The straight-sets drubbing by Agassi in the round-robin, when Sampras was almost embarrassingly court-rusty, gave him the incentive to raise his game. In the circumstances, Sampras’s performance in Hanover over the past week has been amazing, even though his victory does not compare in his own mind with last year’s campaign here.
Then, stressed out after spending eight solid weeks chasing ranking points, he failed to win the event but gained enough ground to complete his goal of finishing the year as No 1 for a record sixth consecutive time.
“My goal this week was to see how I was physically, and if I could win here, that’s a bonus,” Sampras said. Sampras missed the United States Open after herniating a disc while practising on the day before the championships.
Sampras has only been able to finish eight tournaments this year, winning five of them, whereas Agassi has won two Grand Slam singles titles, at the French Open and the United States Open, en route to securing the year-end No 1 position. Completely when you thought that he wasn’t really the same Pete, he plays tennis that he’s never played before. So I have no doubt what he’s capable of.”
It is not recorded whether Lazarus picked up a racket along with his bed.
Sampras, however, may push Lazarus close in the recovery stakes. Before arriving in Hanover, the Wimbledon champion had played only one match in three months.

That was 27 days ago, at the Paris Indoor Championships, when he defeated the Spaniard Francisco Clavet after saving three match points.
Sampras then withdrew from his next match, against Germany’s Tommy Haas, because of a back injury.
Before that, Sampras had retired against Vince Spadea at the start of the third set of their quarter-final in Indianapolis on 20 August because of a strained hip muscle. “There was not a whole lot for me to say.” Thank you would have sufficed; or auf Wiedersehen, which was how Sampras rounded off his neat little speech.
Agassi also cut a forlorn figure in the interview room. “It’s a bad day to be flat,” he said, adding: “It had a lot to do with Pete, too. He did play well.”
The match lasted one hour and 46 minutes, although as a contest it was virtually decided after Sampras retrieved a 1-4 deficit in the second set.
Sampras thereafter fulfilled a prophecy Agassi made last Wednesday, having beaten Sampras, 6-2, 6-2, in the round-robin segment of the tournament.
“The guy can improve like nobody,” Agassi said at the time “He was like Lazarus at Wimbledon, just out of no-where. The world No 1 was so disappointed with his performance that he could not even bring himself to address the 13,500 spectators, who had paid hearty respect to both Americans as the event bade farewell to Hanover.
“I was really unhappy with the way I played,” Agassi said.

In the last important singles final of the century, Andre Agassi, the player of the year, was defeated by Pete Sampras, the player of the decade, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, at the ATP Tour Championship here.

There were no bows and kisses from Agassi yesterday. In the last important singles final of the century, Andre Agassi, the player of the year, was defeated by Pete Sampras, the player of the decade, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, at the ATP Tour Championship here. Swansea: Penalty Davies
Toulouse: S Ougier (R Paillat, 63); E Ntamack, C Desbrosse, L Stensness, M Marfaing; A Penaud, J Cazalbou (J Fillol, 73); F Tournaire (L Esposito, 50), Y Bru, C Soulette (F Gentil, 71), F Belot (capt, H Miorin, 54), F Pelous, D Lacroix (M Lievremont, 70), C Labit, S Dispagne.
Swansea: Richard Jones (K Morgan, 51); S Payne (A Lawson, 48), M Taylor, S Gibbs (capt), M Robinson; L Davies, Robert Jones (A Booth, 65); D Morris, G Jenkins (C Wells, 76), B Evans, T Maullin, A Moore, P Moriarty (J Bater, 68), C Charvis (D Thomas, 58), L Jones.
Referee: E Morrison (England).. As for Toulouse, their next two assignments are relatively easier, against the Italian side, Padova, leaving them with every chance of staying in control at the top of the Pool with four wins out of four.
While Emile Ntamack was the slayer of Bath, it was his fellow wing Michel Marfaing who did for Swansea. He scored all 17 of his side’s first-half points, including two tries, and went on amass a match tally of 26.
Toulouse: Tries Marfaing 2, Ntamack, Pelous, Paillat, Fillol; Conversions Marfaing 5; Penalties Marfaing 2. The All Whites skipper, Scott Gibbs, recognised that Toulouse were “a team playing at the top of their game”, yet despite defeat, he still believes his side can be “there or thereabouts” at the end of the tournament.
If that is to happen they will have to take maximum points from their next two games in the so-called “Pool of Death” ­ Pool 2 ­ away and then home to Bath.

