Pete Sampras affirmed his return to the No. 1 ranking with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Boris Becker in the final of the Paris Open Sunday.
Sampras regained the No. 1 spot because of the withdrawal of last year's Paris Open winner, Andre Agassi, suffering from a chest injury.It was the 36th career title and fifth of the season for Sampras, who earned $342,000.
"He deserves to be the winner of the tournament," Becker said. "He deserves to be No. 1."
"It was very important to win here after losing at Lyon," Sampras said, referring to the final of the tournament in France two weeks ago. He also lost in the Paris Open final in 1991 to Guy Forget of France.
"It was important heading into Frankfurt," Sampras said. He will be ranked No. 1 going into the ATP finals at Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. 14-19.
Sampras beat Becker at the ATP finals last year to finish 1994 ranked No. 1. Sampras also beat Becker at Wimbledon in July.
With both players serving under 50 percent, it came down to who was more consistent at jumping on second serves and returning winners or setting up the point.
Becker led in aces, 19-12, but many were needed to come from behind in games.
"I can serve better," Becker said.
"The key was he used his break point opportunities and I didn't use mine. He played exceptionally well under pressure."
Becker, who won the Paris title in 1986, 1989 and 1992 and has played in five of the 10 Paris Open finals, has won only one title this year.
In the first set tiebreaker, Sampras gained the key advantage, earning two set points at 6-4 when he angled a backhand cross-court with Becker at the net.
"Every time there was a key point, he always came up with an incredible shot," Becker said.
Becker saved the first with an ace, but Sampras had a service winner at 124 mph to take the first set after 62 minutes.
Becker got into trouble in the fifth game of the second set with a double fault that gave Sampras a chance for a break point. A service winner saved it, but Sampras won the game following a service return winner and a netted Becker volley.
Sampras held that advantage to go up two sets.
Becker became frustrated and easily distracted, complaining about line calls and about people moving around him.
Luck gave Sampras the break in the seventh game of the third set. Twice his shots touched the net and twice he came away with points, including the final point with Becker stuck at the baseline as the ball flopped over.
That put Sampras up 4-3 and serving. He fended off two break points to hold and go up 5-3.
"Today he was beatable, but that's the kind of champion he is," Becker said. "When not playing well, he still managed to make the points."
Becker saved two match points on his serve in the next game to reach 5-4, but Sampras held serve in the next game to gain the victory in 2 hours, 41 minutes.
Seven players - Sampras, Agassi, Becker, Michael Chang, Thomas Muster, Jim Courier and Yevgeny Kafelnikov - have qualified for the ATP finals.
Goran Ivanisevic and Thomas Enqvist are in contention for the remaining spot.