Becker Hands Sampras A Rare Loss

Tennis

Buoyed by a roaring home crowd and pelting his opponent with 29 aces, Boris Becker rallied from a set down Sunday in Stuttgart, Germany, to beat Pete Sampras in five sets and win the Eurocard Open.

Becker was at his best on the indoor court, posting a 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory and ending the 21-match winning streak of the world’s No. 1 player, the longest such streak this year.

“He’s to Germany what Michael Jordan is to the United States,” Sampras said. “There’s only one king in Germany and his name is Boris.”

Becker, cheered at every move by a crowd of 7,200, won the 48th title of his career, 29 of those indoors.

“Becker is the best indoor player I’ve ever played,” Sampras said.

The tournament field, one of the best ever, began with 29 of the world’s top 30 entered. Players such as Becker and Andre Agassi are still trying to qualify for the year-end ATP Tour World Championship.

Becker’s victory almost guaranteed him a spot in the Nov. 19-24 tournament, which features the world’s eight best players. There are six players still competing for three open spots.

Becker, who had been sidelined with a wrist injury since Wimbledon in June, was playing in only his third tournament since his comeback. He gained the deciding break at 2-1 in the fifth set, slamming a backhand winner down the line.

“My muscles started to hurt in the fifth set, but I gritted my teeth and hung on,” said Becker, who will move up to No. 3 when the new rankings are released today. “Being this good this soon after the injury is the best Christmas gift I could have.

Sampras’ last loss came on Aug. 9 when he was beaten in Cincinnati by Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist. This was his first defeat in eight finals this year. His streak was the second longest of his career, following a 1994 run during which he won 29 in a row.

Huber wins another

Top-seeded Anke Huber of Germany capped a great month in exhilarating style, beating Slovakia’s Karina Habsudova 6-3, 6-0 to win the $164,250 Luxembourg Seat Open.

Huber was nearly flawless in a 56-minute exhibition of great shotmaking. Ranked fourth in the world, Huber won the Leipzig Open earlier this month and reached the finals of last week’s European Indoors in Zurich.

Raymond breaks the ice

Lisa Raymond of the U.S., ranked No. 44 and the No. 5 seed in the tournament, won her first WTA title, beating Els Callens of Belgium 6-4, 6-4 at the Bell Challenge in Quebec.