Pete: 'There has to be a reason to come
back and there isn’t one.'
FROM THE CHAMPIONS CUP IN BOSTON – The question
on the tennis world’s lips was just how superhuman Pete Sampras
could become again. He’s 35 now, his hair continues to recede and
he is not as quick as he was back in 1990, when he thumped Andre Agassi
for his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
But, oh, how he can still serve, still sharply put away a volley, still
rocket a forehand when he gets it into his wheelhouse. Even before he
went out on court at the Agganis Arena and destroyed Petr Korda 6-1,
6-2 in his first "senior" match at the Champions Cup Boston,
the other players were singing his praises, talking about how if The
Sweet One decided to play '07 Wimbledon, that he just might be able
to win his eighth title.
John McEnroe put him in his top five favorites and went as far to say
that the mighty Roger Federer wouldn’t even want to tangle with
him. Tim Mayotte (a late substitute for Mats Wilander who had back
spasms) ventured that Sampras actually will play and is hitting an incredibly
heavy ball. Korda said that on grass, the Californian’s serve
is still murder and that the new generation wouldn’t know how
to return it, because the only way to properly return Pete’s heater
is to slap it back.
“Most of the guys in the draw, he would beat badly on grass,”
Korda said.
And how about Johnny Mac, who even at 48 could still win a few rounds
at Wimbledon with his finely-tuned serve and volley attack? It’s
not as if McEnroe hasn’t sung the praises of Federer before and
doesn’t closely pay attention to the pro tour. He and most of
the tennis cognoscenti are aware that since Sampras came back last
summer out of shape and slogged through some World Team Tennis matches
(when his coach at the time, Dick Leach, accused him of embarrassing
the team), he’s cracked himself with a whip. According
to Wayne Bryan’s count – who pays as close attention to tennis
in America as anyone – since then, Sampras has taken down Andy
Roddick, Robby Ginepri, Mardy Fish and Jim Courier in exhibitions.
He’s also hung
tough with Federer (the Swiss beat him 7-5 in a practice set),
Sam Querrey and Tommy Haas in practice sets at his LA home.
“Pete is arguably the greatest who ever lived and he could step
on a surface like this and beat most of the guys on tour,” McEnroe
said of the quick hard court at Agganis. “He might not be ready
for best of five, but he’s stepped it up from when I saw him a year
ago. He’s got more movement, he’s holding his own against
top 10 guys. It’s taken him some time, but I can see the marked
difference. He has more rhythm on his serve, he’s hitting a backhand
better, he’s a league ahead [of everyone here].
“The guy has won seven Wimbledon’s, but why bother [to play
it again] – so he can prove he can beat guys we all know he can beat?
I’ve
watched Guillermo Cañas the last few months and I rarely see a guy
who tries harder than him. But would I place a bet that Pete would
beat Cañas at Wimbledon? I’m going with Pete right now.
Best of five, maybe that’s a little different because Cañas is
really fit and none except Nadal tries as hard as this guy. I couldn’t
name five players I’d
take over Pete on grass. Davydenko? On grass? Go down the list. I’m
not sure about Nadal either. Pete is the master on grass. Best of five
and luck of the draw would be the difference. There wouldn’t be
a guy in the tournament who’d want to play him. Roger would say
he’d want to play him, but he’d be concerned. He’d
be a lot more concerned than he would be against all these other
guys.
“But the reality is that your body breaks down and it’s hard
to keep up and I don’t know how fit Pete is, but his game is tailor-made
for Wimbledon. I could see him getting to the quarters and he loses
because he’s tired and strains something, but I’ve told
him that’s
not going to take away from his place in history if he went there and
loses in the first few rounds.”
But, what about Pete himself? He’s not going to ask for a
wild card this year. He’s tempted to play, but he won’t.
End of story, at least for today. There really is something to lose,
given that he did go out on top when he won his 14th Slam title by besting
Agassi at his final tournament at the '02 US Open. Of course, he wouldn’t
ruin his legacy, but he could stain it a little.
“It’s not realistic,” Sampras said. “I'm curious
because the grass is natural to me and especially with all these guys
staying back, but a lot of different things come into play. I’m
not ready for the day-in, day-out grind. I’ve been a pro and
I know what it’s like. I wouldn’t play Wimbledon just
to play; I’d
play to win. I didn’t retire because the game passed me by. I wasn’t
injured. My heart wasn’t in it. There has to be a reason to come
back and there isn’t one. I have nothing to prove to myself.
It’s
fun to play against the guys here and some of the young guys at my home
court, but to come back for one event at Wimbledon is a little crazy.
It’s
crossed my mind out of curiosity, but realistically, to set it up, is
not for me anymore. I’m not going to play Wimbledon.”
Now back to Sampras’ reality, where he is a husband, a father of
two and looked very pleased to be competing again. As he’s said
frequently, he needed to get back to work and he’s looked very
happy both on court and off on Thursday. Like most high-level athletes,
he needs to get a charge once in a while and performing well in front
of a large crowd, which applauded him for a job well done, was satisfying.
Don’t
be surprised if he ends up playing more than three events this year and
a heck of a lot next year. Even at a pro-am at Harvard earlier in
the day he looked fairly comfortable nudging balls around with various
well-meaning folks who pledged money in support of Boston’s
fine inner city youth program, Tenacity. It’s a perfect post-career
choice for him.
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