Pete Sampras and Roger Federer were seen courtside at the LA Lakers game at the Staples Center.
More pictures at the Gallery
Pete Sampras & Roger Federer @ Lakers Game
A Brush with Greatness
In this week’s Mailbag by Jon Wertheim, one of the readers “TJH” of California shared an encounter with Pete Sampras!
Thought you might appreciate a recent “brush with greatness” my son and I had. After my 11-year-old boy completed his first-round match in a local tennis tournament, we decided to celebrate his 9-8 victory (brutal to watch as a parent I might add!) with a burger at a local joint called “Fatburger’s.” After placing our order and taking a seat, I did a double take when I noticed a familiar figure sitting alone at a table who was waiting for his food. I looked again and then asked my son if he recognized that person sitting alone. He immediately said, “Hey Dad, that’s Pete Sampras!” Scanning the restaurant I noticed that it appeared that no one else recognized Pete as we were the only ones gawking at him. I quickly ran out to my car, grabbed a tennis ball and a pen and went back inside. I told my son, “Let’s ask him to sign the ball, what do you say?” My son J.J. hesitated, all of the sudden getting shy. He said, “Let’s eat lunch first and then ask him.” Right at that moment, Pete’s name was called and he went up to the counter and picked up two bags of take-out food and turned to leave. The moment had come. We stood up and he immediately saw us (my son and I were both dressed in tennis duds), and he walked over. I apologized, told him we were huge fans and asked him if he wouldn’t mind signing the ball for my son. He said, “No problem at all,” set his food down, and signed the ball. At this point, I could have easily “detained” Pete by asking for a picture, mentioning that we play at the same club that he played at as a junior, name-dropping people that I play with that played with him as a junior, etc. Instead I chose to go the “get in, get out and be grateful” route. We thanked him again for the autograph and I said, “Enjoy the Fatty’s (great burgers by the way!),” and he responded, “Picking up food for the family”, and he was out the door and gone. It was a great way to end the day with my boy winning a nail-biter of a tennis match, grabbing an awesome burger, and spending a random moment with one of our tennis heroes!
–TJH, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Pete Hitting with Roger in LA
Pete’s hitting partner for the day… none other than Roger Federer.
Pictures taken from the ATP World Tour’s and Gimelstob’s twitter posts.
Pete Sampras Interview @ The Dan Patrick Show
Tennis legend Pete Sampras joined The Dan Patrick show to talk about his recent showdown with Andre Agassi and more.
Sampras talked about the challenges of family life. He has boys who are 5 and 8.
Dan asked Sampras where his relationship with Andre Agassi is right now. “We’re fine,” Sampras said, although he didn’t sound enthused.
Sampras said that he and Agassi probably regret a spat they had at a charity match for Haiti. They talked the next day and were immediately ready to move on, even though the media blew it out of proportion.
“It was one moment out of 15 years. It wasn’t a big deal to me,” Sampras said.
Sampras had interesting comments on Roger Federer. He said that if someone had to break his records, he’s glad it’s someone like Federer.
Sampras said Andy Roddick is quite there with Federer and Rafael Nadal when it comes to athleticism.
“I think Andy’s done great,” Sampras said. “To be up there with Roger and Rafa is tough. I’m not sure he has the whole package.”
Link to The Patrick Show Interview (Note: The interview with Pete begins after the halfway point.)
Pete def. Agassi at the Tennis Showdown
Pete Sampras defeated Andre Agassi 6-3, 7-5 at the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden!
http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf
Update: Pictures have now been uploaded in the Gallery
Sampras’ serve still sizzles
Monday, February 28, 2011
NEW YORK — While Monday’s first match — a 50-something battle between Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe — ended with a sprained-ankle retirement by McEnroe, the main event in the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden was so not old-man doubles.
Back in the day, Pete Sampras had the game’s best serve and Andre Agassi usually neutralized that with a peerless return of service. But eight and a half years after Sampras won the last tournament he ever played — the 2002 U.S. Open, over Agassi in the final — that serve overpowered Agassi, early and often.
When one ace down the middle went darting into the crowd, Agassi could only smile and widen his eyes in mock horror — or maybe it was real. Sampras, it turns out, has borrowed some of today’s technology, those super-cool strings that give Rafael Nadal’s game some needed pop against Roger Federer.
There was no radar gun at the Garden, but Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert, who has a keen sense of these things, estimated that Sampras’ first serve on this fast court could reach as high as 133 mph. That’s good enough to hold serve on a fast court against some of today’s better professionals.
Sampras was so supremely confident, on numerous occasions he announced to the crowd behind him where the serve was going — down the T or out wide. He served and volleyed on second serves with regularity.
In the end, Sampras looked something south of his 39 years and Agassi, in an impression accentuated by his baldness and pigeon-toed gait, looked all of 40 — and then some. Sampras won 6-3, 7-5 before a supportive, near-sellout crowd of 17,165.
“We played pretty good for a couple of old guys,” Sampras said, clearly thrilled with his showing.
Sampras, always concerned with the bottom line, kept coming forward and pressuring Agassi, who looked, frankly, rushed. Agassi, ever the Las Vegas kid, seemed just as intent on entertaining the crowd.
The funny thing? Sampras actually camped it up, making some leaping volleys look a little harder than they might have been. He induced several bursts of laughter in pockets of the crowd with his post-point observations.
“Back when we were playing, Pete’s biggest weapon was his serve,” Agassi said. “It looked as good as ever.”
What was his prematch goal?
“My hope was that I’d get injured, after seeing what happened to poor Johnny Mac,” Agassi said, laughing. “Hopefully, we created a little nostalgia. That’s why we’re here.”
Precisely.
That Sampras and Agassi renewed their complicated and contrasting rivalry was a pleasant gift to tennis fans in the dead of winter. They won a combined 22 Grand Slam singles titles, with 14 going to Sampras — he prevailed in five of six major finals. By their own admission, they experienced some peaks and valleys in their relationship.
This was so not the “Hit for Haiti” disaster of a year ago, when Agassi and Sampras sniped in a charity doubles event at Indian Wells while partners Federer and Nadal twisted awkwardly in the wind.
The two longtime rivals entered amid WWE-style fireworks and the “Star Wars” theme
Samprasfanz 