January 24,1997
King of Clay bows to Emperor of Melbourne
By Mark Bendeich
MELBOURNE --- The "King of Clay," Thomas Muster, bowed in reverence to world number one Pete Sampras at the Australian Open on Friday.
Sampras proved to be the true monarch on Melbourne Park's Centre Court, earning the Austrian's tribute after sweeping to a straight-sets victory and into the final.
Sampras seemed incapable of mistakes as he stormed home in the final set. At one point several members of the packed crowd got to their feet and, arms outstretched, bent double as though in obeisance.
But it was not until Sampras pulled off a near-miracle, hitting a reflex backhand winner around the net post, that a humbled Muster repeated the gesture.
"That was complete luck. I just tried it and got away with it. I couldn't believe it came out the way it did," Sampras told reporters after the semifinal.
The outcome of the match was never in doubt, save for a moment when Muster held set point against Sampras in the second set. For the rest of the time, Sampras drew gasps from the crowd and lived up to his nickname "Pistol Pete."
Sampras fired groundstrokes off both hips, smashing balls deep into the corners and defying persistent attempts by Muster to break his backhand.
"He is the number one player," Muster said later. "He's confident and he's the best all-round player. That's it."
To underline the certainty of Sampras's victory, a spectator raised laughter by earnestly offering some encouragement to the world number five as Muster slumped to 1-4 in the third set.
"You can do it, Thomas!" he shouted.
Others in the crowd warmed to the theme, getting laughs with "Play left handed, Pete" and "Come on Pete, get serious."
Sampras admitted later he could not have played better, although he is more eloquent on the court than at a news conference.
"I have no complaints," he said.
Sampras now meets Carlos Moya of Spain for a chance to grab his ninth grand slam title and lift the Australian Open cup a second time.
The unseeded Spaniard beat defending champion Boris Becker and second seed Michael Chang on his way to the final.
"He beat Michael pretty handily so he's very confident and he has nothing to lose and it will be a good fight on Sunday," said Sampras, who recalled the last time he played Moya.
Two years ago Sampras played a practice tie-break against Moya, who was then ranked down in the 300s, at a tennis clinic for up-and-coming players in Barcelona. Sampras won.
"He's come a long way from the tie-break," Sampras said. "He's going to be tough to beat."
Even if Sampras defeats the 20-year-old Moya on Sunday, his own career will not be crowned until he wins the French Open, the only Grand Slam title to escape the all-conquering American.
But, he said, "It would be a great way to start the year, winning here."