Samprasfanz

Beijing, July 9 (ANI): Li Na, who became the first Asian-born player to win a singles Grand Slam title a month ago, has confirmed plans to be a part of a special two-day tennis extravaganza in her hometown, Wuhan, along with superstars like 14-time Grand Slam singles champion Pete Sampras and Carlos Moya.

Li will also challenge new rival and rising star, Sabine Lisicki, who had defeated her in a thrilling contest at Wimbledon.

The event titled “Li Na and Friends” will be held on December 17-18, 2011, the city of Wuhan leadership and IMG has announced.

Li expressed her gratitude happiness over the fact that the event would be organized in her hometown.

“It has been an amazing few weeks for me and my family and I would like to thank you all for your good wishes and support which have touched my heart and which I will never forget,” Xinhua quoted Li, as saying.

“I am so delighted that this Li Na and Friends event can take place in my home city of Wuhan, and am so thankful that Pete, Sabine and Carlos happily agreed to come to China. I would particularly like to warmly thank the City of Wuhan, the Mayor, Vice Mayor, Wuhan Sports Bureau and my team at IMG for joining forces to make this wonderful celebration possible,” she added.

The two-day event will feature two matches per day, with reports saying that on December 17 (the first day), a singles match between Sampras and Moya, and a mixed doubles match, pairing Li and Sampras against Moya and Lisicki, would be played.

On December 18, Li will seek to avenge her three-set Wimbledon loss to Lisicki (6-3, 4-6, 6-8), this time in two sets, also with a ten point tie-breaker to determine the match if they split sets. (ANI)

June 16, 2011 –
Pete Sampras seemingly has little in common with Dirk Nowitzki.

But at about the time Sampras began carving out a legacy as one of the greatest tennis players of all time in the early 1990s, Nowitzki was winning junior tennis tournaments in his native Germany.

Nowitzki eventually switched to basketball and won his first NBA title Sunday night with the Dallas Mavericks. Sampras, a Los Angeles resident who can often be seen at Staples Center watching the Lakers, said he appreciated something else about the way Nowitzki finally won his ring.

“You know, I just like to see good basketball,” Sampras said in a phone interview. “I don’t have any preference for one team over another. You’re just happy for Nowitzki. He’s sort of a humble guy, and obviously he’s a great player. It was a welcome result. Nothing against Miami, I was just happy for Nowitzki.”

The word that stands out is “humble.” It’s a fitting adjective to describe Sampras as well, throughout his professional career that included a then-record 14 Grand Slam singles titles. But the word that would go through opponents’ minds when Sampras unleashed a 140-plus mile-per-hour serve at them, that was probably more of the four-letter variety.

Sampras, who turns 40 in August, still has the big serve. He’s coming back to World Team Tennis this summer, scheduled to play with the Newport Beach Breakers for a third year after a previous stint in 2006-07. Sampras is a marquee player at The Tennis Club Newport Beach on July 9, when the Breakers play host to the New York Sportimes. The Sportimes are scheduled to feature former world No. 1 Martina Hingis for that match as well.

Sampras won’t mind splitting the bill. He’s happy to get out and play in a competitive match. Most of the time when he hits a tennis ball nowadays, it’s because one of his two sons, 8-year-old Christian or 5-year-old Ryan, wants some time with dad.

That’s true now more than ever, since school is out for the summer.

“Yeah, they’re into it,” said Sampras, married to actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras. “They’re kids, you know. They last 15 or 20 minutes then they’re off to something else. If they’re into it, great. If not, I’m not going to push a sport on them. If they’re into it they’re going to want to hit the tennis balls, not because it’s me forcing them.”

The Breakers will be happy to see Sampras come back to Newport Beach. He said he’s in better shape than he was in the first stint with the team in 2006. At the time, Sampras had hardly picked up a racquet since his retirement years earlier.

“[Sampras] shouldn’t have [played this season],” then-Coach Dick Leach told the Daily Pilot after one match. “You can’t put down your racquet in 2003, then pick it up three months before you play a match. That’s too hard. He’s a great guy, great to his teammates and the fans love him. But [with him in the lineup] we can’t win.”

“Pistol Pete” played a more extensive schedule that year. The Breakers made the WTT Finals though, as unthinkable as it might sound, they succeeded despite the rusty Sampras. At one point they were 0-6 in matches in which he played. But he came back stronger the next year in Trevor Kronemann’s first year as coach.

Now Kronemann is entering his fifth year. Sampras obviously has nothing to prove to anyone, but he said he’s still competitive and wants to win. He didn’t look rusty Feb. 28, when he beat longtime rival Andre Agassi, 6-3, 7-5, in a nationally televised exhibition match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

“I feel like I’m in good shape and I’m going to prepare a little bit more,” Sampras said. “I’ll see if I can find my range and rhythm a little sooner. It’s a format where you don’t have a lot of time to mess around.”

