Grand
Slam No. 13: Wimbledon, 2000
Headlines and
Post Match Interview (Part 1):
Sampras sets
record with historic win
LONDON, July 9 (Reuters)(DS) - Records
come and go in sport but Pete Sampras set one
in the Wimbledon final on Sunday that will
almost certainly survive him.
 Thirteen Grand Slam
titles won over a decade the American has
dominated is just reward for the greatest
grasscourt player in history and arguably the
finest player the game has known. He equalled
Roy Emerson's record of 12 titles at
Wimbledon last year and moved ahead of the
30-year-old mark on Sunday by beating another
Australian Pat Rafter 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-2.
"Time will tell if it (the record)
will be broken. I think in the modern game it
could be difficult. It's a lot of commitment,
a lot of good playing at big times,"
Sampras said. "I mean the next person
might be eight years old hitting at a park
somewhere around the world.
"You never know. There's guys that
are great players that could possibly do it.
But it's not easy."
It was Sampras's seventh title - in eight
years - equalling the record of seven set in
the 19th century by William Renshaw.
NEVER LOST A FINAL
He has never lost a Wimbledon final and, of
the four Grand Slam tournaments, he has only
missed out at the claycourt French Open where
his power serve cannot blow opponents away
like it does on the Wimbledon Centre Court he
calls his home from home.
Quiet and uncharismatic, Sampras has
earned respect for his single-minded approach
to the game -- his peers voted him the
greatest player of the last 25 years three
years ago -- but it's fair to say fans have
not naturally warmed to him.
Sampras has won 63 titles since turning
professional in 1988 and accumulated $40
million in prize money but he does not have
the looks of a Borg, the shot-making of a
McEnroe or the agility of a Becker.
He has also profited from being at his
peak at a time of changing generations when
only the mercurial Andre Agassi, whose form
has fluctuated wildly, has equalled
him.
Perhaps because of the lack of public
adulation, records mean a lot to the
28-year-old and Grand Slams have always been
the big prize.
After the 1998 season -- when he almost
ruined his health in a successful attempt to
remain number one for six years running -- he
took his foot off the pedal and has relaxed
more. "Pete has come out of his shell a
bit more and I like him now," Rafter
said last week.
HARD GRIND
But the grind of those early years on tour
have increasingly taken their toll on Sampras
and the painful shin injury picked up 10 days
ago is the latest in a long line of problems
that have sidelined him over the past 18
months.
Sampras had stressed that he did not
believe Wimbledon 2000 was his last chance to
break Emerson's record but the fact he
invited his parents to watch him for the
first time at Wimbledon indicated he believed
his time was running out.
"I never looked at breaking the
record as pressure. I looked at it as an
opportunity that I would love to do it,"
he said. "It hasn't hit me. It won't hit
me for months - I'm just kind of spinning a
little bit."
Now the record has been achieved, there is
only one goal remaining -- winning the French
Open and moving alongside Agassi, Emerson,
Rod Laver, Fred Perry and Don Budge as the
winner of all four Grand Slams.
"From an achievement standpoint, I've
done what I've wanted to do. I've been number
one for a while, I've won Slams. Obviously
the French is the one that's missing.
"But I still love
competing and I love playing. I love being in
situations like today where you feel nervous
before you go out there, you have anxiety but
you find a way to get through it."
BACK TO TOP
Sampras is the
Champion
By: Barry Newcombe
Pete Sampras took his place in tennis
history on Wimbledon's Centre Court tonight
when his seventh win took him to a total of
13 Grand Slam titles, one more than the
previous record held by Roy Emerson of
Australia. Sampras beat Pat Rafter of
Australia 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-2 in a
final lasting 172 minutes and twice
interrupted by rain.
Set 1 : Review
The final began almost an hour behind
schedule because of light rain and Rafter
held his opening serve to love followed by
Sampras doing exactly the same for 1-1.
Rafter held for 2-1 and produced a fine
backhand crosscourt volley on the third
point. Sampras served a love game, including
his second ace, for 2-2.
Rafter, from 0-30 after two errors, held
for 3-2. Sampras foot faulted on the first
serve of the third point and then double
faulted but held to 3-3.
 The seventh game was the first
to go to deuce and Rafter had eight game
points before winning with a serve and
raising his arms in triumph, Rafter was 4-3
ahead when rain stopped play after 26
minutes.
The delay was of 27 minutes and Sampras
resumed the match with an ace and held for
4-4. The first break points of the set came
in the next game. Rafter saved two to pull up
to deuce, double faulted to concede a third
and then missed two game points. The match
was then suspended at deuce.
Play resumed after a break of two and half
hours and Rafter saved another break point
before holding serve for 5-4.
Sampras served his fifth ace on the first
point of the tenth game, double faulted at
30-0, but did not lose another point to level
5-all.
Rafter served his first love game of the
match to lead 6-5 and Sampras did the same to
produce a tie break after 44 minutes.
A lob from Sampras followed by a short
ball saw Rafter chase in vain to the net. But
he won the point back on Sampras' first serve
with a winning return. A missed volley put
Rafter 3-2 behind and Sampras held serve for
4-2 but was passed by a service return for
4-3.
Rafter put a volley out for 5-3 but won
the next point for 5-4. Sampras missed a
backhand off the service return for 5-all but
went to set point at 6-5. Rafter saved that
with a high volley for 6-all. Rafter aced for
set point 7-6. Sampras aced him for 7-all.
Sampras served at 130 mph for set point two.
Rafter saved with a service winner for 8-all.
Rafter service winner to set point two at
9-8.
Sampras hit a winner off a second serve
for 9-9. Sampras double faulted for set point
three to Rafter but Rafter hit out on the
next rally for 10-all. Rafter served for set
point four at 11-10 and Sampras double
faulted --first set Rafter at 12-10 in the
tie break.
Set 2 : Review
As the hour reached 7 p.m. with only one
hour's play having taken place Sampras
started the second set by holding serve for
1-0. Rafter saved a break point at 30-40 with
a service winner before holding at 1-1.
Sampras double faulted to go break point
down in the third game but saved that with a
stop volley and went on to hold for 2-1.
Rafter held to 2-all with his fifth ace.
Sampras held for 3-2 after he had broken a
string and changed his racket for the last
point. Rafter held to 3-all ending the game
with a good volley.
Sampras served his eighth double fault and
an ace in consecutive points to lead 4-3.
Rafter held in a love game for 4-all.
Sampras took a 5-4 lead with a love game.
Rafter held to 5-all.
Sampras served his 14th ace as he led 6-5.
Rafter forced the tie break with a love game.
Sampras lost the first point on his ninth
double fault. Rafter forced an error from
Sampras at a net rally and served a winner
for 3-0.
Sampras served an ace and then missed a
forehand for 4-1 Rafter. Sampras forced a
volley error for 4-2 and Rafter double
faulted for 4-3. Sampras served two points
for 5-4.Sampras passed Rafter at the net for
6-4 set point. Rafter saved one set point
with a high volley but Sampras captured the
set with a forehand to take the tie break by
7-5 and level the final after one hour and 46
minutes.
Set 3 : Review
The third set began with the light still
holding at 7.45 p.m. and Rafter won a deuce
game to lead 1-0. Sampras held a love game
with a backhand crosscourt dink at the net
for 1-all.
Rafter fought off a break point with a
service winner and won a two deuce game to
lead 2-1. Despite double fault ten Sampras
held for 2-all.
Sampras broke for 3-2 in a lengthy fifth
game where Rafter had three game points and
then Sampras held to love to lead 4-2 .
Rafter held the seventh game as he moved
confidently into a 5-3 lead. Rafter held to
5-4 serving his 11th ace to go to game
point.
Sampras served for the set by starting
with two aces, one off of a second serve, and
then produced a service winner for set point.
Another ace gave Sampras the set at 6-4, two
sets to one, after two hours and 25 minutes.
It meant for Rafter that he would have to
beat Sampras over five sets for the title, a
feat no one has achieved at any stage at
Wimbledon .
