 Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat him in the year-end championships for the fifth and final time, enabling him to remain third in the rankings.Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000, falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match.He won the Ericsson Open for the third time in March.