Sampras celebrated a hard-fought, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory in the 1-hour, 34-minute match by raising his arms to the cheers of the crowd. This victory took almost twice as long as Sampras' 48-minute defeat of Vince Spadea on Friday.

Sampras, the tournament's top seed, will defend his ATP title against Patrick Rafter, who earlier yesterday beat Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-5, 6-0.

Rafter, coming off a victory last week in Toronto, is the first Australian to reach the ATP final since the tournament began in 1979.Sampras can regain the No. 1 world ranking if he wins the final in the $2.45 million tournament.

Sanchez extends Hingis
MANHATTAN BEACH: A red-faced Martina Hingis huffed and puffed chasing down Arantxa Sanchez Vicario's shots in a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 semi-final victory yesterday in the Acura Classic.

No. 2 seed LindsayDavenport beat fourth-seeded Monica Seles 6-4, 6-2 in 59 minutes last night to reach her third final in as many weeks. Davenport won titles at Stanford and San Diego, where she notched her first career victory over Seles, also in the semi-finals.

Davenport brings an 11-match winning streak into the final at Manhattan Country Club.

Hingis, the world's top-ranked player, has lost in the semi-finals of her last three tournaments. She hasn't won a title since the Italian Open in May.

Venus pulls out
MONTREAL: American tennis star Venus Williams has withdrawn from the upcoming Du Maurier Open women's tennis tournament, citing a knee injury, Canadian tennis officials said yesterday.

Williams, 18, injured her knee during last week's Toshiba Classic in San Diego, California.

The Canadian championship still has a strong field, including veterans Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Jana Novotna and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, and young stars Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Marjana Lucic besides SerenaWilliams, Venus's sister.