Set 4 : Review
Rafter started the fourth by holding serve
as did Sampras. In the third game Rafter
double-faulted at 30-15 but played a half
volley pick up to win the net point and then
hold serve for 2-1. Sampras held with an ace
for 2-all.
Next Rafter went 0-40 down on serve with
two volley errors giving Sampras three break
points. Rafter saved two but on the third
Sampras mis-hit a backhand which landed in
the corner to take him 3-2 up.
Rafter had a point to break back in the
next game when Sampras double faulted at
30-all but the champion saved that with a
service winner. A net exchange gave Sampras
game point with a backhand across the tape
but he had to go to his fourth game point
with an ace and follow up with a service
winner for 4-2.
Sampras broke again to lead 5-2 and was
left to serve for the title and all the
rainbows of the game which went with it.
Three serves took him to match point in a
hurry and another winning serve took the
giant of the grass court game beyond reach.
Sampras showed real emotion as he
celebrated the first moments of victory and
was in tears as it sank in. He found his
parents in the crowd and then returned to the
court for the trophy.
BACK TO TOP
Sampras:
The greatest of all time
by: Mike Donovan
Pete Sampras is the greatest player of all
time.
The 28-year-old American proved it when he
won a record 13th Grand Slam singles title in
the Wimbledon final today.
Sampras was gunning to go one better than
Australia's Roy Emerson and he succeeded with
a 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Emerson's
fellow countryman Pat Rafter on Centre Court.
The history-maker also equalled the
all-time Wimbledon record of seven men's
singles titles achieved by William Renshaw in
the 1890s.
 Sampras burst into tears when he
completed his triumph in a rare show of
on-court emotion. He waved to his parents and
then made his way through the crowd to give
them each a hug.
His dad Sam, who was watching him at
Wimbledon for the first time, looked so proud
and his mother whispered in her son's ear 'I
love you too much'.
He collected the trophy and the £477,500,
but breaking the record in front of his mum
and dad was what meant the most to him.
He told the crowd: "I'm so pleased my
parents were here to see this today. I love
them and thank them for giving me the
opportunity to play this great game on the
best court in the world. It is a great moment
in my life.
"Wimbledon is my home from home. It
hasn't been easy the last week or two but
I've had a lot of support".
Sampras has suffered with a shin problem
for over a week, but after beating 12th seed
Rafter, the pain clearly melted away.
Rafter won a tight opening set when
Sampras, after holding two set points,
conceded it on the Australian's fourth by
double faulting.
But he came back to level with a
wrong-footing forehand volley.
The first break came in the fifth game of
the third set and it went, tellingly to
Sampras. He was serving big, but
double-faulting as well, but he still came
through. His backhand service returns winners
were forcing his opponent to struggle on his
serve.
But it wasn't until he took his tenth
break point in the crucial fifth game in the
third set that the tide turned Sampras'
way.
Sampras broke Rafter for a 3-2, then 5-2
lead in the fourth before he served out after
172 minutes in a match twice delayed by
rain.
BACK TO TOP
Sampras beats
Rafter for record 13th Grand Slam title
LONDON (Reuters)(DS) - Pete Sampras has
rewritten tennis history in the Wimbledon
dusk, winning his seventh singles crown and a
record 13th Grand Slam title 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-2
against Australia's Pat Rafter. With the
clock at 8.57pm local time and light failing
fast on Centre Court, a thunderous serve from
Sampras on matchpoint forced Rafter to return
into the net, etching the American's name
into the record books.
Sampras had shared the 30-year-old record
of 12 Grand Slam titles with Australia's Roy
Emerson since winning Wimbledon last year.
Now he stands alone and this record could
last a lifetime. The quiet American broke
down, wiping tears from his eyes, as the
Centre Court exploded in celebration.
"This is one of my best
moments," he said after a match wich
lasted almost six hours after being twice
interrupted by rain. "I'm still
spinning, it's amazing." "I love
Wimbledon and I love the people here...this
court is the best in the world." His
seventh title - in eight years - equals a
19th century record set by Britain's William
Renshaw.
HUGS PARENTS
The 28-year-old clambered into the stands to
hug his parents Georgia and Sam who were
witnessing, for the first time, their son
winning a Grand Slam title. "It means so
much to me that my parents were here
today," Sampras said. "They can
share this with me," he said as hundreds
of camera flashlights sparkled in the
darkness. The manner of Sampras's victory was
sufficiently dramatic for a match which takes
its place in history.
 The top seed showed
just why he has won 53 of his last 54 matches
at the All England Club, coming back from a
set and 4-1 down in the second set tiebreak
to power past Rafter.
"The way the match was going I felt
like I had let it slip away," he said.
"I was quite tight (nervous) at times
through that match but I got through
it.
"From serving at 4-1 down in the
second tie-break I went from feeling like I
was going to lose the match to feeling like I
would win the match in about two minutes.
"That's grasscourt tennis."
RAFTER BLEW CHANCE
Rafter, twice U.S. Open champion, knew he had
blown a big chance. "I had my
opportunities early on but when you play a
great champion like Pete you've got to take
them.
"I just got a bit nervous because I
knew it was on the line." Having looked
all but beaten in the second set tiebreak,
and with many in the crowd writing him off,
Sampras roared back and displayed the
fighting qualities which have seen him
dominate the sport for the past decade.
The rain-affected match finally got
underway one hour late at 14.01 GMT and
spanned almost six hours.
Going into the match Sampras led 12th seed
Rafter 9-4 in previous matches, but the
Australian had won three of their last four
and the only Grand Slam match they played --
the 1998 U.S. Open semifinal. Nothing could
separate the pair in their first grasscourt
clash and, after two interruptions for rain,
the opening set entered a tiebreak.
Sampras, whose power serve rarely
faltered, broke on the opening point with a
deft drop volley but was immediately broken
back when Rafter rolled a forehand return
gently down the line.
The American got the next break when
Rafter volleyed a forehand wide, but two
points later Rafter whistled a backhand
return down the line to level matters.
Sampras missed a set-point at 6-5 when he
miscued a passing shot and Rafter won a
set-point of his own at 7-6 with an
ace.
Sampras saved it with an ace and used
another one to reach his second set point. He
failed to convert that one, too, and Rafter
eventually converted on his fourth set-point
when Sampras double- faulted to lose the
tie-break 12-10.
SIMILAR SECOND SET
The second set followed a similar pattern and
two early breaks in the tie-break saw Rafter
lead it 4-1. But a forehand volley into the
net, a Rafter double fault and simple
cross-court forehand dumped into the net
handed the momentum straight back to Sampras
and he snatched it, punching a forehand
volley away to level matters 7-5 in the
tie-break.
Rafter's serve was losing its edge and
Sampras grabbed the first break of the match
after two hours 12 minutes of play. A Rafter
forehand volley into the net gave Sampras a
3-2 lead and the frustrated Australian
smashed his racquet down in fury. With his
nose in front at last, Sampras didn't put a
foot wrong and served out to love 6-4.
Rafter sensed he had missed his chance and
allowed himself to be broken again in the
fifth and seventh games of the fourth set as
Sampras reached out for his place in
history.
Three missed backhands handed him three
championship points and he took it on his
first.
"This is my home away from
home," he said. "I have grown to
love this place...I will always come back
here even when I am finished with this game.
"I'll come back and sit in the Royal Box
to watch some others sweat it
out."
BACK TO TOP
Sampras
finally crosses great divide
By: Alix Ramsay, The Times UK
GREAT. According to the dictionary, it
means large in size or number; extreme;
important; pre-eminent. Well, that is that
argument sorted, then. Pete Sampras is great.
He is definitely large, he has more
grand-slam titles than anyone else in
history, he is extremely good, he is
certainly important and, of his generation,
he is indeed pre-eminent. And yet, in sport
at least, greatness is a title we are loath
to bestow on anyone. Good, yes, great, well,
can we think about that one?
By beating Pat Rafter as the darkness fell
on Sunday, Sampras achieved what no other man
has, his thirteenth grand-slam singles title.
