Samprasfanz

Sunday, March 9, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP)- Roger Federer loves Pete Sampras’ game, even if the old guy last played a real match in 2002.

“He’s so fluent, you know? His whole technique is so smooth,” Federer said. “And it was funny sometimes, because when I played him, it was intimidating. Because he reminded me so much of myself.”

How’s that for a compliment?

Similarly, Sampras loves Federer’s attitude, even if the youngster is fast approaching Sampras’ record for career Grand Slam titles.

“I don’t think he gets too overwhelmed, too worked up,” Sampras said.

Sound familiar?

Sampras, the best of his generation, and Federer, the best of his, bring two eras of excellence together Monday when they play an exhibition match at a sold-out Madison Square Garden. It’s the first men’s professional tennis match at the New York arena in a dozen years.

Pistol Pete vs. The Artful Roger.

The past vs. the present: Sampras is 36

The Associated Press
Saturday, March 8, 2008

Pete Sampras was hardly at the height of his powers when he handed Roger Federer the keys to Centre Court at Wimbledon, losing their only head-to-head encounter that counted.

Sampras would go on to win only one more match at the All England Club after that 2001 defeat, never coming close to adding to his seven championships at the grass-court Grand Slam.

Federer, a decade younger, would go on to supplant Sampras at No. 1 in the rankings, assume Pistol Pete’s status as a perennial power at Wimbledon with five consecutive titles there, and begin to chip, chip, chip away at his record for major trophies.

So perhaps fair’s fair, considering that Federer has been, well, rather un-Federer-esque heading into his latest exhibition match against Sampras, which is Monday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Yes, Federer actually is on a rare losing streak. The Swiss star was upset in the Australian Open semifinals in January &#151

By: Troy Johnson
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer sports columnist

Here’s a transcript of the telephone conversation [I had] with 14-time Grand Slam tennis champion Pete Sampras on Wednesday in anticipation of Saturday night’s exhibition match against Todd Martin at the Columbus Civic Center. Often criticized for not being emotional enough on the court, Sampras seems to be exactly what you would expect: cerebral, articulate and, above all, incredibly polite.

Question: What made you want to do the exhibition matches? Do you use it as a competitive outlet or is it a way to stay connected to your fans?

Sampras: A little bit of everything. I still enjoy playing, but I don’t play a ton of exhibitions. It (the Martin exhibition in Jacksonville, Fla., and Columbus) kind of happened last minute. It’s a way to get a few matches under the belt and shake off the rust (before a Monday night exhibition against top-ranked Roger Federer in New York City). (Todd Martin) is a good friend, but part of it is you want to entertain the people.

Question: How seriously will you treat this exhibition, especially with Federer coming up in a couple days? Will you bother taking off your Rolex? Will it be geared more toward showmanship and shot-making?

Sampras: People want to see real tennis. We’ll play hard, we’ll play for real. There’s a sort of lighter side, but once the ball is in the air we’ll play the points.

Question: You went 1-2 against Federer in your exhibition tour of Asia last year, which sent a pretty strong message for a retired guy since he rarely loses. Does playing him again get your competitive juices going?

Sampras: Obviously, he’s on autopilot the way he’s going. Roger is expected to beat me. For me, I don’t play any matches. It’s about trying to find some rhythm and confidence as we go.

Question: But you still beat Federer the last time you played him. Does that make you re-think the whole idea of retirement?

Sampras: No, not realistically. I’m curious to see how I might do at Wimbledon. But the day in, day out grind of tennis (makes a comeback unlikely). I was listening to what Brett Favre said the other day and how he said he was tired. It’s the day in, day out grind of the sport. Once I got to a point where I had nothing left to prove to myself, that’s when I knew I could walk away from it.

Question: Does being the parent to two sons change your priorities?

Sampras: I went from retirement to being a father and it takes up your time and responsibility. My wife (actress Bridgette Wilson) was for me keeping on going. If I decided to come back, she’d be supportive. I don’t feel that pressure that I need to be at home because I’m a dad now. You can still be a top-ranked player and be a father, but I enjoy being at home and seeing my kids.

Question: You were 19 when you one your first Grand Slam (1990 U.S. Open). How difficult was it to manage the sudden crush of celebrity and the expectations that came with that?

