Q. Pete, is it kind of lost in the
shuffle that you are going to be No. 1 again;
is that that big a deal to you compared to
this?
PETE SAMPRAS: I think winning a Grand Slam
is more important than anything. I know, I
became No. 1 winning yesterday, but if I
would have lost today I wouldn't have been
happy. But you know, it feels good to get it
back, with the Grand Slams, that is more
important in my mind.
Q. Can you sense how nervous he was;
was there a feeling out there?
PETE SAMPRAS: I could tell I got to a good
start, got off to several breaks, got on top
of him pretty quickly. I actually thought he
might be swinging away. I thought he was
going to hit some great shots. I managed to
get an early break. Then I served really well
in the first couple of sets. He was a bit
tight, which I think is to be expected.
Q. Pete, does this kind of cement your
reputation now as being the best player in
the game at this moment?
PETE SAMPRAS: You tell me. I don't know. I
mean, it has, you know, been a great year,
the Wimbledon victory was really big for me
and now I won the 2 biggest tournaments in
the world. 93 is going to go down as my best
year so far. But there is a lot of
competition out there and hopefully I can
keep this ranking all the way through the end
of this year.
Q. When the first few serves 128, 127
miles per hour, was that more trying to send
him a message or was that just your
adrenaline?
PETE SAMPRAS: It was both. The wind was
really in one direction. I wanted to you
know, first start of the match, smoke them by
him even if I miss; kind of send him a
message that I am going to hit it pretty
hard. That is what I did.
Q. Can you anticipate enjoying this
more than you did in 90? I don't think we are
going to hear you come here next year and say
the monkey is off your back. Can you talk
about the feeling?
PETE SAMPRAS: You know, in 90, the victory
here almost kind of happened too fast and too
easy, where I really didn't have any time
really to think about what is exactly
happening. Throughout these two weeks I have
been thinking about this moment of winning my
second year U.S. Open. I can appreciate it
much more, 93 versus 90. I am just going to
go home and just enjoy the victory.
Q. What are you most proud of in this
performance; not today necessarily, but over
the two week period?
PETE SAMPRAS: I think winning my matches
pretty convincingly. I think I only dropped 2
sets and I am pretty happy that I beat the
guys, you know, beating Chang was a very big
step for me. The way I played the last couple
of sets, I mean, he has given me a lot of
problems in the past and to get by him at a
big Grand Slam, that is one victory that kind
of sticks out in my mind right now.
Q. Was the final in this tournament a
whole easier than you expected?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I didn't really
expect, you know, kind of taking it one match
a time. My summer wasn't really that great. I
felt my tennis was okay when I came in here,
but the way things worked out, a lot of the
top seeds went down early and I just took
advantage of the draw.
Q. How much more comfortable are you
now with being No. 1 and winning Grand Slams
than in 1990, and what was the process you
went through to get to the point where you
are now?
PETE SAMPRAS: 1990, my game wasn't really
quite developed when I won here. I just had
two hot weeks and for the next 6 to 8 months
I really kind of struggled off and on the
court. I kind of got through that little
slump. Just keeping enjoying the tennis, keep
it simple and, you know, peak at the Grand
Slams. That is what I have done this year.
You know, did well at the French and
Australian, so my year, you know, can't get
any better than this.
Q. When you serve that well, do you
think that you are unbeatable?
PETE SAMPRAS: I think when I am serving
well, I can really take more chances on his
serve. If I can send him a message, I am
hitting 2, 3 aces a game I can be a little
bit more carefree and loose on his service
games, and my groundstrokes game has really
improved the last couple of years, due to my
claycourt success, and serving well,
everything else is working well.
Q. When the other top seeds went out,
Courier going out, does that tell you
anything about yourself; is there any kind of
explanation as to why they did and what it
said to you why they went out?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the depth of tennis
today is very deep, you know. Pioline, I saw
him beat Courier. He looked awful tough. I
mean, lot of upsets, you know, these days
versus ten years ago. You can kind of expect,
you know, McEnroe, Connors, Lendl, Borg in
the semis, whereas today it is a different
story. There are so many guys out there that
are so dangerous, I think that is a good
reason why you see a lot of upsets.
Q. Did that tell you a way to avoid it
or that you'd better tone your concentration
--
PETE SAMPRAS: I- wasn't- worried about the
other guys in the draw. Just concerned about
my matches and what I was going to do to
prepare and stay focused. Last two weeks I
did a pretty good job of that.
Q. This is two-part. Did you realize
what you said out there, does anything cross
your mind when it came out of your mouth?
PETE SAMPRAS: What is that?
Q. "I am trying my ass off
here." Also, what I want to say about
that, yesterday, Steffi told us no matter how
many times she is in that position, she is
really nervous speaking to huge groups of
people. Can you relate to what she said,
because you also are higher than some
players, other people on the tour?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, a man's biggest fear
is getting up in front of people to talk. And
it is, you know, I am not used to it. I am
getting better and the more you do it, the
better you get at it.