He also won his seventh Wimbledon singles
title, and no one has done that since William
Renshaw at the end of the 19th century. Those
were the days of the challenge round, when
the returning champion turned up with clean
togs on finals day and played one match to
reclaim the silverware. Sampras has had to do
rather more than that for his money in SW19.
Still, though, the mantle of greatness does
not lie evenly across his shoulders.
 The problem lies
with hindsight. Sampras has been at the
pinnacle of his profession for the past
decade and he is so good, it is easy to take
him for granted. His monotonous march through
the draw at tournaments around the globe has
earned him the reputation for being boring
rather than brilliant, and it seems that
there is nothing the poor man can do about
it.
Whichever era you choose to pick - McEnroe
and Borg, McEnroe and Connors, Becker and
Edberg - is always a golden era and Sampras
is not a part of it. Yet the rivalries
between the greats lasted not more than three
years at a spell. There were two great
McEnroe-Borg finals, two Borg-Connors finals
and three Edberg-Becker finals. Sampras has
been beaten once in eight years at the All
England Club and still he is not considered
the greatest that the game has known.
Unable to crack the conundrum of clay
courts, the one gap on Sampras's CV is the
French Open and, because of that, so the
argument runs, he cannot be considered truly
great. Bjorn Borg won six French Open titles
and five at Wimbledon, taking the pair back
to back on three occasions. He was a great if
ever there was one. Except that he never
managed to win the US Open and, as for
Australia, he only played there once. John
McEnroe was, without doubt, one of the most
gifted players who picked up a racket, yet
his time was limited to six years, after
which he could take the pressure no
longer.
As for Boris Becker, his achievements were
spread around the times when life did not get
in the way. His form peaked and dipped
depending on whether he was going through his
growing-up phase, or his getting-married
phase, or his fatherhood phase. A giant among
players, we miss him now as one of the great
names of the 1980s.
Sampras, on the other hand, has never let
anything get in the way of his tennis. His
life has been devoted to the winning of
titles and the making of history. And that,
for some reason, leaves a question mark over
his position in the great scheme of
things.
His idol, Rod Laver, won the grand slam -
and did it twice with a seven-year gap in
between. Having won the four major
championships in 1962, he turned professional
and was prevented from playing at such
amateur sanctums as the All England Club.
Only when the open era started in 1968 could
Laver return, and a year later he won the
grand slam again.
What he might have achieved in between is
anyone's guess, but even he will admit that,
in those days, the tournaments only started
to get interesting around the quarter-final
stages.
Today, though, is a different story. The
strength of the men's game is such that
anyone can welt the ball with the best of
them and an off-day in the early rounds can
mean an early exit from any tournament.
However, regardless of the young guns out to
claim his scalp, Sampras has repelled
allcomers for much of the past decade.
In 1998 he ended the season as the No
1-ranked player for the sixth consecutive
year - and the effort nearly killed him.
Struggling as the season drew to a close -
there were others snapping at his heels,
ready to usurp him at the last minute - the
pressure he put himself under in pursuit of
ranking points was visible. That was when he
started to lose his hair and he was, by his
own admission, unbearable to be around during
that time. Once the record had been broken,
he had nothing left as the new year began and
he took his first real break in 12
years.
Not that he was finished. Coming back to
Wimbledon last year, he defeated Andre Agassi
with one of the most perfect displays of
tennis that the Centre Court is likely to
see. It came down to a couple of points in
the first set - Sampras took them and Agassi
missed them - and from there he took off. He
did it again against Rafter on Sunday in the
second-set tie-break, and all of this with an
injury that made him doubt whether he could
compete, much less win.
His game is brilliant but never flashy.
Rafter describes his service as "one
hell of a serve, awesome, can't read it,
can't pick it". Agassi described it last
year as "obnoxious", but he was
hardly fond of the backhand or the volley,
either.
Sampras thinks his movement is one of his
greatest weapons, but no one notices that
part of his game. What everyone knows,
though, is that Sampras's mental game is the
strongest of all. He knows what it takes to
be a champion and that is what he does best.
From eyeing up the opposition in the early
stages, he has the facility to raise his game
to a different level - and by doing so he
crushes the spirit of the man on the other
side of the net.
At Wimbledon he did just that to Agassi,
the best returner in the game, and twice to
Ivanisevic, the man with one of the most
deadly services. That is not to mention
Becker, Courier, Pioline and now
Rafter.
To question the man's
achievements seems churlish, to ignore his
record merely daft. If numbers count for
anything, Sampras is great; if style counts
at all, then Sampras is great; and if
longevity is a component part, then Sampras
is great. It says so in the dictionary.
BACK TO TOP
For Heroic
Sampras, a Most Noble Victory
By William C. Rhoden (NY Times)
WIMBLEDON , England -- At approximately
8:37 here last night, with darkness rapidly
falling, Wimbledon officials were close to
calling the championshipmatch. Pete Sampras
and Patrick Rafter had played grueling tennis
for nearlythree hours, going at each other
like ram and bull.
The match had been stopped twice due to
rain, and all told they had been involved in
this match for several hours. But now, in the
fourth game of the fourth set, Sampras --
leading by two sets to one -- decided it was
time to go home. He reared back and sent a
131-mile-an-hour serve past Pat Rafter for an
ace that gave him a 30-0 lead. He went on to
win Game 4, broke Rafter's serve in Game 5,
won Game 6, broke Rafter in Game 7 and served
to win the match in Game 8.
In a span of 24 hours, we witnessed tennis
history played out at two different speeds,
two contrasting styles, two different souls.
On Saturday, 20-year-old Venus Williams
performed pirouettes after winning Wimbledon
for the first time on an afternoon shellacked
by promise of more days to come. Last night,
Sampras, 28, grabbed history after he won a
record 13th Grand Slam championship and his
seventh Wimbledon title
When the match ended there was no leaping.
Sampras bowed and squatted, tears in his
eyes. Then he walked around. He looked for
his parents, Sam and Georgia, who chose to
sit high in the stands to avoid television
cameras, a contrast to Richard Williams, who
said he stayed in the limelight largely to
keep pressure off his daughters.
"
My parents are not tennis parents,"
Sampras said. "You see a lot of cases
where parents get too involved. They've
always kept their distance. They've always
given me my space." Last night Sampras
displayed all the qualities of the hero: the
loss in the first set, vulnerability near
defeat, then a comeback and a final triumph.
He hadn't played well for the tournament
and was almost convinced that he would lose
the match. "Today I found my game when I
had to," Sampras said.
When he was asked if this was the best day
of his tennis life, he said: "With
everything that's happened, I'd say this is
one of the best moments. It's hard to really
tell you how I feel in 10 minutes. But as the
months go by and the years go by, I'll look
back at these two weeks as the most difficult
and the most satisfying."
The cheering interest of this match was
defined before the players played their first
game. Sampras and Rafter emerged from the
players' tunnel together. When they took
their seats, Rafter pulled off his warm-up
bottoms to a smattering of cheers from female
admirers.
Rafter is the 27-year-old Australian with
a beard and a ponytail and funky good looks.
Sampras is clean-cut, but has no public
persona to speak of and is not the
celebrity-style athlete of a dot-com age.
But to understand and appreciate what
Sampras has accomplished, you have to love
tennis, understand tennis. He is Hank Aaron,
not Babe Ruth. Joe Louis, not Muhammad Ali.
Jack Nicklaus, not Tiger Woods.
Last night Sampras played a grinding,
grueling game of tennis that neatly frames
his career.
No flash. Terribly efficient.
Sampras lost the first set in a tie
breaker and was down by 4-1 in the second-set
tie breaker before coming back to win it.
"Serving at 4-1, I really felt like
it was slipping away," he said.
"Somehow I got through that tie breaker.
From a matter of feeling like I was going to
lose the match, I felt like I was going to
win the match within two minutes. That's
grass tennis."
He looked into a reservoir of victorious
moments and searched for a frame of reference
that could carry him through.
"I felt it was slipping away,"
Sampras said. "When you're sitting on
the changeover you think of past matches that
you've lost the first set -- to Becker, 7-6,
at one stage -- came back and won the next
three. There's time. You reflect on your past
experiences, being able to get through
it."
