Pete Sampras defied his critics and swept aside Sjeng Schalken 7-6, 7-6, 6-2 to reach his third straight US Open final on Saturday.Sampras will attempt to win his fifth US Open title and 14th Major when he faces either defending champion and world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt or long-time rival Andre Agassi.Played under almost perfect weather conditions, both players were unable to penetrate each other’s serve in the first two sets, with Sampras squeezing through the tiebreakers to put the 24th-seeded Dutchman on the ropes.Sampras erased Schalken’s final attempt at any comeback hopes by saving two break points in the seventh game of the third set for a comfortable 5-2 advantage. He served out the match in the next game, with a backhand volley sealing the victory in two hours 24 minutes.Hewitt has a 5-4 edge in the career rivalry against Sampras including a victory in last year’s US Open final. Sampras has a 19-14 lead over Agassi in the greatest men’s tennis rivalry of the 1990s. Serena, Venus reach Open final The family that plays together stays together. If that is the case, neither Venus nor Serena Williams will be leaving home anytime soon. On Friday at the US Open, the sisters set up a fourth family final from the last five Grand Slams as top seed Serena swept past Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-5 and champion Venus outlasted Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. While father Richard sat courtside happily snapping away with a camera, mother Oracene watched from the players’ box making ‘W’ signs with her fingers as their daughters, numbers one and two in the world, strengthened their stranglehold on the sport. “They are dominating a lot more than I thought possible. They are beginning to step it up a lot,” Richard whispered courtside as he watched Serena’s victory.
