Friends Set To Do Battle For The Title

Andre Agassi and Boris Becker really respect each other. Honestly, they really do, even if it was hard to tell from the cursory handshake they exchanged after Agassi defeated Becker in Saturday’s U.S. Open semifinal.

Agassi’s 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-4 victory propelled him into today’s championship showdown against Pete Sampras, who advanced earlier on the fifth anniversary of his first Open title with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Jim Courier.

Both winners struggled at times, but the postmatch climate was considerably cooler between Agassi and Becker than it was between Sampras and Courier.

Sampras and Courier had nothing but praise for each other.

Agassi and Becker had nothing much of anything for each other.

Their feud dates back to Wimbledon, where Becker defeated Agassi in the semifinals, coming from one set and two service breaks behind for the victory. After the match, he was less than complimentary about the No. 1-ranked player in the world and his corporate sponsor, Nike, which also happens to underwrite Sampras.

Agassi took it personally. Becker insisted it wasn’t meant that way.

So don’t expect any hugs between these two.

It’s different with Agassi and Sampras, corporate sidekicks who have appeared in a successful ad campaign for Nike. They like each other.

“I’m happy to be in the final,” Agassi said. “Pete kind of makes it more special.”

Agassi and Sampras played tenacious tennis.

Service breaks were tough to come by in both matches. There were just four in the morning match, three by Sampras and one by Courier, and each decided a set. Agassi and Becker had two each, sailing through the first two sets without a break.

Each set barreled into a tie-breaker. And each time, Agassi won, drilling serves and returns that buzzed all over the court. Becker thought some of the points should have gone his way.

He complained bitterly to chair umpire Wayne McKewen, pointing at the corner following one of Agassi’s shots that nicked the backline. “One!” he exclaimed. “Just one for me!”

He then took one for himself, winning a point and derisively rolling the ball off the court as he headed for a changeover.

Later, after Agassi won the second tiebreak, Becker berated McKewen again.

Finally, in the fourth game of the third set, Agassi had the first break of the match to lead 4-1. Becker refused to go away, though, getting his first break and winning the next five games to force a fourth set, as his wife, Barbara, seated at courtside, hid her eyes, unable to stand the tension.

In the fourth set, they stayed on serve until the 10th game. Then, suddenly, Agassi sprang, breaking Becker without losing a point to win the set and the match. It was his 26th consecutive match victory.

“As in all close matches, there were just a few key points,” Courier said after losing to Sampras. “It just comes down to that.”

The two longtime opponents - they’ve been playing since their days in junior tennis - know each other’s game very well and that made their semifinal showdown something of a chess match.

They jabbed at each other like a couple of boxers, probing for a soft spot. Sometimes, the search paid off. More often, it did not.

Sampras stayed with Courier stroke for stroke, avoiding problems when they came up, taking advantage of them when his opponent encountered them.