At least on this day, Rafter's frames of
reference couldn't pull him through. Sampras
jumped on his opponent in the third and
fourth sets. "I was making him work,
making him work," Sampras said.
"Even though I was losing some of his
games, I felt like it was a matter of time
before eventually I was going to break him. I
lost my nerve in the first set, he lost his
nerve serving 4-1 in the second tie
breaker."
Last night, Sampras fulfilled the heroic
mission . "I never, ever planned on ever
breaking this record," he said of Roy
Emerson's 12 Grand Slam victories. "You
don't plan on breaking records like this.
It's kind of transcended into something that
I put myself in a position to do it.
"It's amazing," he said. "It
really is amazing, this tournament just
panned out for me. I didn't really feel like
I was going to win here."
At the beginning of the match, Rafter had
received the most cheers when he pulled off
his warm-ups.
Now, hours later, the moment of truth had
come and gone. The stadium was engulfed by
darkness tinted with slivers of natural light
and camera flashes. The roar of the crowd was
aimed at Sampras, who raised his arms in
triumph.
At the end of the day, he was an
illuminating figure.
BACK TO TOP
Sampras
Seizes the Moment and Wimbledon Title
By Selena Roberts
WIMBLEDON, England, July 9 -- In the
camouflage of the crowd beneath the rafters
of Center Court, Pete Sampras's camera-shy
parents took nervous peeks at their son on
the grass below.
 He was in trouble, and they were
helpless. But through the stress of two rain
delays, the near doom of a tie breaker and
the descending darkness that threatened to
suspend a day for history, Sampras regained
his spirits and used his racquet like a Jaws
of Life. Upon his uplifting escape today, at
the moment Patrick Rafter futilely flailed at
his inhuman serve, the typically detached
Sampras bent over and wept.
History overcame him. After winning a 6-7
(10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 test of his mental
resilience for his seventh Wimbledon title, a
dominating Sampras separated himself from Roy
Emerson. With about 10 minutes left of
daylight this evening, Sampras squeezed in
his moment to become the greatest title
winner with his 13th Grand Slam victory.
This is the reason he coaxed his parents
out of obscurity and begged them to submerge
their anxieties about watching him. This is
why he prodded them onto a flight after his
semifinal victory and wanted them to witness
their first Wimbledon. He needed them to
share this with him. But where were they?
With his vision a bit blurred by his tears,
he stood on the court and swiveled his head
in search of Sam and Georgia Sampras.
In the friends' box, his coach and
fiancée pointed up high in the stands. Deep
in the shadows of the stadium, Sampras
spotted them. As fans ushered his parents
down the rows, Sampras climbed over a fence,
hopped up the steps and met each for an
emotional embrace. "I love you so
much," his mother said.
"They've always been very supportive,
very loving," said Sampras, who will be
29 next month. "They weren't the typical
parents, where they're with me every week.
I'm my own man. They've always given me my
independence. "I wanted to thank them
for giving me the chance to play this game,
to be able to play here and break this
record. I want them to be a part of it. As
much as I like to say I'm going to be back
here every year, there's no guarantee. Win or
lose, I wanted them to be here. If it didn't
happen, it didn't happen."
But it did, beneath glorious applause.
There was a great appreciation for his
remarkable run of Grand Slam titles that
began in 1990. In the decade since, Sampras
has made mulch of the record books with his
incredible dominance on grass. Today in
winning his fourth consecutive Wimbledon
championship, Sampras tied Williams Renshaw
for most men's Wimbledon titles, and he won
for the 53rd time in 54 matches at the All
England Club. Perhaps more incredible,
Sampras was not broken in his last 87 service
games. With the increased competition, and
the fragility of players caused by a loaded
schedule, Sampras's Grand Slam total may be
unapproachable.
"Time will tell if it will be
broken," Sampras said. "I think in
the modern game, it could be difficult. I
mean the next person might be 8 years old,
hitting at a park somewhere around the world.
You never know. There are great players who
could do it, but it's not easy."
Today, history was especially tricky. For
hours, the outcome on this drizzly day was
uncertain. There was an hour rain delay
before the first serve, a 24-minute stoppage
of play midway through the first set,
followed 8 minutes later by a 2:30 eternity
that left both players stirring in the locker
room.
When it ended, Sampras emerged out of
sorts. And the unthinkable happened.
Throughout a fortnight when tendinitis
mysteriously crept into his left shin and
threatened to undo his run, he could always
use his serve to prop himself up. But in the
first-set tie breaker, his trusty support
system betrayed him. On his last two serves
of an extended tie breaker, a rattled Sampras
felt his heart race as he served consecutive
double faults to help turn the set over to
Rafter.
"We all choke," Sampras said.
"No matter who you are, you just get in
the heat of the moment. The title could be
won or lost in a matter of a couple of shots.
I really felt it slipping away."
At the end of the second set, the same
unthinkable scenario started to unfold.
Sampras began the tie breaker with a double
fault. And after he tentatively pushed a
forehand volley way long, his famously
slumped shoulders drooped a little more as he
stared at a celebratory Rafter. The Aussie
with the eroding rotator cuff, with only a
limited supply of serves remaining, was
shaking his fist over his commanding 4-1 lead
in the tie breaker. But then it was Rafter's
turn for a bout of butterflies. During a
5-point run by Sampras, Rafter served a
double fault and missed a sure passing shot.
Inspired by his opponent's sudden collapse,
Sampras cracked two volleys for winners. He
was alive.
"I thought, 'Oh, God, this is really
going downhill,' " Rafter said. "I
was really going to find it hard to deal with
the nerves more than anything. That was sort
of a mental blow more than anything."
In an instant, the match sped toward a
finish. After letting 9 break points slip
away during the match, Sampras broke Rafter's
spirits again in the fifth game of the third
set. On the first break of serve by either
player, Sampras came up with a series of
crisp passing shots on his way to taking a
3-2 lead. From there, Sampras barely
flinched. In the last two sets, Sampras
scurried to make history before nightfall
postponed it.
"It was difficult at the end,"
said Sampras, whose serve darted even more
invisibly as darkness began to arrive.
"It was an interesting time, interesting
day."
It was also a day that left a major
question hanging in the air: Does the record
make Sampras the best ever?
"To seal it, he'd have to win the
French Open, and I think he knows that,"
said Rafter, referring to the only Grand Slam
Sampras has failed to win. "That's
Pete's last big challenge.
"Like all great champions, I think
you've got to win on all surfaces in the
majors. But you know, Pete, in my eyes, still
goes down as the greatest player ever."
Whatever rift there was once between
Rafter and Sampras -- one borne out of a
disputed line call two years ago -- there was
no edge to it today. Rafter was gracious in
defeat, while Sampras was humble in
victory.
It is a trait Sampras shares with his
parents. In contrast to the
attention-grabbing celebration Venus Williams
shared with her tap-dancing father one day
earlier, Georgia and Sam wrapped their arms
around their son, and then blended into the
background. When approached by reporters,
they kept their customary silence.
"My dad won't be putting up any
signs," said Sampras, noting how Richard
Williams flashed messages from the visible
seat of the friend's box during his
daughter's victory. "He doesn't like the
attention like maybe Mr. Williams does.
"They're just my parents, not tennis
parents. I mean, when I go home, I'm the same
Pete as I was as a kid. You know, they've
given me strength and the heart to be here.
Obviously, as the years go on, you want them
to be part of the situations in your
career."
The opportunities to surpass Emerson's
record were shrinking on Sampras. With
injuries that have come with age, many
wondered if this Wimbledon was his last best
chance. If it was, he made the most of
it.
"I don't look at it as relief,"
Sampras said. "I never planned on
breaking this record. It's kind of
transcended into something that I put myself
in position to do. It hasn't hit me. It won't
hit me for months."
Maybe the scope of what Sampras
accomplished will not register for a while,
but the emotion was there. It was in his
eyes, and in the faces of two parents dabbing
their tears in the background.
