NEW YORK -- The broad spectrum of American men's tennis could be seen Tuesday night in simultaneous matches here at the National Tennis Center:

	Andy Roddick's tender left foot didn't affect his game Tuesday, nor did it affect his post-match celebration.

On Arthur Ashe Stadium, the past was represented by Pete Sampras, the 13-time Grand Slam singles champion. Meanwhile, on Louis Armstrong Stadium 20-year-old phenom Andy Roddick defined the future.

And what of the present? We'll find out tonight when Sampras, appropriately, meets Roddick in a red-white-and-blue U.S. Open quarterfinal match. After receiving treatment to a foot injury, Roddick rallied to defeat Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Sampras, for his part, later eliminated No. 3-seeded Tommy Haas 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Can Sampras add one more Slam to his record total? Will Roddick, who has beaten him in their two previous matches, break through and win his first?

"He's the future of the game," Sampras said. "He's got a lot of power, with that first serve. I need to go out and play hard and, hopefully, get the crowd behind me. These young guys are tough ... I'll get a day off and be ready for Roddick."

"I'm excited about the prospect of playing Pete in the quarterfinals," said Roddick, whose match ended more than two hours before Sampras'. "I mean, it would be a dream come true for me."

Said Sampras, slyly, "I hope it's a nightmare for him."

Two days of rain caused an enormous backlog of matches, a record 103, to be precise. This meant that, like Monday night, there were stars scattered all around the grounds. And so, Sampras and Roddick wound up playing opposite each other. As recently as a few weeks ago, it seemed that Sampras' star had permanently fallen.

He was, afterall, a pedestrian 20-17 coming into this tournament. And now, the No. 17 seed has found enough fire to win his first four matches. Sampras hasn't won a tournament in more than two years, going back to Wimbledon 2000, but this is starting to look suspiciously like last year, when Sampras revived his season -- career, some would argue -- with a run to the final.

Sampras, 31, snuck through the first two matches in straight sets, but he has now played three days in a row. When his Sunday third-round match with Greg Rusedski was pushed to Monday with only a set in the books, Sampras was forced to play the maximum four remaining sets and then turn right around and play Haas the next day.

And while there were times when his classic running forehand didn't quite clear the net, times when his volleying form looked vaguely stiff -- one embarrassing moment when he tripped over his own feet in the tiebreaker -- Sampras was more than too much for Haas, who despite being seven years younger had already endured two five-set matches. A single break in the first and second sets gave Sampras a two-set lead. He could have closed it out in the third-set tiebreaker, but after leading 4-3, he staged a brief meltdown, missing several makeable shots.

Just when it looked like Sampras would succumb to old age, out came ATP trainer Doug Spreen to attend to Haas, whose forearm has been plagued by tendonitis.

In the fourth set, Sampras got his third break of the match by being aggressive. He rushed the net and fashioned two volley winners and Haas offered up two double faults, the last on match point.

	Pete Sampras gets a much-needed day off before facing the energetic Andy Roddick.

The match lasted three hours and five minutes and afterward Sampras responded to Rusedski's charge that he had lost "a step-and-a-half."

"I don't care what Greg says or thinks," Sampras said. "Against him, I don't really have to be a step-and-a-half quicker."

While the health of Sampras' game has been in question for some time, for a while it looked like Roddick might never get past the second set, much less the match, when a bone bruise raised alarms.

After losing the first set to Chela, he called for Spreen. The left foot -- based on Roddick's ginger, awkward steps and the occasional yelp -- was growing more painful after first flaring up in the third set of his third-round match. Would he, could he continue?

The answer became apparent in the seventh game of the second set, when Roddick exploded with the point of the match, indeed, the tournament thus far. Here is what happened:

With Chela serving at 3-all, 15-30, the two athletes found themselves nose to nose at the net. Chela, who had made no secret of trying to run the gimpy Roddick around the court, threw up a deep lob. Roddick turned and bolted and got off a terrific, whirling scoop shot that he took just inches off the court. A visibly surprised Chela pushed it back toward Roddick, who sent back a forehand rocket that handcuffed Chela again. Roddick ran down the response and ripped a backhand winner past Chela.

Roddick, whose sense of theater would play well a dozen miles away on Broadway, raised both his arms in I-am-the-man fashion and dropped his racket. He jumped onto the low shelf that borders the court and met his public with not one but two double high-fives. Foot injury? What foot injury?

"I don't really remember it too well because it was all reaction," Roddick said. "It wasn't like I was in control of anything out there. I think it helped turn things around."

But what about the foot?

"Yeah, my foot was hurting," Roddick said, "but adrenaline's an amazing thing. You know, I was definitely feeding off it tonight."

Chela was subsequently broken and Roddick went on to take the set, while USA commentators John McEnroe and Jim Courier debated whether Roddick was really, truly hurt. He has accrued a murky injury history in his brief career; Roddick overcame mounting cramps in a second-round French Open match against Michael Chang and retired in the third round against Lleyton Hewitt with a strained left hamstring.

When Roddick broke Chela in the fifth game of the third set, the Argentinian smashed his racket, while Roddick raised his arms again and ran to his changeover chair. Injury -- what injury?

"It's inflamed," Roddick explained later. "There's a certain area that's pretty sensitive. Tomorrow, I'll be able to hang out all day and get treatment. Hopefully, it will be good by Thursday."

Bring on Roddick.

"It was a long night," Sampras said. "I was feeling it a little it at the end. I was feeling it. It was a good one to get through ... I feel pretty good.

"With the year I've had, it's been frustrating. But I've still got the game."

Bring on Sampras.

"I'm excited," said Roddick, who it should be pointed out has an extremely low threshold of excitement. "I grew up idolizing him. I have a great deal of respect for Pete and what he's done. It will be a very, very special moment for me out there."

And, perhaps, the same will be true for American tennis.

Greg Garber is a senior writer at ESPN.com.