BRIEFLY: Tennis

Tennis

Sampras and Becker's Paris match

The top seed, Pete Sampras, defeated Jim Courier at the Paris Open yesterday to set up an exciting rematch of the Wimbledon final with Boris Becker. Sampras, who tamed Becker in four sets at the All England Club last July, was made to work hard against Courier before winning 6-4 3-6 6-3. Becker, the third seed, crushed the South African Wayne Ferreira 6-1 6-2 to move within sight of a fourth title in the prestigious indoor tournament. Sampras, the world No 2, paid tribute to Courier after their match. "It's always tough against Jim," he said, "because we know each other so well." Becker wasted no time as he advanced to his fifth Paris Open final in just 68 minutes. "Sometimes, after playing several matches in three sets, you get your timing back," he said. "I played solid tennis today."