Sampras denies McEnroe in final

With pride and a substantial prize at stake, Pete Sampras had no intention of giving John McEnroe an early 50th birthday present yesterday. He was quite willing, though, to applaud his iconic predecessor after rallying for a 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 victory in the championship match of the Outback Champions Series event at Agganis Arena.

"It's incredible how well this guy still plays. I'm in awe of it actually," Sampras said on the series' website. Sampras, 37, took home the top payout of $60,000 for his fourth career series victory and second in Boston. McEnroe picked up $40,000 on the eve of his milestone birthday.

McEnroe looked poised for a Boston repeat when he bolted to a 3-0 lead in the first set. Sampras then charged back to force the tiebreaker and survived four set points by McEnroe.

"Even though I lost, I felt like I played my best match today," said McEnroe. "I gave it everything I had. [Sampras] knows a little about winning when the going gets tough."

The two legends with a combined 21 singles titles in Grand Slam events have now met three times in Boston. McEnroe came out on top during round-robin play last year, and Sampras went through McEnroe when he won his first Champions title here in 2007.

Todd Martin took third place in the series' season-opening event when Jim Courier was unable to play after suffering a back injury in his semifinal loss to McEnroe Saturday. Fans still got a warm-up for the final when Martin defeated Mats Wilander, 8-5, in an exhibition.

The over-30 circuit picks up again March 12-15 in Rio de Janeiro, the second of eight events. The tour returns locally for the Tennis Hall of Fame Champions Cup in Newport, R.I., Aug. 20-23.

SEAN SMITH