Sampras didn’t mess around during his playing career, especially on the grass courts at the All England Club. Wimbledon starts again next week, and Sampras is fully aware of the statistics. Roger Federer has already passed Sampras’ career Grand Slam mark, but if he wins Wimbledon this year he’ll tie Sampras’ mark of seven titles at the most prestigious major.

Federer is another humble guy. Sampras showed his humility again when talking about the Swiss player, who many now consider the greatest player ever.

“Roger, it seems like he’s breaking all my records,” Sampras said. “He could very well finish with more Wimbledons than me. I’m fortunate that I got my seven. Little did I know that [Rafael] Nadal will probably pass me [in total majors] at some stage. These guys have really taken the tour and dominated incredibly well.”

Sampras won his last major in what turned out to be his last match, the 2002 U.S. Open final over Agassi. He was 31 then

Pete Sampras ruled Wimbledon. He won at the All England Club seven times, the most titles in more than a century, overpowering opponents with his devastating serve. Tennis, perhaps, has never seen a better second delivery.

So who better to discuss this year’s tournament than Sampras, overall a 14-time Grand Slam champion and still a keen follower of the game?

In a telephone interview with ESPN.com, Sampras labeled buddy Roger Federer as the “slight” favorite at tennis’ beloved grass-court major, ahead of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer is “oozing with confidence” after reaching the French Open final, Sampras said.

Sampras praised Nadal, calling him a “machine” who surfaces “once every 25 years,” but cautioned the Spaniard about his workload. He suggested Djokovic, owner of a recent 43-match winning streak, now has an “aura.” As for Scot Andy Murray, the final member of the big four, Sampras says the type of pressure he’s under at SW19 is virtually unparalleled.

The Fed Express

Federer, surprising many, ended Djokovic’s winning streak in Paris. Two days later, give or take an inch, he might have upset Nadal in the finale.

Federer — who was playing under Sampras’ former coach, Paul Annacone, for the first time at Roland Garros — showed more variety versus Nadal on dirt than ever. He returns to a more comforting surface, gunning for a seventh Wimbledon crown himself.

Sampras: “When Wimbledon comes around, you have to put Roger as the man to beat on that surface. He played extremely well in the French Open final and lost to one of the greats of all time on clay. I see him oozing with confidence.

“I see different things, especially in the final of the French, that Roger is trying to do — be a little more aggressive, take the ball earlier, which is obviously tougher to do against Rafa on clay. And I like what I see. He wants to improve, and he still enjoys it. I think Paul has helped him with the mental side, just talking about strategy. Paul knows what it’s like, he knows what a great player goes through, and it’s really helped Roger in my mind.”

The defending champion

By Nadal’s own admission, it wasn’t his finest French Open. Coming off four losses to Djokovic, two on clay, he lacked his usual level of confidence. However, he managed to claim a sixth title.

Nadal, as is his custom, hopped on a train and played the Aegon Championships in London, despite the fatigue, exiting in the quarterfinals. Federer and Djokovic, meanwhile, bypassed Wimbledon tuneups.

Nadal seeks a third French Open-Wimbledon double.

Sampras: “Whenever Wimbledon comes around and you look at Rafa’s game, you might find him a little bit vulnerable. But year in, year out, he comes out with great results. He beats the guys he should, and before you know it, he’s in the second week playing great. He saw what he had to do a couple of years back to play well at Wimbledon, and he’s improved those areas.

“He’s a machine. He feels he has to put in the time ahead of Wimbledon, and I respect that, but there’s a part of you that has to give the mind and body a break. It might be a blessing in disguise he went down early [at Queen’s], just to regroup and enjoy Paris a little bit. He’s just one of those athletes that come once every 25 years. He keeps going and going. I hope that Rafa, as he gets older, is aware of his schedule and body. That’s the only thing that can hold him back.”

This year’s phenom

The unplanned four days off Djokovic had in the second week of the French Open might have disrupted his rhythm. Emerging from the break, the 24-year-old faced a difficult task, encountering an in-form Federer.

Still, his 2011 record stands at 41-1. Djokovic, the top returner in tennis at the moment, is a different player than the one who underachieved most of the previous three seasons.

Sampras: “It’s incredible what he’s been able to do, be so consistent. Mentally he’s figured it out, really shown great improvement. I think now he has an aura about him. He’s turned into a great player.

“If you look at the history of the game, when I broke through and started to dominate, and Roger, we were about 23. Novak won that early major in 2008