The only differences yesterday were statistical Henman took the first set not the

The only differences yesterday were statistical; Henman took the first set, not the second, and Sampras won two games fewer. In all other ways, the gap between the two remained stubbornly unbridgeable. Then, Henman had taken a set and 17 games off the champion, prompting the belief that a year on his improvement combined with the American's relative decline might balance the equation. The parallels with his match against Sampras at the same stage 12 months ago were undeniable and largely depressing for the Englishman. In riposte, the champion has lost only once in 31 matches on his beloved Centre Court.Henman can but dream of such riches. "The stage is set," said Agassi, a straight sets victor over Rafter. "The time is right for us to go out there and not miss our cue."The theory is that it will be Sampras's serve against Agassi's return, but Agassi has not been broken since last Saturday, a run of 56 straight service games.

Together they have won 15 grand slam titles and, in their different ways, defined an era. A decade on from their first official meeting, on clay in Rome, the score stands at 13- 10 to Sampras. The one match at Wimbledon ended in victory for Sampras in five sets. To add to the intrigue, Agassi's victory over Patrick Rafter yesterday took the Las Vegan back to the number one spot occupied by his greatest rival, almost unbroken, for the past six years. The rivalry, a classic confrontation of styles, dates back to early teenage years, long before statistics logged dates and times. The Union Jack was lowered and replaced by the Stars and Stripes, appropriately enough on America's Independence Day.

The final, Sampras v Andre Agassi, was not the one demanded by the British public, but only the most skewed of observers could deny that this is a climax worthy not only of a momentous tournament but of an explosive decade. By this time tomorrow, we will know a bit more about the apocalypse, but, for a frantically partisan crowd on Centre Court yesterday, the tennis world stopped revolving at 3.54pm when Pete Sampras, the defending champion, completed a 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 victory over Tim Henman. I am interested simply in bringing a more all-encompassing tone to this newspaper and making it feel to you, the reader, like a good friend invited over for Sunday lunch - full of news, colour, gossip and life as it is really (not journalistically) lived I hope you enjoy the feast each week.. THERE WERE times when bookmakers would give you short odds on the world ending before Britain produced another Wimbledon champion. I bring no hidden agenda to this job, no personal animus or political ambition. I have no axe to grind, no murky private obsession to pursue (though, okay then, one or two articles on rambling may sneak in). I will not have rap artists writing leaders, ulu editing the sports section, Elton John covering the City pages or Danny Baker conducting the etiquette column.

I live in a world where you can indulge your enthusiasm for both frocks and cathedrals, a world whose products I consume voraciously, whether they're digital hardware or organic apple juice; a world where petty rivalries and point- scoring and celebrity-hunting and masquerade journalism are of less consequence than truth, insight, stylish writing and human sympathy, all expressed as well as we are able.I am not, contrary to popular rumour, going to change the paper into some yoof-oriented rumpus-room, full of pop stars and Cockneys. Things you will talk to your friends about.Whereas most newspaper editors seem to exist in a frozen hinterland, miles away from the world inhabited by people, I do not. I want our features to be accessible to the reader, to be a showcase for the best writers in the land, to be surprising, unpredictable and not inspired by the PR industry. Just as I wouldn't find it odd to go to the Proms and listen to Schnittke, then come home and put on a Pet Shop Boys CD, so this newspaper will not be afraid to deal equally with all heights of brow.A Sunday newspaper is the perfect forum for the eclectic approach I have in mind. It's a paper that lives with you all day - not always urgently delivering the news but allowing you to make sense of what's happened in the past seven days, and look forward to what the next have in store, to think about your life and how it could be improved. I want to bring the news to the Sunday breakfast table, whether from the Stormont talks, the Paris catwalks or the Orkneys fishing fleet. We shall look at culture, not as divided into rarefied "high" and despicable "low", but as a multi-leaved flower.