Sampras, Agassi In Sybase Open Final

Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras each survived a grueling semifinal match Saturday to advance to today’s final of the Sybase Open in San Jose, Calif., and set up a dream match.

Agassi beat Michael Chang, the No. 7-ranked player in the world, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

The top seed and two-time defending champion, Sampras survived a rough second set to defeat John van Lottum of the Netherlands 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

The final will match a former No. 1 player with the current No. 1 player in the world.

“I’m interested to see how I respond to Pete playing inside my game,” said Agassi. “I feel I have enough game to play him.”

Sampras, who is 14-0 in the San Jose Arena, played a solid game in the first set, then suffered what he called a lack of concentration in the second set, allowing van Lottum to break service twice.

“I don’t know what it was,” said Sampras. “I completely lost it, but I got through it.”

Despite a shoulder injury and occasionally erratic serving, third-seeded Mary Pierce beat No. 1 Jana Novotna 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in a semifinal of the Paris Open. She will face Belgium’s Dominique Van Roost, the sixth seed, in today’s final.

In the United Arab Emirates, Felix Mantilla overcame a leg cramp and Wayne Ferriera 7-6 (12-10), 4-6, 6-4 to earn a place in the Dubai Open final against fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja, who upset top-seeded Jonas Bjorkman 6-3, 6-3.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, top-seeded Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands and Marc Rosset of Switzerland advanced to the final of the St. Petersburg Open with straight-set semifinal victories over Thomas Johansson and Cedric Pioline, respectively.