Venus soared, Sampras broke record

 Venus Williams twirled in half-circles, laughing and waving her arms on Centre Court after winning Wimbledon last summer, a joy that spilled over to a crowd that laughed with her.

 Everyone knew they were seeing something special: the blossoming of a young woman who could dominate tennis for years with sister Serena, and the triumph of the first black female champion at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1958.

 Venus confirmed that feeling at the U.S. Open two months later when she tightened the family grip on women's tennis by winning the title Serena had captured the year before. A few weeks later, Venus added two Olympic gold medals to her treasure chest, one for singles and one for doubles with Serena.

 "I guess I've graduated to a different level where I can be like some of the greats," Venus said in Sydney after running her singles winning streak to 32 matches.

 There was no boasting in her words, no superiority in her voice. Rather, she sounded, at 20, as if she suddenly realized how good she had become.

 Her breakthrough to the top of the game, if not the top of the rankings, came after she sat out six months with tendinitis in both wrists. Her father, Richard, suggested in March that she take off a year rather than risk further injury. But Venus decided to tape up those thin wrists and play without fear.

 Fear had been holding back another young player with great potential until he, too, broke through this year.

 Tall and strong, with an all-court game that could bring him success on every Grand Slam surface, Russia's Marat Safin spoke of how he was afraid to attack more established players during the French Open and Wimbledon.

 Too often Safin expressed his fear and frustration by throwing temper tantrums, breaking rackets even more often than Goran Ivanisevic.

 Then, suddenly, in a two-week show of talent and patience, Safin came of age.

 In the U.S. Open final, Pete Sampras looked across the net as if he were staring in a funny mirror distorted by time. The image he saw was younger, larger, stronger, the 20-year-old Safin with his peach-fuzz face and grown-up game.

 The 6-foot-4 Safin gave Sampras, the career Grand Slam champion, one of his worst losses to become the first Russian to win the U.S. Open.

 "He reminded me of myself when I was 19 and came here and won for the first time," the 29-year-old Sampras said. "The way he's playing he's the future of the game. I didn't feel old. I felt I was standing next to a big dude."

 The big dude, who got down on his knees and kissed the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium to celebrate his victory, became the youngest U.S. Open champion since Sampras won the first of his four titles a decade ago.

 It was Safin's first major title and only the fifth tournament win of his brief career, and it came in the most lopsided victory (6-4, 6-3, 6-3) over a former champion in 25 years.

 "It's a bit of a humbling feeling to have someone play that well for that long," Sampras said. "He serves harder than I did at 19. He's more powerful. He doesn't have many holes. He moves well. He's going to win many majors."

 Only two months earlier, Sampras won a record 13th Grand Slam title, capturing Wimbledon for the seventh time in a dramatic four-set match against Patrick Rafter.

 Twinkling flashbulbs lighted up Centre Court like fireworks in the night when Sampras kissed the trophy once again, his eyes glistening from the tears he had shed moments earlier after he hit his final service winner.

 Rarely emotional on court, Sampras showed how much this victory meant to him as he bent over in tears after the final point, then climbed up into the stands to embrace his mother and father, watching him win a Grand Slam title in person for the first time.

 "I wanted them to be a part of it," Sampras said. "As much as I like to say I'm going to be back here every year, there's no guarantees. ... I'm glad they hopped on the plane and made the trip."

 Sam and Georgia Sampras flew in from Southern California only the day before and sat high above Centre Court to watch their son pass Roy Emerson for the most Grand Slam championships and tie Willie Renshaw, a player in the 1880s, for the most Wimbledon titles.

 No Wimbledon title had ever come with more pain and difficulty than Sampras suffered in this one, dealing with acute tendinitis above his left ankle from the second round on.

 As emotional as the Wimbledon triumphs were for Sampras and Venus Williams, there were equally emotional victories by other players that punctuated the year in tennis:

 -- Andre Agassi winning his second Australian Open in January as he stretched a glorious eight-month run that included titles at the French and U.S. Opens and a runner-up finish at Wimbledon. Agassi had hopes of holding the No. 1 spot through the year, but a string of injuries stopped him.

 -- Lindsay Davenport winning the Australian and going on to finish runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

 -- Mary Pierce becoming the first Frenchwoman to capture the title at Roland Garros in 33 years.

 -- Gustavo Kuerten surviving a dramatic duel against an amazingly resilient Magnus Norman to win a second French Open en route to claiming the No. 1 spot in the ATP Tour rankings.

 -- Spain blanking the United States 5-0 in the Davis Cup semifinals, setting the stage for John McEnroe's resignation as captain, and going on to capture the cup for the first time with a victory over Australia in the finals.