Q. Did you mean to say that?
PETE SAMPRAS: That just kind of slipped
out. Sorry.
Q. Pete, how are you going to
celebrate at all when you get back to Tampa;
any particular place in your house where you
are collecting these trophies now?
PETE SAMPRAS: I got this one space in my
cabinet that my U.S. Open trophy 90 and 93
Wimbledon are standing and I'll put it right
there right next to it. But, you know, I am
going to go down to Florida for a couple of
days, I got a couple of one-night exhibitions
over in the west coast, see my family a
little bit. So it should be fun.
Q. Cabinet in Florida or California?
PETE SAMPRAS: In Florida.
Q. Is it more difficult in a
tournament of this magnitude to play somebody
who you have only played twice and is it the
sort of an unknown rather than when you know
Courier's game so well, did that make it more
of a challenging--
PETE SAMPRAS: You know, I was expected to
win today. Playing, you know, Jim, I played
him so many times. Playing Cedric, I have
only played him a couple of times. And you
know, he has really made a lot of good
improvements in his game and he is a more
solid player than he was a couple of years
ago when I played him. You know, didn't know
really what to expect if he was going to come
up real tight or come out just swinging away.
As a result, he came out a little tight and I
got off to an early break.
Q. You said winning the last time made
you struggle with your life. What is the
comparison, if there is, between then and now
in terms of life?
PETE SAMPRAS: 90 I won the Open and
immediately I was recognized all around the
world, and at that point I really wasn't used
to it. I didn't really enjoy it, but I
realized, you know, it is the way it is going
to be. It is part of the job, more success,
more times you win, the difficulty is going
to be off the court. I have just accepted
that.
Q. Did it play with your head, Pete,
at all, and how did you get over it, I mean,
what got you around that struggle and moving
on?
PETE SAMPRAS: I just kind of, you know,
kept on going at it. Hanging in there. I was
going through some tough losses, but managed
just to-- I believe in myself and I believed
in my game and as it worked out, I got back
to it.
Q. Pete, you had that moment in the
third set second game where you went on the
line call on the serve, then you
doublefaulted. What did you say to yourself--
PETE SAMPRAS: That happened couple of
times I got off to an early break in the
second and the third, I just-- I was rushing
it. I believe I was rushing a little bit too
much and thinking about, you know, thinking
about winning it instead of thinking about
the point I was playing, and that was a
mistake and I just got a little bit tight
there and start rushing a bit. But I managed
to get through that.
Q. Was there ever-- it never seemed
like he challenged you in terms of bringing
you to a point where he could turn the match
in his favor. You always seemed to be in
control of it from the start. Did you always
have that feeling that there-- was there ever
a point where you thought that he could get
back in it?
PETE SAMPRAS: When I -- when I got out to
an early break in the second he broke me
straight back. I was-- I let him back in the
match just by some careless errors. Just not
three-set-- 3 out of 5 set match you cannot
play well every game. There were sometimes
when the crowd got a little bit behind him,
he started playing a bit better, but I
managed to play the big points real well. And
he, you know, got a little bit tight on the
breakpoints, he had hit some doublefaults,
which helped me out. Match point he obviously
doublefaulted.
Q. What was the feeling when you saw
that doublefault on match point? It is
suddenly over abruptly; what is that like?
PETE SAMPRAS: I knew because the wind was
blowing in that one direction. I knew it is
tough to really hit second serves; it hit the
tape. I had a pretty good feeling it was
going to go out because of the wind. It would
have been much nicer to win it the point
before, couple of points before when I hit
that great volley, but it felt great, it is a
great feeling.
Q. Obviously, Cedric's biggest moment.
Were you surprised that he came out there and
chose to serve and not take the chance of
receiving it and getting into the match; that
kind of hurt him?
PETE SAMPRAS: I wasn't surprised. He had 2
great weeks and he is confident. I mean, if I
was in his position; if I won the toss, I
would have started serving. As it turned out,
he doublefaulted and missed pretty a easy
volley on breakpoint and maybe if he had to
do it over again he might receive.
Q. You said in 90 if I remember when
you broke down your game, and you know, went
for the one-hand that you basically-- you
would look at films of Rosewall and Laver;
you really looked up to them. You now move
basically into their company. You are now a 3
time champion. How does it feel to be in that
kind of company now?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, if I can do --
maintain this for ten years; then I will be
in their company. But you know, I have 3
Grand Slams titles; 2 biggest ones in the
world, and you know my goal one day is to be
in the same set as Laver and Rosewall. Those
guys were class acts. That is something that
I try to present when I play. But you know,
it feels pretty good right now.
