Sampras Man To Beat In Atp Season Finale

Pete Sampras, a three-time champion of the ATP Tour World Championship, joined three rising stars Friday in the semifinals of the season-ending tournament in Hanover, Germany.

In a year that has signaled the changing of the guard in men’s tennis, two newcomers to the elite tournament - Carlos Moya and Jonas Bjorkman - advanced to the last four.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the fourth semifinalist, is playing his third consecutive ATP championship but has reached the semis for the first time.

Sampras, who will finish as No. 1 in the world for the fifth consecutive year, a record he shares with Jimmy Connors, beat Patrick Rafter 6-4, 6-1 to clinch a semifinal berth.

“I put a lot of pressure on his service games with returning well and making him hit a lot of low volleys,” Sampras said.

Rafter, the U.S. Open champion, needed to win a set to advance but was beaten soundly by Sampras, who improved his career record against the Australian to 8-1.

Top-ranked Martina Hingis barely escaped an upset, beating Anke Huber 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 6-4 on a night when three of the top four seeds were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Advanta Championships in Villanova, Pa.

Hingis, 72-4 in matches this year, is 7-1 against Huber but has had to go three sets with her seven times.

By eliminating Huber, Hingis advanced to a semifinal match against Aranxta Sanchez Vicario today.

Lindsay Davenport, the fifth seed but ranked third in the world, romped past defending champion Jana Novotna, the No. 2 seed, 6-3, 6-2, and replaced Novotna as the second-ranked player in the world. Sanchez Vicario, seeded eighth, breezed by third-seeded Amanda Coetzer 6-2, 6-2, and seventh-seeded Irina Spirlea stopped fourth-seeded Monica Seles 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).