The compelling way in which they link forwards and backs in the loose, in union with the great force and magnificent technique they display at the set-pieces, makes them an almost irresistible force.
That was certainly how Swansea saw them. In fact, both Cardiff and Swansea not only lost in France, they were outclassed and overwhelmed.

There may not be anything unique in that as far as the Heineken Cup is concerned ­ no Welsh team has ever won in France in five years ­ but with the bulk of the Welsh side on display in Montferrand and Toulouse it must be a cause of huge concern to the national coach, Graham Henry.
Having taken his Welsh team to a first victory on French soil in 25 years last season, and then masterminded a second defeat of Raphael Ibañez’s team before the World Cup, Henry was looking to witness a further progression from his leading players in the Heineken Cup.
There were no signs of that in Montferrand, where Cardiff capitulated 46-13, and little or no evidence as Swansea shipped six tries at Le Stadium.
Swansea simply could not keep up with the pace of the home side, who turned the game into something of a carnival for the 10,000 fans, who witnessed another thrilling exhibition of rugby from the pre-tournament favourites.
With Toulouse having dealt so efficiently with Bath the previous weekend, this crushing victory was further proof that the French champions mean to regain the Heineken Cup after a four-year gap. Not a good weekend for the Welsh clubs abroad. In fact, both Cardiff and Swansea not only lost in France, they were outclassed and overwhelmed

Not a good weekend for the Welsh clubs abroad. Munster: Tries Keane, Mullins, Foley, Staunton; Conversions O’Gara 3; Penalties O’Gara 3.
Saracens: M Mapletoft; R Constable, J Thomson, K Sorrell, R Thirlby; T Lacroix, N Walshe; R Grau (D Flatman, 61), G Chuter, J White (P Wallace, 63), S Murray (K Chesney, 56), D Grewcock, R Hill (P Ogilvie, 56), T Diprose, F Pienaar (capt; P Ogilvie, 27-28).
Munster: J Staunton; J Kelly, K Keane, M Mullins, A Morgan; R O’Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, K Wood, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), J Langford, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace.
Referee: D Mene (France)..

Eventually, though, the heroic forwards won the ball, Munster broke free and suddenly it was all over.
Saracens: Tries Grau, Walshe, Thomson; Conversions Mapletoft, Lacroix; Penalties Lacroix 5. O’Gara landed a long-range penalty, and Saracens cracked, conceding yet another penalty, and they were slack enough to allow the No 8, Anthony Foley, to take the tap to himself and plunge over the line.
It did not matter that the conversion was missed because the stand-in full-back, Jeremy Staunton, a fly-half by trade, stormed over three minutes from time and O’Gara’s conversion did the trick.
All Munster had to do was hold out and that they did, withstanding a series of mammoth scrums close to their line, ever aware that Lacroix was lurking, his right foot cocked and ready for a drop goal attempt. Although Lacroix’s fourth penalty restored a Saracens advantage, which was further increased by Jeremy Thomson’s try and a fifth goal from the former French fly-half, there could never be any certainty about the outcome.
Munster were a raging inferno in defence and in attack. He shipped it on to Michael Mullins, who fed his centre partner, Killian Keane O’Gara converted. Four minutes later Saracens were sandbagged a second time.
Mapletoft was dispossessed near his own line, Mullins got a toe to the ball and won the race to touch down, and again O’Gara did the honours, that kick nosing Munster ahead. “There was one team that came out to play in the second half, and one that stayed in the dressing-room.