Q. You have won a few Grand Slams now.
Based on your experience, how long does the
exultation last before the real world starts
seeping back in; how long can you really
enjoy this before you go --
PETE SAMPRAS: My schedule is -- as it
turned out I have four, five weeks off before
I go to the European swing. After the
Wimbledon victory, after about two weeks I
knew it was back to business and getting
ready for the hard courts. Now I have been a
lot of time off and, you know, I am just
going obviously to take sometime off and get
back to playing again.
Q. The last time, you talked about all
this intrusion on your life. What was that
all about and was that a position where you
had say is it really worth it?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, it was really worth
it. It really-- I don't like losing. I don't
like not playing well and you know, just --
just being recognized, I wasn't comfortable
with that. I pretty much don't like to be the
center of attention and immediately in 90
after I won it here was, you know, from one
extreme to the next and, you know, took me a
while to get used to that but I managed to
get through it.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about how
Tim has helped you become what you are and
comfortable with everything that goes along
with it?
PETE SAMPRAS: He had a huge impact on my
results and me playing better. I mean, the
claycourt success I have had, you know, he
really emphasized playing well on clay and
you know mentally staying in there and you
know, Tim, he was a smart player when he
played in his day and that is something that
I was lacking, my shot selection was a bit
suspect and he kind of sharpened me up a
little bit. He has made me think a little bit
more what I am trying to do out there. As a
result you know, things have really worked
out well. I am sure our relationship will
continue for a lot of years.
Q. Early in the year when you became
No. 1, there was a lot of commentary about,
yeah, he is No. 1 on the computer, but hasn't
won a Slam recently. Did you hear that and
was that a motivating factor in any way for
you?
PETE SAMPRAS: I heard that. But it-- was
it motivating? You know, I am not going to
say that one thing really motivated me, the
talk in the press, but -- I really don't
understand the question. Can you rephrase it?
Q. Just did that spur you on? Did that
make you --
PETE SAMPRAS: Not particularly. I mean,
that is not one thing that I was thinking
about out there.
Q. Pete, you mentioned Laver and
Rosewall a lot as guys you emulated and still
emulate. Are there any American guys growing
up that you pointed to and say I want to grow
up like them? Is it a personality thing?
PETE SAMPRAS: Connors and McEnroe
obviously, I looked up to them. But the coach
that I was working with Pete Fischer really
liked the way and liked the way the guys
acted, the Australian guys and you know, I
try and, like I said, conduct myself in a
classy manner. That is one thing that they
did and so there wasn't really an American
that I really idolized. Sure, I respected
McEnroe's talent and Connors' intensity, but
the Aussies, those guys were great guys.
Q. Do you like today's tennis?
PETE SAMPRAS: I like today's tennis. I was
just mentioning that you know, look at this
draw. I mean, all the upsets. It is tough to
win every Slam. I mean, it is-- I had, you
know, two, 4 really good weeks at Wimbledon
and the Open. And it is, you know, it is
tough.
Q. Why tougher now, that is what I
mean? Is it the --
PETE SAMPRAS: Not the schedule,.
Q.-- depth of the schedule?
PETE SAMPRAS: Just the depth in tennis
period. All the top guys schedule to do well
at the grand Slams and Novacek beating Edberg
and Becker losing to Larsson. Those guys are
ranked 30, 40, 50 in the world. You just
didn't see that ten years ago.
Q. Is the schedule so long that nobody
can keep that kind of concentration; you
don't have an off season; there is no time to
put your head back together?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the one part of the
schedule where it is tough, I believe, is
coming from the French and having two weeks
until Wimbledon. And that amazes me how Borg
did it. But as far as you have Australia,
January, and the French and Wimbledon are
tough to win back-to-back and the Open, I
think, you have about 6-7 weeks to really
peak, but those two in the middle are the
tough, especially the surfaces, you know it
is tough to win those back-to-back.
Q. How many tournaments will you play
this year?
PETE SAMPRAS: I will probably play around
20.
Q. You maintain a certain standard of
conduct. You have a certain way you want to
project yourself as a class act. Yet
periodically things pop up in the media;
writers say Sampras is boring or the Open
isn't exciting without a Connors or McEnroe;
do you find that ironic or is that a price
you have to pay to maintain the standard?
PETE SAMPRAS: Kind of puts me in a tough
position. I can't change my attitude on the
court for the fans or for the press. I just
have to do what I have to do to; win tennis
matches and the way I conduct myself is the
way it is always going to be. I was taught
and trained at a young age to play and act a
certain way. And I am sorry that it wasn't
exciting for you guys to write about.
Q. But are you really sorry?
PETE SAMPRAS: I am not really sorry.
Q. Did you feel at any point that this
summer that you would overschedule yourself,
but in looking back, do you feel that it was
the right thing to do, getting yourself ready
for this tournament?