BACK TO TOP
Sampras the
greatest ever? On grass he is
By Steven Wine (AP Sports Writer)
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- On the grandest
stage in tennis, Pete Sampras is the greatest
men's champion ever. Beyond that, his legacy
remains open to debate.
With an emotional victory Sunday against
Patrick Rafter, Sampras earned his seventh
Wimbledon title, making him the unchallenged
all-time grasscourt king. The title was his
13th in a Grand Slam tournament, breaking the
men's record he shared with Roy
Emerson.
But a history of irregular participation
in major tournaments taints the significance
of that record.
Before the open era began in 1968, only
amateurs could play in Grand Slam events,
diluting the competition and costing such
great pros as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Lew
Hoad many chances at major titles.
Emerson's 12 Grand Slam championships
stood as the record for 33 years, but few
considered him the game's greatest player.
``No disrespect to Emmo at all, but a lot
of his were generated before the advent of
open tennis,'' said Ted Schroeder, Wimbledon
champion in 1949. ``You look at the field in
which he competed and the field they're
competing in now, and there's not really any
comparison.''
Laver -- who was Sampras' idol -- won nine
Grand Slam titles even though he didn't play
any major tournaments for five years after
turning pro. Some former players say Laver
might have won 20 Grand Slam titles if he had
remained an amateur.
``Pick your number,'' Schroeder said.
``You take all the criteria -- longevity,
playing on grass and clay, amateur,
professional, his behavior, his appearance --
in all criteria, Laver's the best player of
all time.'' Sampras, 28, has his supporters
as the best ever. They include Laver's
contemporary and fellow Australian, Tony
Roche, who is now Rafter's coach. ``It's an
unbelievable achievement to break Roy
Emerson's record,'' Roche said. ``Sampras
will go down as the greatest player of all
time.''
He's clearly the best of his generation.
Andre Agassi, 30, ranks a distant second
among active players with six major
championships. And Sampras may add several
more titles to his total, because he expects
to play several more years. But detractors
point to the one glaring gap in his
accomplishments. Unlike such peers as Agassi,
Jim Courier and Michael Chang, he has never
won the French Open. In fact, he's never
reached the final at Roland Garros, and this
year he lost in the first round.
Because he struggles on clay, Sampras has
been unable to complete a so-called career
Grand Slam -- winning all four majors --
while Laver twice achieved the Grand Slam in
a single year.
``For Pete to be the greatest of all time
-- he probably is, but to seal it, he'd have
to win the French, I think,'' Rafter said.
``I think he knows that, as well.''
``Obviously the French is the one that's
missing,'' Sampras admitted. But at
Wimbledon, no one can challenge Sampras'
greatness. Willie Renshaw also won seven
titles in the 1880s wearing trousers and
wielding a wooden racket, but no one would
argue that the genteel sport he dominated has
much in common with the game Sampras plays.
``Pete is the greatest player ever at
Wimbledon,'' three-time champion John McEnroe
said. ``No one has ever come close to Pete.''
And whatever the significance of Sampras'
13 Grand Slam titles, it's a record that
could last for generations.
``Time will tell if it'll be broken,''
Sampras said. ``In the modern game, it could
be difficult. It's a lot of commitment, a lot
of good playing at big times. ...
``The next person might be 8 years old
hitting at a park somewhere around the world.
You never know.''
BACK TO TOP
Tennis
immortality: Sampras rewrites tennis history
By Stephen Wilson (Associated Press)
WIMBLEDON, England - Drizzle, double
faults and darkness couldn't keep Pete
Sampras from making tennis history.
Fighting back to win a match he felt
slipping away, Sampras overcame Patrick
Rafter in four sets Sunday to win his seventh
Wimbledon title and record-breaking 13th
Grand Slam championship.
Sampras served 27 aces and whipped 13
passing shot winners to beat Rafter 6-7 (10),
7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 in a match that ended at
dusk after four hours of rain delays.
After Sampras hit a service winner on
match point,  he raised his arms in triumph,
then bent over, bit his lower lip and began
to cry.
Sampras climbed into the stands and hugged
his tearful father, Sam, and mother, Georgia,
who came to Wimbledon for the first time to
watch their son go for the record.
Even tournament referee Alan Mills' eyes
brimmed with tears.
"It meant so much to me,"
Sampras said after accepting the champion's
trophyfrom the Duke of Kent. "My parents
are here today. It's so important to methey
could share it with me.
"I love Wimbledon. This is the best
court in the world. It's my home awayfrom
home."
The victory confirmed that Sampras was
certainly one of the greatest playersof all
time - if not the greatest.
The 28-year-old American matched the
record of seven Wimbledon titles, set by
William Renshaw in the 1880s, and surpassed
the men's record of 12 Grand Slam tournament
victories he had shared with Australia's Roy
Emerson.Sampras accomplished the feat despite
tendinitis at the front of his left shin,
which hobbled him most of the fortnight and
left him mentally prepared for defeat.
"With everything that's happened, I'd
say this is one of my best moments,"
Sampras said. "It's amazing, really
amazing how this tournament has panned out
for me. I didn't think I was going to win
here. I was really struggling."
Sampras remained typically understated
about his place in the record books.
"I don't look at it as relief,"
he said. "I never planned on breaking
this record. I looked at it as an
opportunity. It's kind of transcended into
something that I put myself into position to
do it."
The Grand Slam record likely could stand
for years.
"Time will tell if it will be
broken," Sampras said. "In the
modern game, it could be difficult. The next
person might be 8 years old hitting at a park
somewhere around the world."
Sampras has won 28 straight matches at
Wimbledon, extending his mark there to 53-1
over the past eight years.
"This is the greatest player ever at
Wimbledon," former three-time champion
John McEnroe said. "This guy's not
someone you can put anyone up against,
nobody. No one has ever come close to
Pete."
Sampras is only the sixth player in
history to win Wimbledon four straight years.
The last to do it was Bjorn Borg, who won
five straight from 1976-80. In the end, he
did it the way he always has - by outserving
his opponent. Firing first serves at an
average speed of 123 mph, with a top delivery
of 133 mph, Sampras was never broken Sunday,
saving the only two break points against him.
He broke Rafter three times.
In seven Wimbledon finals, Sampras has
lost his serve only four times in 131 service
games.
But mixed in with all his aces and service
winners, Sampras also had 12 double-faults,
including several at crucial junctures that
nearly cost him the match.
Sampras hit two double-faults in the
first-set tiebreaker, including one at 11-10
that gave Rafter the set.
"I lost my nerve in the first
set," Sampras said.
He opened the second tiebreaker with
another double, his ninth of the match, and
Rafter capitalized to go up 4-1.
"I really felt like it was slipping
away," Sampras said.
Then, suddenly, the match turned in
Sampras' favor.
A double-fault from Rafter brought Sampras
back to 4-4 when he ran off five straight
points, punctuated by a searing inside-out
forehand pass which he celebrated with an
uppercut fist pump.
Sampras ended the tiebreaker by
wrong-footing Rafter with a forehand volley,
clenching his fist again as he turned to his
entourage in the stands.
"This game is a matter of
nerves," Sampras said. "We were
both feeling it. I felt it in the first
tiebreaker. He felt in the second. The whole
match just changed in a matter of minutes.
The turning point of the match was the second
set tiebreaker."
The first break of serve came after 2
hours, 11 minutes of play, when Rafter, who
had saved nine break points until then,
slapped an easy forehand volley into the net
in the fifth game of the third set. Rafter
bounced his racket on the turf in anger.
Sampras slammed his 24th ace to serve it
out at love in the 10th game of the third set
to go up two sets to one.
By then, it was nearly 8:30 p.m., but play
continued into the fourth set. Sampras got a
bit of luck when he broke for a 3-2 lead, a
mis-hit backhand flying over Rafter and
landing on the baseline.
In the next game, Sampras double-faulted
again to give Rafter a break point and chance
to stay in the match. Showing the grit that
has dug him out of trouble so many times in
his career, Sampras saved the break point
with a 118 mph second-serve winner.
Sampras held for 4-2 with his 27th ace.
