Pete Sampras edged by Andre Agassi in three sets on Sunday as the two retired American tennis greats revisited one of the sport's greatest rivalries.
The 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 win in this southern Chinese gambling enclave was the first time the two had played since Sampras won in the 2002 U.S. Open final for his then-record 14th Grand Slam.
The fast indoor surface at The Venetian Macao arena favored Sampras' attacking style, but it was Agassi who came out packing more heat in his serve, showing no signs of the bad back that required four injections during his final tournament, the 2006 U.S. Open.
But Sampras, who beat Roger Federer at the same venue in an exhibition two years ago, recovered, serving an ace and using a delicate pickup volley to secure the second set.
"Thanks for the exercise," Agassi told Sampras after the match.
Serena prepares to tear strip off rivals
DOHA: Serena Williams, having stripped naked for an American magazine shoot, can lay bare her simmering frustration over losing her world number one ranking at the WTA Championships which start Tuesday.
Despite winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2009, taking her Grand Slam collection to 11, Williams has again been displaced at the top of the women's game by Russia's Dinara Safina who has yet to capture a major.
{{/usCountry}}Despite winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2009, taking her Grand Slam collection to 11, Williams has again been displaced at the top of the women's game by Russia's Dinara Safina who has yet to capture a major.
{{/usCountry}}The eight-woman field of top players including Safina, Serena and Venus Williams, French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Jankovic, also boasts intriguing sub-plots.
Schiavone wins Kremlin Cup
MOSCOW: Italy's Francesca Schiavone eased to her second title with a 6-3 6-0 thrashing of Belarussian Olga Govortsova in the Kremlin Cup final on Sunday.
After a nervous first set, when both players had trouble holding their serve, the eighth seed ran away with the second as 67th-ranked Govortsova was hampered by a painful rib injury. "I had trouble with my serve because of the injury but in all honesty it wasn't the main reason I lost today," the 21-year-old told a news conference.