SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Mark Philippoussis had it easy.
The Australian cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over qualifier Cecil Mamiit in the Sybase Open final Sunday. But it wasn't just his booming serve and calm command that won the $325,000 event.Philippoussis got a bit of help from Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
Sampras, the top seed and No. 1 player in the world, withdrew from the tournament shortly before Saturday's semifinal against Philippoussis because of a strained tendon above his left ankle.
Sampras was playing in his first tournament after a 10-week layoff. He hurt his leg during his quarterfinal victory over Bernd Karbacher on Friday night.
Earlier in the week, second-seeded Andre Agassi defaulted in his second-round match against Mamitt because of repeated cursing. Agassi won the Sybase last year by beating Sampras.
Those two events helped pave the way for Sunday's somewhat lackluster final.
Philippoussis, the third seed, was his steady self, using his 120 mph-plus serve to overpower Mamiit, who is eight inches shorter than Philippoussis at 5-foot-8.
Mamiit, a former NCAA singles champion currently ranked No. 120, came out energized for his first ATP tour final. He flipped his racket in his hands and bounced on his toes, but his enthusiasm and quickness could not overcome his opponent's serve.
Philippoussis, who earned his sixth ATP tour title, earned match point with a 124-mph serve that grazed Mamiit's racket and sailed high into the crowd at the San Jose Arena.
He had started the match with a 117-mph ace.
One of Philippoussis' serves was clocked at 134 mph, a tournament-best. It was one of seven aces he had in the one-hour, 18-minute match. He won 80 percent of his first- serve points.
Mamiit, who defeated Michael Chang 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Saturday's semifinal, had never gotten past the second round of an ATP tour event before this week. He turned pro after winning the NCAA singles championship in 1996 as a freshman at Southern California.
Philippoussis, ranked No. 14 in the world, became the Australian to win the Sybase since Darren Cahill in 1991.