Rafter had nothing left, losing serve at 15
in the next game and watching almost
helplessly in the final game as Sampras
served out the match at love.
There were only a handful of baseline
rallies in the whole match. The longest point
came in the third game of the fourth set and
had 13 shots, ending with Rafter hitting a
forehand lob volley over Sampras' shoulder.
The match began an hour late because of rain
and play was interrupted twice in the first
set. There was a 2 1/2-hour interruption at
4-4, with Rafter serving at deuce.
The winner's share was worth $720,000 for
Sampras; as runner-up Rafter received
$360,000.
BACK TO TOP
Winner Shows
What's Inside
By:J.A. ADANDE , Times Staff Writer
WIMBLEDON,
England -- This was supposed to be the moment
Pete Sampras stood apart from all the rest,
serving his way to a record 13th Grand Slam
title with a victory over Patrick Rafter in
the Wimbledon final.
In
reality it was the day he showed more than
ever that he's just like the rest of us, a
person subject to fear and jitters, a child
who feels just a little bit prouder of his
accomplishments if mom and dad are around to
see them.WIMBLEDON
Most
tennis fans know Sampras as the guy who
serves an ace, wipes the sweat off his brow
with his thumb, drops his head, adjusts the
strings on his racket, walks to the other
side and serves another ace--his expression
never changing.
Sampras
dropped the wall Sunday and opened the door
to the inner workings of his mind.
He's
a sports fanatic who took encouragement this
week from a phone conversation with a
21-year-old ("But a pretty good
21-year-old," Sampras said), a guy by
the name of Kobe Bryant.
"Kobe
called to say good luck," said Sampras,
who attended several Laker games this year
and wore a Laker cap around the All England
Club earlier in the week. "He said, 'You
get through it, it feels that much sweeter.'
"
Sampras
even displayed a previously unseen
spirituality.
"I
had my parents on my side, I had God on my
side," Sampras said.
"I'm
not getting religious," he rushed to
add. "But I needed a little help from
upstairs."
Sampras
had to draw on whatever resources he could.
That wasn't confidence running through his
head Sunday; it was doubt.
He
was standing on the court where he had won
six championships in seven years, at a
tournament where he had won 52 of his
previous 53 matches. But having lost the
first set in a tiebreaker, and down 4-1 in
the second-set tiebreaker with two Rafter
serves to come, Sampras felt vulnerable.
He had struggled
just to get to this final, restricted by his
own body more than the competition. An
inflamed left shin prevented him from
practicing between matches, and he said
several times that if this had been a lesser
tournament he would have just gone home. So
Sampras didn't step onto Centre Court with
his usual swagger Sunday.
"There
have been times when I've walked into the
Wimbledon finals so confident," Sampras
said. "When I played [Cedric] Pioline
[in 1997], I knew I was playing too well.
Whereas this one, I wasn't playing well. I
was struggling with my game."
Sampras
admitted to having "a little bit of
insecurity playing [Sunday]. I felt the
nerves a little bit more.
"I
don't care how many times you've been, who
you are, if you're Michael Jordan. You choke.
I was feeling it today in the tiebreakers.
"I
was feeling the heart rate going up and I'm
like, 'This is it. This is grass court and it
can change within two minutes. And I can lose
my title really quickly.' "
No
one has lost the first two sets of the
Wimbledon final and come back to win since
1927. Fortunately for Sampras, Rafter felt
the magnitude of the moment as well. Rafter
hit a volley into the net, then
double-faulted to let Sampras back in.
"I
just got a little bit nervous," Rafter
said.
Sampras
won the tiebreaker, and from that point on
the oncoming darkness was more of a threat to
stop him than was Rafter.
Rafter
had difficulties getting his first serve in
and had even more trouble returning Sampras'
130-mph serves in the twilight.
Sampras
logged 27 aces in the match, which pretty
much sealed an event that, in his mind, was
supposed to end this way.
"I
believe in destiny," Sampras said.
"I do. I believe things happen for a
reason."
Take
the back injury he suffered in last year's
U.S. Open. It was while he was off the tour
and recuperating in Los Angeles that he met
his fiancee, Bridgette Wilson.
"If
I didn't hurt my back I wouldn't have met
her," Sampras said.
So
maybe it was fate that Sampras didn't break
the record of 12 Grand Slam titles he shared
with Roy Emerson in his first three
opportunities.
Perhaps
it was fate that Sampras' parents, Sam and
Georgia, chose this occasion to see him in a
Grand Slam final for the first time since he
lost the 1992 U.S. Open to Stefan Edberg.
They
have stayed away largely because they get too
nervous watching their son. But he wanted
them there this time. Sampras felt it was
especially important for them "to see
the court and the place that has been such a
big part of my career."
There
wasn't much negotiation after he beat
Vladimir Voltchkov in a semifinal Friday.
"He
asked, they came," Wilson said.
These
things matter when you're a kid, and again
when you get older.
Sampras
didn't go to college, so the tennis tour
served as that escape phase most kids go
through, when they're eager to flee their
parents and prove they can do things by
themselves. Then you close in on 30--Sampras
will be 29 next month--and all of a sudden
you start inviting your parents to your
parties.
"When
you're so goal-oriented and focused on one
thing you just lose sight of your family when
you're 22, 23 and you're just so consumed
with your sport," Sampras said.
"You
hurt your back and you spend time at home and
you get back in touch with your family. It
was a sobering back injury that kind of woke
me up to, 'Wow, I'm not going to play this
game forever. Let's appreciate what you've
done a little bit.' The older you get, other
things are more important than tennis.
"It
was important to me that they were here, that
they were part of it. Because those are the
memories that you have when you're done
playing."
You
can accumulate plenty of memories when you
win 13 Grand Slam titles, seven Wimbledon
championships (equaling another record),
finish six consecutive years (from 1993 to
1998) as the No. 1-ranked player and win at
least one Grand Slam title for eight
consecutive years.
Those
are only the numbers. It's the people that
stick with us, and it was the person inside
Pete Sampras, the player who put up all those
numbers, who emerged Sunday.
BACK TO TOP
An
athlete for the ages
Sampras' 7th Wimbledon singles title should bump
him into elite club
By Art Spander,
SportsWritersDirect
WIMBLEDON, England (July 9)
-- He was out of sorts. So was the weather.
Pete Sampras couldn't stop
Pat Rafter.
What they were calling the
Millennium Wimbledon seemed likely to go on
to another millennium because of delays and
darkness. The All England Club has its famed
grass courts, but it doesn't have lights.
But somehow, six hours
after the first ball was served on Sunday,
with weariness and disappointment working
their spells, there was Sampras basking as a
champion without precedent.
Now, we must seek
perspective. We must ask where Sampras ranks
among the greats -- not merely among the
people in his sport of tennis, but among the
people in any sport.
The other day Sampras
referred to Michael Jordan, the best
basketball player ever, and Wayne Gretzky,
the best hockey player in history. He was
alluding only to their staying power, their
longevity, not implying that he belonged in
their company.
So perhaps we must make
that implication, or more specifically, that
contention. Perhaps we must suggest that
Sampras belongs among the great athletes of
all time, among stars such as Willie Mays and
Joe Montana and Jack Nicklaus.
What a magnificent few
weeks it has been in sports. Tiger Woods
turned golf inside down and upside out. Then
another young athlete from Southern
California, Sampras, won his seventh
Wimbledon, tying a record, and won his 13th
Grand Slam singles title, setting a record.
You've got to appreciate
how difficult it was for the 28-year-old
Sampras to beat Pat Rafter of Australia, 6-7,
7-6, 6-4, 6-2, when truly, down three points
in the second-set tiebreaker, he could just
as well have lost.
In the end, there was Pete,
waving at his parents, Sam and Georgia, who
had flown in from the Los Angeles area on
Saturday and who had witnessed him win a
Grand Slam.
There was Pete, bent over
with emotion, wiping away tears, moments
after he had raised his hands in triumph.
