New York: Pete Sampras snapped his 33-event victory drought in epic fashion, defeating rival tennis legend Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the US Open final to capture a record 14th Grand Slam singles crown.

Sampras, who fired 33 aces and 84 winners, tired after failing to finish off Agassi in the third set, but held on to serve notice to critics and fans alike that his skills are far from diminished at age 31.

Sampras won his fifth US Open title, matching Jimmy Connors for the most in the Open era. He became the oldest US Open champion since Ken Rosewall in 1970 at 35 and in any Slam since 1975, when Arthur Ashe was a month shy of 32 at Wimbledon.

The victory was the first for Sampras since 2000 at Wimbledon, when he broke Roy Emerson's all-time record with his 13th Slam title - a drought of 33 events over more than two years.

The dry spell included runner-up finishes to Australia's Lleyton Hewitt at last year's US Open and Russia's Marat Safin in 2000. Sampras was only 19-17 this year when he arrived, including a second-round defeat at Wimbledon.

Sampras seized a 20-14 edge on Agassi in one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history. That includes an 9-7 lead in finals and a 4-1 advantage in Grand Slam finals.

Agassi, 32, and Sampras had the highest combined ages of any US Open men's final pairing and were the third-oldest of any Slam final. That mark was set at the 1972 Australian Open when Rosewall, 37, beat Mal Anderson, 36.

Sampras, in his worst seeded spot here since 1989 at 17th, captured his 64th career title. But it was his first at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The facility had not yet been constructed when he took the 1996 title at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Sampras broke Agassi in the ninth game of the fourth set, cracking through for the first time since the second set on his third break-point chance when Agassi netted a forehand.

Serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth, Sampras fired a 119-mph ace to earn two match points. Agassi saved the first with a forehand winner but Sampras slammed a backhand winner to end the match and make history after two hours and 54 minutes.

Sampras saved two break points in the fourth game, finally winning the longest game of the match on the 20th point with an overhead smash after seven deuces and 12 minutes to level at 2-2.

In the seventh game, a line call went against Sampras that would have given him a break. Instead, Agassi fired a service winner to deny Sampras on a break-point chance and held to 4-3.

Sampras double faulted three times in the eighth game, the last to give Agassi a break point. But Agassi netted a backhand and Sampras blasted his 32nd ace to hold.

Agassi captured the third set by breaking Sampras in the final game. Sampras missed three game points that would have forced a tie-breaker, then committed his eighth double fault and handed Agassi the break by netting a forehand volley.

Sampras had denied Agassi on three break points in the sixth game, saving two on aces up the middle and finally holding with his 23rd ace.

Sampras broke Agassi to open the second set and held serve at love three times for a 4-2 lead. They exchanged service breaks in the seventh and eighth games, Sampras surrendering his first with a lob return wide, before Sampras held at love in the final game, ending the set with an ace after 63 minutes.

In the first set, Sampras fired a US Open-record 12 aces, the last of which was a second-serve ace to save a break point in the final game. Agassi netted a forehand and hit a backhand long to surrender the deciding break in the eighth game.

Sampras' hardest serve, 132 mph came after Agassi forced deuce in the fifth game after the first 18 points of the match went to the server, a dramatic start for a crowd of 25,210.

Playing his fifth match in seven days, Sampras won $ 900,000 while Agassi, thwarted in his bid for a third US Open title and eighth Slam crown, settled for half that sum.

Sampras beat Agassi in the 1990 and 1995 US Open finals and 1999 Wimbledon final while Agassi topped Sampras for the 1995 Australian Open title. Sampras also beat Agassi here last year in a classic quarter-final dual in four tie-breaker sets.

Sampras added the Slam title to those he won at the 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1996 US Opens, the 1994 and 1997 Australian Opens and Wimbledon in 1993-95 and 1997-2000.

The six-year gap between Sampras' latest US Open crowns is the longest in the Open era.

This was the first year since 1979 that the US Open men's and women's finals were all-American affairs. Serena Williams beat sister Venus for the women's title.

Agencies