It was the fourth victory this year for Rafter, the reigning US Open champion. He is the first Australian to win four titles in a year since Rod Laver did it in 1975.

Rafter, ranked third in the world, has reached the finals of four tournaments this season, also winning in India, The Netherlands and last week in Toronto. He has been the hottest player on tour recently, winning 10 consecutive matches -- including six against top-15 opponents.

Sampras, who won the ATP Championship in 1992 and last year, had not lost to Rafter since their first meeting in 1993, beating him eight straight times. The loss prevented Sampras from regaining the No 1 ranking that he lost to Marcelo Rios of Chile a week ago.

Hrbaty triumphs
SAN MARINO: Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty defeated Mariano Puerta of Argentina, 6-2, 7-5, in yesterday'sfinals of the $300,000 San Marino International Tournament.

No 3 seed Hrbaty, ranked 42 in the world, ousted unseeded Puerta, ranked 73 in the world, and obtained his first title on the ATP Tour circuit.

McEnroe masters Lloyd
NEW YORK: John McEnroe overpowered John Lloyd 6-1, 6-2 to win the CitiBank Champions and take over first place in the Senior Tennis Circuit's Nuveen Masters point standings.

The victory yesterday was McEnroe's third title of the season and ninth since joining the senior circuit in 1995. It netted him $50,000 and his first championship in three tries before his hometown New York fans.

Davenport tames Hingis
MANHATTAN BEACH: Lindsay Davenport kept Martina Hingis off-balance with powerful serves and deep groundstrokes to surprise the world's top-ranked player 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 yesterday in the Acura Classic for her third consecutive WTA Tour victory.

Davenport's run of titles includes Stanford and San Diego, giving her a 12-match winning streak as she tunes up forthe US Open beginning August 31.

"To beat the No 1 player in the world where I used to come and watch as a little girl and to win three in a row, this is a great ending for the whole month," said Davenport, who grew up 20 minutes from Manhattan Country Club.

Davenport earned $79,000, bringing her three-week California total to $237,000. She also took home a new Acura. "This is the only car I've ever won in my pro career," she said. "I'm going to keep it."