Going into the championship, I said Marat Safin wasn't going to win the tournament, and it has surprised me that he's gotten to the semifinals based on his performances this year and the way he's handled the pressure this year. I didn't think he'd be able to handle the challenge of the pressure of being the defending champion, but he's been up to the test.

	Mal's Picks
	Washington Former ATP Tour pro MaliVai Washington is providing ESPN.com with in-depth analysis during the U.S. Open. Washington, a tennis analyst for ESPN, reached the 1996 Wimbledon final.

His semifinal match will be the biggest test thus far in the championships against Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras. But it's great to see Safin finally playing as a Grand Slam champion.

QUARTERFINALS
Pete Sampras (10) vs. Andre Agassi (2)
This match could be one of the greatest matches they've ever played. The two of them over the years have had so many great battles at a lot of tournaments including the Open, but this could be the last time you see them play with so much at stake in primetime, and they are both playing excellent tennis right now. They are both at the top of their games.

It's great to see Sampras moving through the tournament the way he is because it's better than anything we've seen from him in the past 12 months. And when Sampras plays this kind of tennis he has the potential to beat anyone. He's probably tired of hearing it, but he knows that time is running out for him a little bit in terms of opportunities to win majors. Andre will be his toughest opponent in this championship. If he can get past Agassi, we may see more history being made because Sampras could go on to win this championship.

As good as Sampras is playing, I think Agassi is playing equally as well. As of late, Agassi has the edge -- he's won their past three meetings. It's a quarterfinal match and it could be the match of the championship.
Edge: Agassi

Gustavo Kuerten (1) vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (7)
They played just a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. Kafelnikov should have won that match and wasn't able to put it away. A lot of that has to do with the tenacity of Kuerten -- against Max Mirnyi in the third round, Kuerten was impressive with his ability to disregard the fact that Mirnyi couldn't break serve. He held on until the tiebreaks and took the points there; that shows a lot for his mental capacity.

A strong mental game is not Kafelnikov's strength. Couple that with the fact that he doesn't have enough weapons to actually hurt Kuerten or push him -- not the way Kuerten can push him with his serve or from the ground -- and I believe Kuerten will beat Kafelnikov. Kuerten has something to prove. He wants to prove he can have a lot of success at majors other than the French Open. People know he can play on other surfaces, but he wants to prove he can do well at the U. S. Open.
Edge: Kuerten

Lleyton Hewitt (4) vs. Andy Roddick (18)
A match between Roddick and Hewitt is going to come down to how well Hewitt can handle Roddick's serve, because Hewitt is the best returner of service in the game with the exception of maybe Agassi.

So, you have one of the two best returners in the world taking on one of the best servers in the world. If Hewitt can make Roddick play on his serve, get a lot of his own first serves in the court and take advantage of second serve opportunities, that's what he needs to win this match.

If Roddick can get between 65 percent to 75 percent first serves in, he'll win the match. If he has one of those days when it's around 55 percent to 60 percent, that's giving away too much to Hewitt on second serves. So even with as many weapons and as a great a player Hewitt is, it's going to turn on his return of serve and Roddick's service game. Give the edge to Hewitt once the point has started and they are both at the baseline.

Roddick is playing with so much confidence right now and this might not be his first Grand Slam win, but anytime someone wins his first one you don't really look at him as a contender. This is a great opportunity right now for Andy Roddick. Don't be surprised if you see him in the final Sunday. With his serve, he walks out there and feels like he's going to be able to go out there in any match and be able to win it. You can just see his confidence in the way he carries himself.
Edge: Roddick