PETE SAMPRAS: I wasn't -- I felt playing 4
straight weeks was a bit of a mistake. But as
it turned out, I really didn't play all that
great. I don't know what my ranking was, but
it wasn't winning every week, so I came in
here pretty mentally fresh and physically
fresh. I wasn't playing a whole lot of tennis
even though I was scheduled to play. I just
wasn't winning week in, week out, and as it
turned out, it worked pretty well for me.
Q. A lot of college basketball coaches
like their teams to lose before the NCAA
tournament. Do you equate that to when you
lost, I guess it was in Montreal, does it
help you refocus yourself and if you had won
those weeks, do you think that it would have
been tougher for you to come in here keeping
that level up than having lost?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, what happened in
Montreal I had a bit of a let-down after the
Wimbledon. In Cincy and Indy I tried my best;
just didn't get the breaks. Maybe that was a
blessing, maybe you know I got all my bad
luck and bad tennis behind me, and really you
know, peaked well here and you know, I am not
going to schedule my next year like I did
this year. I am just playing two tournaments
and take a week off and play 2 more and so I
can see where those coaches are coming from.
Obviously I like to win every week, but I
rather win these two weeks.
Q. You said earlier that when you
came-- when you won Wimbledon it was a real
break through. "I needed a major,"
you said and basically you -- as a champion,
what does this win do for you?
PETE SAMPRAS: This feels just as good. It
feels you know, kind of tough to talk about.
Call me in a couple of days. I will tell you
what it is like. Wimbledon victory was really
big for me because if I would have gone down
there I wouldn't know how I would have
rebounded for this tournament, but as it
turned out, I won there, but you know it has
been a great year. I need some time off.
Q. Last year, you came close here and
you got sick and I guess it affected your
performance in the final. Did you do anything
this year, you know, like cautious the way
you played or whatever, to make sure you
wouldn't get sick?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah.
Q. Like what?
PETE SAMPRAS: I didn't eat at Flushing
Meadow all two weeks. What I was doing was
getting good New York delis sandwiches and
eating turkey sandwiches for two straight
weeks and didn't eat here at all.
Q. Pete, you talked about the depth of
the men's game and all the outstanding
players, but yet during this match a lot of
guys kind of watching football games and
checking scores. If tennis has dropped in
popularity, is there anything that you guys
can do to get the public's imagination back?
PETE SAMPRAS: Maybe shave my chest, I
don't know.
Q. Since you bring that up, some of
the other guys have tried things like that.
Is that bad for tennis? Where is the grey
area here?
PETE SAMPRAS: What can I say? What can I
say? You know, the personality of the guys
today are aren't quite as outspoken as the
McEnroe Connors days and I am the complete
opposite. And if that is a negative, then
what can I say or do?
Q. Do you think American players
coming into a Grand Slam, especially a final,
are relieved of some of the pressure about
the nationality. Like this guy is playing you
and he is going to be the first Frenchman
since the 4 musketeers and you guys were like
a bunch of-- you are all in the same age
group; do you feel that you don't have to
deal with the same way of winning for your
country as you know, Gaby and the win here in
90 was the first South American in God knows
when; is that something you don't have to
deal with or does it way on your mind at all?
PETE SAMPRAS: As far as playing here
versus playing Wimbledon?
Q. Like being the last American left
for X number of stages in the Open and I
mean, does the nationality issue even cross
your mind in a Grand Slam and is it different
for the none Americans?
PETE SAMPRAS: Not really. That is the
longest question I have heard.
Q. Pete, I know you are hitting some
heavy top spin out there, and serves. I don't
think I have seen anybody break two strings
in a row?
PETE SAMPRAS: The first one I broke I have
been using that racket for couple of sets and
the second one, a couple of -- I hit and it
just snapped.
Q. Anything like that twice before?
PETE SAMPRAS: To me it has happened
before.
Q. Two successive swings?
PETE SAMPRAS: Sure.
Q. Did you have a lot of rackets left
in the bag?
PETE SAMPRAS: I brought out five.
Q. Pete, you have won Wimbledon and
here this year. Can you win a Grand Slam?
PETE SAMPRAS: Can I win a Grand Slam? All
in one year?
Q. Yes.
PETE SAMPRAS: I am not going to out rule
it. I am not going to -- that is a tough
question. Sure, I'd love to do it. I mean, if
there is one tournament that is tougher for
me is the French Open, and you know, I played
pretty well there last couple of years, but
winning a Grand Slam is-- you need to be
obviously a great player and you need to have
a bit of luck and you know, it is tough. I
mean, I haven't really thought about it too
much.
Q. Lendl always chased Wimbledon. Is
it important for you to win in all 4
eventually over the life of your career?
PETE SAMPRAS: That is a big thing for me
to win on clay.
Q. Pete, what are you planning,
anything special with the $530,000?
PETE SAMPRAS: It is always that question
here, isn't there? No. Not really.
Q. Thank you.