Newly crowned Australian Open
champion Pete Sampras thanked his late coach
and mentor Tim Gullikson yesterday for giving
him the strength and courage to lift his
ninth Grand Slam title.
Sampras, 25, described his
Australian Open title as the toughest major
he has ever contested after surviving two
five-set marathons and energy-snapping
conditions to reach his 11th Grand Slam
final.
Gullikson's death last year
from brain tumours the 25-year-old, who said
yesterday that his coach was still his
inspiration on the tennis court.
Sampras broke down in tears
two years ago at a news conference after
learning of Gulllikson's illness during the
Open in Melbourne.
"Where it all happened
was here in Australia and I thought about it
when I woke up today and before the
match," he said after his 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
victory over Spain's Carlos Moya.
"I'm sure he's looking
down very happy that I fought through some
tough matches, because that was one thing he
instilled in me was attitude, not
quitting."
Sampras took a short break
from the game following Gullikson 's death.
"Sure it was tough when
he passed away," Sampras said. "I
didn't want to play tennis, but time heals
things and this is a great start to win here
and I certainly hope everyone stays healthy
around me."
"Tennis is a great game
and you love to win every match you play, but
ultimately it's not the most important thing
in life - that's your health."
"It really woke me up to
some things that I have never really had to
deal with before. You live every day like it
means something."
"He will always be in my
mind when I play, especially in moments like
today, very tough conditions."
Sampras echoed called for the
event to be moved to the cooler month of
March. "I would be in favour of
that," Sampras said. "A little
cooler, I wouldn't mind having more of break
in January and February."
Medical experts and many
players criticised the timing of this year's
tournament which was hit by heatwave
conditions.
"This is the toughest
major I think I've won so far,
physically
and to come through is a
good effort," he said.
Temperature soared to about
50C on court over three successive days in
the middle of the tournament prompting
organisers to close the roof on Centre Court.
Women's world No 1 Steffi
Graf needed to treated for heat exhaustion
after her shock fourth-round exit and
Romania's Irina Spirlea and Sabine Appelmans
of the Netherlands were placed on drips after
matches.
Sampras' Open campaign very
nearly ended in the fourth round against
little known Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty who
took the top seed to five sets.
"The combination of that
(heat) and the court, it just makes it that
much hotter
I don't think I've ever
played in conditions like I did in that
fourth-round match," said Sampras.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Pete Sampras
felt as if he were slogging through clay -
the worst surface for his game. The heavy
balls slowed his serve. The heat slowed his
feet.
But after he trounced two opponents
expected to thrive in such conditions,
prospects were looking up for him to capture
the one major title that has eluded him - the
French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament
played on clay.
On rubbery, medium-speed Rebound Ace
courts, Sampras won the Australian Open by
beating Spain's Carlos Moya, a rising talent
who honed his strokes on clay, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
in an 87-minute final Sunday.
In the semifinals, Sampras beat the ``King
of Clay,'' Thomas Muster, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3),
6-3.
``To beat these guys in these conditions,
I really surprised myself a bit,'' he said.
He kept both under pressure with his serve
and volley game and, when he had to, beat
them at their strong suit - rallying from the
baseline.
Now the French Open is the one that's
missing from his collection of nine Grand
Slam tournament titles, Sampras noted, and
said, ``I'll do whatever I can this year to
maybe get lucky, like here, and win.''
Sampras said the balls bounce faster at
the French, helping his serve, but ``clay
slows it down a little bit. ... I felt the
conditions (here) were pretty similar. It was
tough to put the ball away with these
balls.''
Still, he said, ``I can't think about it
too much. I can't put that much pressure on
myself to win the French. It's just if it
happens, it happens.''
``He's a bit of a marked man now,``
Sampras made the warning to Moya , who
climbed from No. 25 to No. 9 after his
meteoric climb in the Australian, where he
opened by beating defending champion Boris
Becker and reached the final by drubbing No.
2 Michael Chang in the semis.
``It's a little tough to cope with that.
But I think he has a good head on his
shoulders and I think he will just get better
the more matches he'll play, because I think
he learned quite a bit playing today,''
Sampras said.
Moya still sees Sampras as the marked man.
``I will be seeded in Paris. That means if
I meet (Sampras), it will be in the quarters,
the semis or the final. I don't know, but I
would like to,'' said the 20-year-old Moya.
Referring to victories in the past year,
Moya said: ``I beat the best clay court
player, Muster, on clay; the best indoor
player, Becker, indoors, and I tried to beat
the best hardcourt player, as Sampras is.
``I didn't do it, but it is the first time
that we met each other. ... Paris will be a
good opportunity to try to beat him, not at
Wimbledon.''
On Sunday, Moya said Sampras' serve and
forehand were too much for him.
Asked the main thing he learned from the
match, Moya replied: ``Who is the No. 1.''
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