September 30, 2007
Sampras, Martin to face off in final
By RICK BONNELL
When Pete Sampras joined the Outback Champions Series, there was talk about switching the Charlotte event from clay to hard court to accommodate Sampras' game.
Who needs a hard court when you have a drought?
Clay turns hard as it gets dry, and the tournament court for The Championships at The Palisades is parched. So the court was even faster than Sampras preferred in his 6-1, 6-2 victory against Anders Jarryd.
That victory left Sampras 3-0 in the round-robin, guaranteeing he'll play in today's 12:30 p.m. final. His opponent will be Todd Martin, who won a deciding 10-5 tiebreaker against Jim Courier late Saturday in a rematch of last year's final..
Martin seemingly had control, up a set and with a 3-0 lead in the second. But Courier came back to win a second-set tiebreaker 7-4, setting up the deciding 10-point tiebreaker the tour uses.
Martin pulled ahead 7-3, then put away Courier with a service winner at 9-5.
You'd think Sampras, who dominated Wimbledon with constant serve-and-volley play, would want the fastest court possible. But he would actually like the clay here to play a bit slower. The bounces, particularly during afternoon matches, occasionally grew bizarre.
"Sure, it helps my serve," Sampras said of the fast surface, "but at the same time, I'd like to be able to swing at it."
Sampras wasn't complaining; rather he was just remarking on how much Charlotte's dry conditions change the green clay. His opponent noticed, and he thought Sampras benefited from the way the court played.
"The balls are bouncing really, really high, but that suits his game,'' said Jarryd, who called Sampras to win today, regardless of who advanced between Courier and Martin.
In other matches Saturday, Wayne Ferreira beat Mikael Pernfors 6-3, 6-2, and Aaron Krickstein topped Jimmy Arias 6-3, 6-3.
A limited number of tickets are available for the final, which will take place before the third-place match, to accommodate fans who also want to attend the 4:05 p.m. Carolina Panthers home game.