Resurgent Sampras In U.S. Open Semis

Pete Sampras crouched at the net to get to a volley and held the pose while the ball found its intended spot. His face folded into a smile.

"See, I still have it," he seemed to want to say — not to himself, but to all the critics who have wondered aloud if Pistol Pete's time is past.

Sampras keeps insisting he has another major title in him, and he just might be right, if his 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Andy Roddick in the U.S. Open quarterfinals Thursday night is any indication.

"Even though I'm not quite at the level I once was," the 31-year-old Sampras said, "I feel like when it comes to a big occasion, I still have the goods."

He certainly did against the 20-year-old Roddick, turning the anticipated matchup of old vs. new into a history lesson. It took all of 90 minutes.

"You guys say Pete is washed up. I never said it," Roddick said. "I don't think anybody doubts the fact that he's capable of great tennis still."

Well, among those who do doubt it is Greg Rusedski, who, after losing to Sampras in the third round, said: "He's a step and a half slow coming into the net."

Sampras looked downright young against Roddick, popping aces at more than 130 mph, covering the net as well as ever, driving his ground strokes deep.

Now, suddenly, Sampras will be favored Saturday against No. 24 Sjeng Schalken, who outlasted No. 28 Fernando Gonzalez 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) to get to his first major semifinal. The winner of that will face either defending champion Lleyton Hewitt or Andre Agassi in Sunday's final.

The women play their semifinals Friday, with Venus and Serena Williams bidding to set up a third straight all-sister Grand Slam final. Venus, the two-time defending champion, faces Amelie Mauresmo, followed by Serena against Lindsay Davenport.

Arthur Ashe Stadium was nearly empty Thursday afternoon for Schalken-Gonzalez. It was packed at night for Sampras-Roddick, which didn't live up to the billing.

Asked by USA Network announcers what advice he'd give Roddick, Boris Becker said, "Get out of the stadium."

Sampras had 13 aces and a total of 43 winners to 18 for Roddick, who might have been a step slow, having bruised his left foot during an earlier match.

He never came close to solving Sampras' serve, managing only one break point. It came early in the second set and was erased, appropriately, when Sampras struck a good serve and followed it up with a crisp volley to the corner.

"This is what I play for. I was ready to go from the first point on," said Sampras, who hasn't won any tournament in two years. "I'm just confident in the big moment that I'm going to come through. I spent moments of struggling with the confidence this year, but I can get it back pretty quickly."

He didn't have "it" at the French Open, losing in the first round. More surprisingly, he didn't have it Wimbledon — where he's won seven of his record 13 Grand Slam titles — losing in the second round.

Indeed, he didn't have "it" much at all in 2002, dragging a 20-17 match record to New York.

Yet, somehow, he's been rejuvenated at the National Tennis Center. He reached the final in 2000, losing to Marat Safin. He did it again last year, losing to Hewitt after a remarkable run that included consecutive victories over Pat Rafter, Agassi and Safin.

"I've been pretty patient all year," Sampras said. "Finally, for it to kind of click — it's nice that it's happening here."