Pete Sampras virtually made sure of ending 1997 as the world number one with his 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over the surprise finalist Jonas Bjorkman in the Paris Open yesterday. It means the American should emulate the only other player to have managed the remarkable achievement of finishing top at the end of five successive years, his compatriot Jimmy Connors.
In a year in which Sampras has been pursued by Michael Chang and Patrick Rafter, this appeared to be a relief to him. So too did the diagnosis of the hospital to which Sampras was taken on Friday night with a shoulder so painful that he he doubted his ability to complete the tournement. It was, apparently, "tired" not torn.
The combination of tension and relief opened a window into a side of Sampras never glimpsed before, as he indulged in some uncharacteristic displays of emotion during yesterday's match, gesturing at lines judges and hurling away his racket after a double fault.
It shouldn't have been surprising though. Six times Bjorkman engineered break point against the world number one and at the seventh attempt, he converted with a flat, fierce, and early forehand. That hauled him back from a break down in the second set, and four games later he produced an even better return which went back before Sampras had time to change direction.
The next point Bjorkman won with the aid of an invented stroke, a high top-spin backhand approach somehow flicked up from inside the service line. It set up a winning volley and unusual emotive behaviour in Sampras.
Six games later after achieving a third set break, old stone-face was shaking his head violently, and after achieving another vital break early in the fourth set with an excellent backhand straight pass from well behind the baseline, Sampras was shaking both fists with unusual triumphalism.
For Bjorkman too it signalled a kind of success. He had made one of the best ever play close to his best. This year has seen him go from 68 to four in the world rankings, a rise which has ensured that at least one Swedish player has finished in the top ten every year since 1974.
It also prevented Greg Rusedski from climbing one place back to his career-best of number four. The Briton today plays in Stockholm against another Swede, Nicklas Kulti, who was surprisingly preferred to Bjorkman in last year's Davis Cup final.
If Rusedski wins he will erase any lingering doubts about his participation in next month's ATP World Championship finals along with Bjorkman, Sampras, Chang, Rafter and three others.
