Andy Roddick, the third seed, defended a title for the first time in his career on Sunday, conquering the fourth-seeded Pete Sampras in the final of the $400,000 US Men's Clay Court Championships.
Roddick collected his fifth career ATP title as he beat Sampras for the second time in as many career meetings.
He prevailed in their only previous encounter in the round of 32 at the 2001 Miami hardcourt championships. "I want to thank Pete for setting the example for so many years while I was growing up," Roddick said during the postmatch ceremony.
The 19-year-old Roddick picked up the $51,000 winner's check as he improved his career record here to 12-0.
The Florida resident also won two matches in Houston three weeks ago as the United States defeated Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
As a wild-card entrant at the 2001 Houston event, Roddick triumphed over eighth-seeded Hyung-Taik Lee of South Korea to capture his second career tour crown.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Sampras still has not added to his career haul of 63 titles since July 2000, when he won Wimbledon for the seventh time in eight years.
"He's really the main focus of American tennis," Sampras said. "He has a lot of power and he has a great future."
Even the grass courts at the Westside Tennis Club have not proven fruitful for the player who has posted one of the great grasscourt records in history.
Known as a clay-court specialist, Alex Corretja rallied from two sets down on April 5 to shock former world No. 1 Sampras as Spain pulled level with the United States in their Davis Cup quarterfinal at one match apiece. Bureau Report