MELBOURNE, Australia -- Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi
resumed their epic duel from the U.S. Open, slugging through two
more tiebreakers Saturday before Sampras took the trophy in a
warmup for the Australian Open.
Helped by 24 aces, Sampras won the Kooyong Classic exhibition
tournament with a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 48
minutes in swirling wind.
In one of the greatest of the matches between the two old
rivals, Sampras beat Agassi in four tiebreak sets without a service
break in the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year.
After Sampras' 19th victory in their 33 meetings, Agassi tried
to gain the last word Saturday.
"At the end of the day, my wife can beat his wife," said
Agassi, who married longtime women's No. 1 Steffi Graf last
October. Sampras married actress Bridgette Wilson in September
2000.
"I've got a touch more hair than Andre," Sampras retorted.
The smooth-pated Agassi has won the last two Australian Opens
and is again a favorite for the 2002 tournament, starting Monday.
Scott Draper beat Thomas Enqvist 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the
third-place match.
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