There was Pete, climbing up
into the stands to hug his mom and dad, who
tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible
by not joining Pete's fiancée, Bridgette
Wilson, in the very conspicuous friends and
family box.
"I thought I had let
it slip away," said Sampras. "I
lost my nerve in the first set. We all choke,
no matter who you are."
But the best ones overcome
that failure. They ignore the interception
and throw the touchdown pass. They produce
the big shot at the critical time.
W.C. Renshaw also won seven
Wimbledon men's singles, but that was in the
1890s. And Roy Emerson, "Emmo" the
Aussie, won 12 singles championships in the
Slams -- the Australian, French and U.S.
Opens and Wimbledon -- in the 1960s.
Sampras developed
tendinitis in his left shin the first week of
the tournament. On Sunday, Sampras started
hitting double faults at the most inopportune
times.
The nasty weather that
Wimbledon had escaped the previous 12 days
came roaring in from the north with such
force and staying power that it first didn't
seem the match would start. Later, it didn't
appear it would end.
There was an hour rain
delay before the first shot. There was a 26-
minute delay in the seventh game of the first
set, when Sampras almost got run over by a
kid sprinting to help roll out the tarpaulin.
There was a 2-1/2 hour delay in the ninth
game of the first set.
Play finally restarted at
6:33 p.m. British Summer Time, and not until
8:57 p.m., when it was almost too dark to
play, did Rafter hit the final shot, a wide
return of serve.
"It didn't matter if
were played until midnight," said a
bemused Rafter. "I couldn't return his
serves anyway."
Nor, for the longest time,
could Sampras return Rafter's serves.
Pete had nine chances to
break Rafter's service, but not until the
10th attempt, in the fifth game of the third
set, did that actually take place.
"I don't plan on
breaking records," said Sampras.
"This hasn't hit me. It's amazing how
this tournament panned out. I didn't feel I
was going to win here."
"With
everything that happened," affirmed
Sampras, "I would say this is one of my
best moments. These two weeks were the most
difficult and the most satisfying. The fact
my parents were here, it was a great script
and it worked out well for me."
Considering
that the match ended on the day it started,
it worked out well for everyone, except maybe
Pat Rafter.
Copyright
(c) 2000 SportsWritersDirect
BACK TO TOP
Sampras
king of twilight zone
By: Barry Flatman
 History is meant to
be made in times of difficulty and Pete
Sampras could barely see through the
late-evening gloom as he finally won that
cherished 13th Grand Slam final. The American
had been lauded many times before as the
finest player ever to tread Wimbledon's
Centre Court or, indeed, play the game of
lawn tennis.
Now the record books say so as well as
Sampras beat one Australian, Patrick Rafter,
and overtook another, Roy Emerson, to become
the most successful men's gatherer of major
titles.
Rafter, himself twice US Open champion but
a novice to the Wimbledon final, knew he had
squandered a magnificent opening when he let
the upper hand in a second-set tie-break
slip. From then on the top seed was locked in
on his target like a homing missile, winning
6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Several years ago, Goran Ivanisevic was
within a couple of points of taking a two-set
lead against Sampras in a Wimbledon final,
but he stumbled at the crucial moment and so
did Rafter, previously so acrobatic in his
classic serve-and-volley play.
The mark of a great player is mental
toughness and that is what got Sampras
through under the nervous eyes of his
parents, Sam and Georgia, who had made the
trip to their son's mecca for the first time.
Emotional tears eventually flowed from the
man who has been criticised for never showing
his feelings, but again it was the magnitude
of his game which shone so brightly.
Rafter played well, better than anyone
against the champion in this tournament. But
as has so often been the case on this
particular grassy plot of south-west London,
it was not enough. After two, tight opening
sets, Sampras upped the pressure and Rafter
crumbled.
Yet it had required immense mental
strength as well as patience as both men were
hindered by the weather while trying to come
to terms with the anxiety.
Sampras knew he had been fortunate to
sneak his way through to the final because no
front-line opponent had appeared to test his
mobility following his dubious shin injury.
And Rafter, regardless of his two US Open
wins and three successes over him in their
last four meetings, was as nervous as any
Centre Court debutant. He had even struggled
to keep the ball in court during his morning
knock-up with occasional coach Tony Roche,
who had contested the final 32 years earlier.
Initially, the rain held off for 26
minutes and it came in time to cool Rafter
around the collar as the six-time champion
seemed to be mounting his first real
onslaught.
The American, so used to this glittering
stage after appearing in every final bar one
since 1993, knew the first set was critical,
and the manner of his early serving suggested
a man extremely clear in his own mind of what
was needed.
Destroying the recently-held myth that he
needed at least a set to get into his stride,
Sampras let fly with a 130mph ace in his
opening service game and rarely gave the
pony-tailed man from Queensland an opening.
Rafter's quality of return was always
going to be questionable and before the
drizzle-dampened affair was suspended, it did
not seem up to the task in hand. He seemed
able merely to bat the ball across the net
rather than send it sweeping back towards his
opponent elegantly, and Sampras couldn't have
been more content.
Then, when the pair returned for a brief
spell of eight minutes and 17 points,
Rafter's ability to keep pace with the
champion seemed even more dubious - and a
spate of three double-faults in four points
made things even more difficult.
But the second lengthy delay, stretching
more than 2d hours, enabled Rafter to come to
terms with the job and an opening set
tie-break proved just how mentally durable he
could be.
His wondrous, five-set masterpiece over
Andre Agassi in the semi-final was guaranteed
to bolster confidence, and his self-belief
could not have been more apparent as Rafter
battled resolutely to prevent Sampras taking
a one-set lead.
He saved Pistol Pete's two set-points
before double faults cost Sampras dearly,
handing Rafter a crucial lead by slamming two
serves into the net.
Doubt was creeping into the Sampras mind
as his double-fault count continued to climb
in the second set. And whereas before he was
powering the ball into play, now he was
forced to scale down the velocity. It was
possibly down to the shin but more likely
because his opponent was gaining in
confidence.
The crowd, traditionally patient
throughout the delays, were firmly behind
Rafter as late-evening sunshine eventually
illuminated the scene.
While Sampras was relying on the odd
running pass and worrying more about his game
than what his opponent was doing, Rafter was
rushing the net at every opportunity - and
coming up with winners.
Another tie-break seemed to be going his
way after another Sampras double-fault and
forehand error gave Rafter a 4-1 lead, but
then the realisation took a hold.
Rafter tightened noticeably and, sensing
his opponent's anxiety, the player revered as
probably the most accomplished ever to grace
the Centre Court, took his chance, pulling
his way back from a 4-1 deficit and sprinting
his way to levelling the match.
BACK TO TOP
Post
match interview
P. SAMPRAS def. Pat Rafter 6-7,
7-6, 6-4, 6-2
MODERATOR: I'm sure he needs no
introduction.
Q. What emotions are you going through
right now?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, it's very emotional
for a number of reasons: the past week and a
half, the fact that my parents were here,
obviously the title and how important this
tournament is to me, just all kind of hit me
at the end when I won. It was nice to share
it with my parents who have never been to
Wimbledon. I've wanted them to be a part of
it. Win or lose today, I was going to invite
them here. I'm glad they hopped on the plane
and made the trip.
Q. Were you worried about putting
pressure on yourself that you might not have
been able to pull it out?
PETE SAMPRAS: You can't worry about that.
The way the match was going, I thought I was
going to let it slip away. Are you talking as
far as my parents?
Q. A chance you would lose. It would
be a downer.
PETE SAMPRAS: It would be a downer.
Obviously I've won here before. Sure, you
want to win every time you get to the final.
I worked very hard to get here. If it didn't
happen, it didn't happen, you know. It didn't
faze me playing today, even though I was
quite tight at times throughout the match.
I'm fortunate that I got through it. I really
worked hard out there.
Q. Can you talk about why your parents
haven't made a practise of coming to your
matches, why you felt maybe this time was the
best time for that?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the older that I've
gotten, you want your family around, you
know. They've always kind of, you know, given
me my space when I'm playing, competing. They
don't want me to worry about them. But I told
myself if I got to the final here, or any
major, that I wanted them to be here. I'm
glad they both came.
