and then I had to withdraw completely from Washington."
The first of Sampras' three break points, came at 6-5 of the
first set.
The pair exchanged break points to open the second set before
Sampras went ahead to stay, 3-2 on the final break, as his return
tipped the net and dropped in.
The match ended with Sampras' final ace.
"My game has gotten better in each match," Sampras said.
"Tonight, I tried to use the whole court. Earlier in the week, I
was only playing one side and I wanted to make him run."
Sampras is 4-1 against Haas, with all victories coming on hard court, the same surface as the Hamlet. Haas' lone win was on
clay in May 2000 in the World Team Cup in Germany.
Johansson fell to 0-2 against Sampras.
"Pete's first serves were extremely tough and I really
struggled," he said. "It's a completely different game when
you're playing him. Everyone knows his running forehand is tough.
"Pete's had ups and downs all year, but when he plays like
this, he can win bigger titles than this. He could even win the
U.S. Open."
Haas stretched his winning streak over Clement to five matches.
Clement, the No. 4 seed, held a 5-4 lead in the second set but
failed to convert any break-point chances.
"I thought I had it at that time and that we'd get into a third
set," said the 23-year-old Clement, who also lost to Haas in
Montreal two weeks ago.
"His first serve just overpowered me," he added. "I was
overly excited at the start of the match and was trying too hard to
get my shots going.
"I never got into the match."
Haas, who reached only his second final of the year, credits the
re-hiring of coach David (Red) Ayme for his recent success.
"Red got me back to the basics," said Haas, who won the season
opener at Adelaide, Australia in January. "Nothing specific. He
keeps telling me to stop making the game complicated."
Haas served nine aces, compared to only one for Clement, and won
83 percent of his first-serve points.
Even with another loss to Haas, Clement was happy with how he
fared in the tournament.
"I have to be pleased winning three matches here and regaining
my confidence going into the U.S. Open," Clement said.
Clement also wasn't ready to credit Haas for beating him again.
"It has nothing to do with him, it's always me," he said.
"Something has always been wrong with my game when I play him."
Haas didn't get wrapped up in that. He was just happy to reach
another final.
"It doesn't matter what he thinks," Haas said of Clement.
"Every time I played him, my entire game was on. If I play up to
my capabilities, I know I can beat anybody.
"I'm happy with myself, and that's what counts."
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ALSO SEE
Saturday's results
Sampras rolls, Clement bounces back at Hamlet
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