Sampras: Initially, the next three or four months I struggled with the expectations, the pressure, even my security as a man. I had a few holes in my game. All of a sudden I was thrown into this celebrity status and I wasn’t ready for it. I was kind of thrown into a cage of lions. I wasn’t ready for it, I wasn’t used to it. I went through some bumps along the way. It was a matter of time and maturity, being around the media, being around people, learning how to deal with some wins and losses. It took some time. When you win that major that young, you did something great, but it definitely changes your life. It took some time for me to get comfortable in my own skin.

Question: It seemed like you received a lot of criticism early in your career for being introverted and for being the antithesis of Andre Agassi at that time. At the same time, do you think your success was a by-product of being very private and kind of having tunnel-vision when it came to competing?

Sampras: I’ve analyzed it and looked back at it. I lived in Florida for many of the years I was on top. … I wasn’t in the mainstream media much. I played my majors and played my events and went back to Florida. My friends called me Howard Hughes. I was training hard. In one way, it probably hurt my marketability and exposure, but it kept me together and kept me focused on what I wanted to do. It’s kind of a Catch-22, but at the same time, I was all about winning majors. I didn’t want to have a P.R. person having me flying around doing all these shows. I just kind of kept myself in the house and was pretty private.

Question: You kind of defined a Golden Age for American tennis. How much do you think you think the timing of your arrival factored into your success? You had guys like Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang out there at the same time.

Sampras: Having those guys, those young Americans, kind of pushed me harder. I also learned a lot from the servers and volleyers like (Boris) Becker and (Stefan) Edberg. They all pushed one another.

Question: How much have you enjoyed the exhibitions against Federer and do you feel you guys share some of the same traits?

Sampras: It’s been fun and he’s a great, great player. He possesses a big serve and moves great and does incredible things on the run. He can come in a little bit if he wants. There’s nothing he can’t do. We (both) kept it simple and weren’t too brash or abrasive out there. I’m a fan of his game and him as a guy. He’s very humble and understated. He lets his racquet do the talking.

Question: You mentioned that it took some time for you to become comfortable in your skin. It seems like the more bombastic an athlete is, the more attention he or she gets. When people called you ‘boring’, did it bother you?

Sampras: I did stay true to myself and didn’t change as much as some folks in the media wanted. Some folks at Nike wanted me to act in a different way. I wasn’t going to sell out. I’m an athlete in the purest form. I’m not going to create something that’s insincere. I don’t think Roger (Federer) is like that either. There’s not a lot of horns and whistles there. I’ve always liked the understated.

Question: When you learned you were going to play an exhibition in Columbus were you surprised at all about the location? And did you need to look at a map?

Sampras: It’s funny. My brother (Gus) manages me and we were trying to set up a couple exhibitions in the Southeast. He said there’s one in Jacksonville, one in Columbus. How many Columbuses are there in the country?

Source: Troy Johnson’s Blog

Todd Martin gave the hometown crowd a thrill Thursday night when he defeated tennis legend Pete Sampras in the Serving Up Aces exhibition at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

The Ponte Vedra Beach resident won 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 over the Grand Slam titles record-holder in a match played on the Premier Court indoor carpet surface.

“It’s old hat,” Martin joked after the match. “That’s the fifth time I’ve beaten him. I’ve lost to him 25 times.”

Martin said it was particularly gratifying to play well against Sampras in front of the local crowd of about 3,000. Martin took an early break in the first set, then held serve to take a 3-1 lead.

“Winning, frankly, is really nice,” Martin said. “The thing I was most concerned about was coming out here and getting shellacked, but I kept that from happening early in the match, which was good. That sort of made me relax a little bit.”

Sampras, who will play an exhibition match against World No. 1 Roger Federer next week at New York’s Madison Square Garden, rebounded after dropping the first set Thursday. He won three games at love in the second, as the players traded service wins to force a tiebreak. Sampras hit back-to-back winners to take the set.

Sampras and Martin agreed after that to play the third set as an extended tiebreaker, the way their exhibitions usually go. But when the chair umpire announced the decision to the crowd, the fans voiced their displeasure.

“It’s like a rock band,” Martin said. “They were getting upset that we walked off the stage.”

