HONGKONG'S Victoria Park will be the focal point of the tennis world today when the two leading players on the international circuit, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier, clash in the final of the sell-out Salem Open.
Courier, who lost his world number one ranking to Sampras last week, stayed on course to defend his Hongkong title by thrashing third-seeded compatriot Michael Chang 6-2, 6-3 in the first semi-final yesterday.
And Sampras, seeded second behind Courier in Hongkong, joined him in the final after battling back from a set down to beat fourth-seeded Israeli Amos Mansdorf 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-3) in a see-saw match lasting two hours and three minutes.
It all adds up to one of the glamour days on the Hongkong sporting calendar, with world number two Courier desperate to prove the computer wrong and beat Sampras in his first tournament since becoming the world's official number one player.
Although today's winner will receive a cheque for US$39,600 and the runner-up US$23,330, the number one ranking will not be affected.
After his victory in Tokyo last week, Sampras moved on to 3,736 points, 173 more than Courier, who is second on 3,563. The winner of today's final will receive 120 points and the runner-up 90 points.