Andy Roddick swept aside his childhood hero Pete Sampras to successfully defend his US Men's Clay Court Championships title in Houston.

The 19-year-old fought off a determined Sampras to take the match in straight sets, winning 7-6 (11-9) 6-3.

In steamy conditions Roddick and 30-year-old Sampras battled hard in the first set, both holding serve and trading passing shots from the baseline and it took the untimely arrival of President George Bush to split the pair.

Having saved four set points in a tense tie-break, Sampras was forced to wait while Bush took his place with the tie-break finally poised at 9-9.

And it was the youngster who retained his composure to take the next two points and the opening set.

From there Roddick never looked back as he broke the Sampras serve in the eighth game of the second set on his way to his fifth career title.

After the match Sampras joked: "At nine-all in the tie-break, I saw President Bush and I knew I was in trouble."

He added: "Roddick's really the main focus of American tennis. He has a lot of power and he has a great future."

The young American, who has won all five of his titles in the United States, is the first player to defend his title since Jose-Luis Clerc in 1980-81.

"I feel at home here in Houston," he said. "I'm a Texas boy at heart. It felt good to play good tennis here this week. The fans and the tournament bring out the best in me here in Houston."

Sampras remains without a tour title since winning Wimbledon in July 2000.