The fans won out in the end as the former ATP stars agreed to play a full final set.

“I was really pleased that, especially in front of my friends and neighbors … that Pete was willing to play a third set and give them what they wanted,” Martin said.

Martin won the first three games of the third set, which was interrupted at one point when a fan shouted “Pete, your wife is hot!” Sampras, who’s married to actress Bridgette Wilson, paused for a moment, smirked a little and prepared to serve again.

Martin said that, despite the more relaxed atmosphere of the exhibition, it’s still important to former pros to play their best.

“As much as it meant to us years ago to be the best we could be, it’s still real important for us when we go out to compete at our best, especially when we are challenged to our greatest,” Martin said. “For me, playing Pete on a [quick] court like this is as much of a challenge as I’m ever going to get again.”

Source: Jacksonville.com

Legend still dabbles in tennis, including tonight’s exhibition match against Haas at HP Pavilion

February 18, 2008

SAN JOSE — Pete Sampras won his record 14th Grand Slam title at the 2002 U.S. Open, then walked away from the sport he dominated for more than a decade.

Six years later, the man whose record is being pushed by Roger Federer has no regrets. Sampras, 36, doesn’t believe he left too soon, doesn’t believe he had anything else to prove.

“I was done,” said Sampras, who will play Tommy Haas tonight (7 o’clock) in an exhibition at HP Pavilion on Day 1 of the SAP Open. “The last sort of fuel in the tank was that last run at the U.S. Open.”

Sampras raised eyebrows in November when he won the third of a three-match exhibition series against Federer, who needs just three more titles to break Sampras’ Grand Slam record.

But all that did was create a tighter bond between Sampras and the current No. 1 player in the world. It didn’t make Sampras think about a comeback.

“I could still play a little, still play at a pretty high level,” Sampras said. “But coming back is a whole different ballgame, a whole different lifestyle, a lot of work.

“Even in my prime, it was a lot of work staying on top. The day-in, day-out grind of tennis isn’t in me anymore.”

Federer called Sampras his idol after the loss and said, “This guy can play tennis, you know. I’m happy that he got me at least once.”

These days, Sampras uses tennis as a vehicle to stay fit. He also plays a lot of basketball and golf, not to mention chasing around his two young sons.

“There’s no book on retirement at 31,” said Sampras, who is married to actress Bridgette Wilson. “It’s sort of a tricky one. But I think playing tennis again on my terms has been fun.

“It’s not anything I need to do every day. But when I have an exhibition coming up, like I do in San Jose, I start hitting and it gives me a little bit of focus, which is great.”

Exhibitions are obviously far less stressful than the real thing. But, Sampras said, “At the same time, every time I step out on the court, I want to win. I want to be sharp. So it takes some focus.”

The focus in tennis these days has been on Federer’s pursuit of Sampras’ record. The Swiss star won his 12th Grand Slam at last year’s U.S. Open, but lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of last month’s Australian Open.

Federer’s ascent to No. 1 was just starting when Sampras’ career ended. But their paths did cross at Wimbledon in 2001, when Federer ended Sampras’ 31-match winning streak at the All-England Club with a fourth-round victory.

Of course, there’s a debate about which player is better. There are also questions about which one faced tougher competition on tour.

“What I had to deal with that Roger is not is different style of play,” Sampras said. “Everyone plays pretty much the same (now). He’s just better at it. Whereas my generation, I had to deal with not only great baseliners in Andre (Agassi), but I had to deal with serve-and-volleyers.

“I was playing these guys that were multiple Grand Slam winners. There’s only a handful of guys that have won Grand Slams playing today.”

Sampras, however, does not carry a chip on his shoulder. He and Federer have become good friends and stay in touch through text messaging.

“There’s a side of Roger that a lot of people don’t see,” Sampras said. “There’s sort of a kid in him. He likes to have fun, likes to joke around. We’re actually quite similar — dry, sarcastic humor.”

Sampras’ opponent tonight has his own opinion about the Sampras-Federer debate. Haas said Sampras is the better server — perhaps even today — but Federer has the superior all-around game.

“When you’re playing Pete and you’re not playing your best, you’re still going to lose a tight (match), 6-4, 6-4,” Haas said. “But if you’re playing Roger and you’re not playing that well, you’re going to lose pretty much 6-1, 6-1 or maybe even get a bagel.”

