NEW YORK -- Pete Sampras' serve is a blinding, Hammer-of-Thor bolt of lightning. It is a weapon that overcomes adversity and creates a comfort zone, a massive margin for error.

	By defeating Marat Safin, Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras became the first man to beat three former champions consecutively.

As Sampras has navigated his way through a procession of former champions here at the U.S. Open, his serve has been the constant. He has now held in a breathtaking 87 consecutive games.

That is why Sampras dominated Russian Marat Safin 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in Saturday's semifinal. That is why he will face Australian Lleyton Hewitt in Sunday afternoon's final. Has he ever served better?

"At Wimbledon one year I think I just lost my serve twice -- easier surface to do it on," Sampras said. "But, actually, to hold as much as I did against Andre [Agassi], who is the best returner of all time, to keep that going, the serve and the volley -- everything's kind of clicking at the right time.

"Just got to do one more day tomorrow."

Safin was asked what makes Sampras so tough to beat.

"Because, of course, it's Pete Sampras," Safin said. "It's not only serve, you almost start to remember in the match how many Grand Slams he won, how many finals he won.

"So he has a big serve, then you have also Pete Sampras -- which is huge. It's too much pressure, I think."

In last year's U.S. Open final Safin, then 20, humiliated Sampras in straight sets. Sampras, a four-time Open champion, won just 10 games and looked exceedingly old. At least a handful of times over the past two weeks, Sampras has used the word "humbled" in reference to the match.

"I was pretty much blown off the court last year," Sampras said. "Last year was the first time [in a Grand Slam final] that I couldn't do anything. I mean, he was on fire. You just have to accept it. In a Slam final, you don't expect to play in the Zone. Last year I just said, "Too good.' "

Sampras, 30, hasn't won a tournament since last year's Wimbledon, a rough patch that constitutes 17 tournaments, but a victory over Hewitt would end that streak. It would also extend Sampras' record of Grand Slam singles titles to 14 and give him nine consecutive years with a major championship, another record.

	“	Everything's kind of clicking at the right time. Just got to do one more day tomorrow. ”
		— Pete Sampras

Both No. 10-seeded Sampras and Safin, the No. 3 seed, have suffered through miserable seasons -- relatively miserable considering they are Grand Slam champions. One of them would salvage his season with a semifinal victory.

Serving and volleying with vintage precision, Sampras muscled Safin right off the court in the first set. He broke Safin in the sixth game, punctuating it with a leaping backhanded smash.

And then an old nemesis visited Sampras in the second set: the queasy stomach. ATP trainer Doug Spreen administered Pepto-Bismol during the changeover at 1-2 for what he called "churning." Sampras seemed to sag and his serve lost considerable speed as Safin climbed back into the match.

Sampras survived two break points in the eighth game and a set point in the 10th game -- with a little help. The chair umpire awarded Sampras an ace on set point on a serve that was originally called out. Safin didn't argue, but replays showed the first-serve ball to be wide.

Lucky to be in a tiebreaker, Sampras then experienced more good fortune -- from Safin himself. At 2-all, Safin found himself with a ball on his forehand with way too much time and open court. The ball sailed over the baseline for a mini-break and later, on Sampras' second set point, it happened again. Safin bombed a big serve and Sampras could only reply with a forehand around the service line. Safin jerked another one long and Sampras stole the second set.

"Surprised he missed that easy forehand," Sampras said. "It was a big part of the match, winning that second set."

Said Safin: "I was thinking too much, you know, where I have to play. I knew that I have to play to his backhand all the time. Suddenly, because he was there on the corner, so I tried to play on his forehand. That's too many things in my head.

"It was a big difference, I think. It would be six-all, tiebreak. I have small chance to win the second set, so it would be a different story."

The third set was a romp. Now, it was Safin fading and Sampras charging. With Safin serving at 1-2, Sampras created the decisive break. Somehow, Sampras returned a sharply angled Safin shot with a running, flick-of-the-wrist topspin lob that dropped several inches inside the baseline. Sampras, who has grown increasingly demonstrative, pumped his fist and kissed his racket.

His 20th ace of the match ended it, eliciting a "Yeaahhhh!" and another fist pump.

After his first-round victory here nearly two weeks ago, Sampras addressed his uninspired play.

"Everyone's concerned about me," Sampras said, smiling.

Was he concerned about himself?

"Not as much as everyone else," Sampras answered.

At the time, it seemed like denial. Now, it looks like destiny.

Much has been made of Sampras' perilously low No. 10 seed and the difficult path it presented for an aging athlete. Well, as Sampras has served his way past former Open champions Patrick Rafter, Andre Agassi and Safin -- Sampras called it his toughest Grand Slam draw ever -- the hands of the clock seem to be spinning backward.

"Playing these great players so early, emotionally, I looked at them like finals," Sampras said. "And I was pumped up. I mean, I played Pat and Andre and now Marat. I was keyed up."

He is having fun. He looks fresh; he has played only two sets more than the minimum. He truly lives for these moments.

"These moments, these two weeks," Sampras said, savoring his words. "The opportunity tomorrow. That's why I keep doing what I want to do. I still enjoy playing out there, the atmosphere and the crowd. It's a rush.

"That is the reason I keep going."