Although Federer has shown vulnerability against clay-court specialist Rafael Nadal and rising star Djokovic, he still presents major challenges for top-ranked Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake. Sampras isn’t sure that’s going to change.

He said Roddick has the power to compete with Federer but doesn’t have enough athletic ability. Blake, he added, has the athletic ability but doesn’t have the power.

“It’s a tough matchup for both those guys,” Sampras said.

The two Americans who probably would have consistently pushed Federer — Sampras and Agassi — are well into retirement.

But as Sampras will show tonight, the game is still very much part of his life.

Source: Mercury News.com

February 19, 2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Pete Sampras hit back-to-back aces to close out the second game of the second set and draw a plea from Tommy Haas.

“Show some mercy, Pete” Haas yelled across the court.

Sampras began to hand his racket over to a ball boy before taking it back. Just as he did so often during his brilliant career, Sampras closed out the match with ease, beating Haas 6-4, 6-2 in an exhibition at the SAP Open on Monday night.

“When I get in that arena, I still want to play great,” Sampras said.

It was Sampras’ second straight exhibition win against an active tour player, following November’s straight-set victory over Roger Federer. Yet it’s still not enough to bring Sampras back to the tour after retiring more than five years ago at age 31 with a record 14 Grand Slam titles.

Asked after the match whether he would reconsider his decision and mount a comeback, Sampras initially teased the fans saying he would come back before bringing a dose of reality to the proceedings. In the post-match news conference, Sampras detailed why he has no plans to return to the tour.

“There’s no reason for me to come back,” Sampras said. “I don’t miss the limelight, I don’t need the money. The tricky thing for me is I didn’t stop for injury but for emotional reasons. I didn’t have anything left in the tank. There has to be a reason to come back. There’s a whole lot to lose and not much to gain. I don’t want to come back for Wimbledon and win a couple of matches. What would that mean to me? I play to win.”

Sampras was erratic at the start of his first match in nearly three months, hitting a forehand more than 10 feet long on the first point of the match and double-faulting to open his first service game. But he got sharper as the match went on, even hitting a pair of his signature jump-volley slams to win points. Those type of shots drew loud applause from an opening night record crowd of 8,812.

Sampras showed great touch and precision at the net, using the serve-and-volley game that made him so successful in his career and has become rare in today’s game. He even had luck on his side, as one of his shots hit the net cord, bounced in the air, hit the net cord again before bouncing over for a point.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I play so sparingly,” he said. “I just kind of toss it up and kind of see what happens from there. It took me a little time to find my bearings and get a rhythm out there. The ball was flying a little bit. I hit some pretty good volleys. I returned OK. I think Tommy has more important things to worry about this week besides playing me.”

Sampras got the only break of the first set, approaching the net on a second serve by Haas before putting away a forehand volley winner and following it with a forehand winner off a first serve to go up 4-3. Sampras then breezed through the second set, breaking Haas in the first game and again in the seventh before holding serve to win the match.

Haas, who is battling back from shoulder surgery, enjoyed the opportunity to play against Sampras and get used to the surroundings at the tournament.

“Just go out there, feel the ball a little bit, and see what the court is like,” Haas said. “Obviously I wasn’t too competitive tonight, just kind of enjoying the moment playing against one of the greatest ever and getting a feel for it.”

Next up for Sampras is another exhibition against Federer on March 10 at Madison Square Garden. The two greats played three times in Asia in November, with Federer winning the first two matches in straight sets and Sampras winning the final one 7-6 (8), 6-4 on the fast indoor surface at the Venetian Macao arena.

In matches that counted on Monday, fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek beat Paul Capdeville 7-6 (2), 6-1, and eighth-seeded Kristof Vliegen beat Victor Hanescu 6-4, 7-6 (4). Sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer was upset by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6).

Also, fifth-seeded Lee Hyung-taik withdrew from the tournament with a back injury and was replaced by Wayne Odesnik, who lost in qualifying but entered the tournament as a lucky loser. Odesnik made the most of his chance, beating American Donald Young 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.

In the final match of the night, American John Isner beat Florent Serra of France 7-6 (5), 6-4.