Q. In the past, why haven't they come
to your matches?
PETE SAMPRAS: They get very nervous. Not
just that, but being superstitious, they are
very shy people, they -- if you know where
they're sitting, they don't want to be on
camera.
Q. When did they fly in? What did they
say to you when you got in the stands?
PETE SAMPRAS: Just that they love me,
"I'm proud of you." They got in, I
believe, yesterday.
Q. What prompted you to go up into the
stands to see them? It didn't look quite the
same as Venus' spontaneity yesterday. Did
someone suggest it to you?
PETE SAMPRAS: I looked over at my box.
They're all pointing to my parents, that I
should go up there. It took me a while to
find them (laughter). Once I did, it was a
great moment.
Q. Your mother wasn't there at first.
PETE SAMPRAS: They were up in the rafters.
Took them a while to get them down.
Q. Can you talk about what they've
meant to your career. They've been in the
shadows.
PETE SAMPRAS: They've always been very
supportive, very loving. They weren't the
typical parents, where they're with me every
week. I'm my own man. They always give me my
independence. I obviously thank them for
giving me the chance to play this game, to be
able to play here and break this record. They
supported me throughout all the highs and
lows. They've seen me at my best and worst. I
want them to be a part of it. That was -- as
much as I like to say I'm going to be back
here every year, there's no guarantees. You
know, win or lose today, I wanted them --
sure, it would have been disappointing, but
it would have been okay to have them here. If
it didn't happen, it didn't happen.
Q. Can you think of anybody beating
the record? Do you think this is a benchmark,
13 Grand Slams?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, time will tell if it
will be broken. I think in the modern game,
it could be difficult. It's a lot of
commitment, a lot of good playing at big
times. You know, it's hard to see one guy or
three guys that I see maybe doing it. It's
possible. I mean, the next person might be
eight years old hitting at a park somewhere
around the world. You never know. There's
guys that are, you know, great players that
could possibly do it. But it's not easy.
Q. What was the good play at the big
time in today's match?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, how the match went,
obviously there's a lot of nerves out there.
We both were feeling it. I lost my nerve in
the first set. He lost his nerve 4-1 in the
second breaker. Serving at 4-1, I really felt
like it was slipping away. Somehow got
through that tiebreaker. From a matter of
feeling like I was going to lose the match, I
felt like I was going to win the match within
two minutes. That's grass court tennis. Then
I got on his serve a little bit and started
making him work and work and work. Eventually
I got the break and served well when I had
to. You know, Pat is a great player that is
going to be in contention here every year he
plays. It really is a matter of a couple
points. I had chances throughout the match to
break. Didn't convert them. The closer the
match got, I felt it slipping away. Once we
got in the second set breaker, I felt my
nerve a little bit. But I got fortunate in
the breaker. That changed the whole course of
the match.
Q. Late in the fourth set, did you
feel like you were racing against time?
Obviously you didn't want to spill this over
until tomorrow.
PETE SAMPRAS: No, I didn't. I just wanted
-- even if it would have stopped at some
point, I was up a set. If it was 4-All or
5-All, I think I would have slept tonight
pretty confident that I could get through it.
You never want to come back. You want to keep
on your momentum, keep on your rhythm.
Fortunately, everything just worked
perfectly.
Q. How was visibility?
PETE SAMPRAS: It was difficult at the end.
I mean, I think we only had about maybe ten
minutes left to play. It was an interesting
time, interesting day.
Q. Could we say today was the best day
of your tennis life?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, with everything that's
happened, I'd say this is one of my best
moments. You know, over time, I'll appreciate
it much more than I am right now. It's hard
to really tell you how I feel in ten minutes.
I'm sure as the months go by and the years go
by, I'll look back at these two weeks as the
most difficult, the most satisfying. The fact
that my parents were here, it was a great
script that just really worked out well for
me.
Q. Comparable to which other moments?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, comparable to the
Slams that I've won, obviously the first time
I won here. You know, when you win here, you
always take something away from it. I didn't
feel like I was really at my best at this
Wimbledon. You know, the second week I really
kind of felt out of sorts for various
reasons. Today, I found my game when I had
to. That was really -- you know, that's what
I'm taking away from these two weeks.
Q. Was it your return? You seemed to
return better today than in the previous two
weeks. Is that what you mean by finding your
game?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, return. You have to
return well against Pat. He volleys so well,
he's so tough to pass because of his athletic
ability. I just felt, you know, I had some
chances, and I didn't quite get the return
in. Finally in the third and fourth, I was
making him work, making him work. Even though
I was losing some of his games, I was
Love-30, 30-All. I felt like it was a matter
of time before eventually I was going to
break him. You know, it's not easy to play
out there under these conditions. The nerves,
the emotional roller coaster we both went
through today coming back on and off, on and
off. It's just amazing how it all worked out.
I didn't think I was going to play today. I
thought it was going to be canceled. Just got
through it.
Q. What did you do during the break?
PETE SAMPRAS: I just relaxed. It's always
tough to know when to eat. You eat a little
bit. Just wait for it to stop. You know,
there was a point there where you could
mentally tell yourself, "I'm not
playing." Boom, the sun came out, I had
to get ready in 15 minutes. It's part of the
charm of Wimbledon, you have to deal with the
obstacles of the weather.
Q. You're very aware of tennis
history. People have been asking you about
this record for forever. Can you talk about
the quality of relief? Is it a feeling of
finally achieving it? Is there that feeling
of relief?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I don't look at it as
relief. I never, ever planned on ever
breaking this record. I think when I hit nine
or ten, it was a possibility. But I never
looked at breaking the record as pressure. I
looked at it as an opportunity that I would
love to do it. But you don't plan on breaking
records like this. It's kind of transcended
into something that I put myself in a
position to do it. It hasn't hit me. It won't
hit me for months. Probably, you know, I'm
just kind of still spinning a little bit.
It's amazing. It really is amazing how this
tournament just panned out for me. I didn't
really feel like I was going to win here. You
know, I really felt I was struggling, didn't
really know how it was all going to turn out.
Q. What can you tell us about your
foot now that you couldn't tell us before -
your treatment, how bad it was?
PETE SAMPRAS: It was an interesting week.
I was sore. I had to do what I had to do to
play. It's part of being an athlete. You play
through situations. You know, I a little time
off will be nice to kind of let it heal. You
know, I don't think I would have played
another event if it wasn't Wimbledon.
Q. What were the actual lowest points,
the things you did for it? Is there anything
you're willing to tell us now that you
weren't willing to tell us earlier?
PETE SAMPRAS: Like I said, I did whatever
I had to do to play. You know, I had a good
medical team, doctors that really were great.
Q. Any witch doctors?
PETE SAMPRAS: I tried everything
(laughter). Acupuncturist.
Q. Did you feel in a comfortable
position in the fourth set, being so dark,
figuring how well he could see your serves
anymore?
PETE SAMPRAS: No, I didn't. It was getting
dark, but it wasn't to the point where we
couldn't see the ball. It wasn't really a
problem. I think we both knew by 9:00 they
were going to call it. It would have been a
tough night of sleep. I was up a set. I like
that position.
Q. You said you were nervous out
there, even after winning six times?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah. We all choke. No
matter who you are, you just get in the heat
of the moment. You know, the title could be
won or lost in a matter of a couple shots. I
really felt it slipping away. I felt like I
was outplaying him for the first set. I
didn't get the break. I was outplaying him a
little bit in the second. Comes down to a
tiebreaker. Anything can happen. Just roll
the dice. I mean that was really the turning
point of the match, that second set breaker.
I felt it was slipping away. When you're
sitting on the changeover, you think of past
matches that you've lost the first set - to
Becker, 7-6 at one stage, came back and won
the next three. There's times you reflect on
your past experiences, being able to get
through it.
Q. You described your parents as being
people who let you have the limelight to
yourself. How important to your development
as a player has that been? There are so many
tennis parents who are very involved in every
aspect of their child's play.
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, they've always kept
their distance. As a junior and as a kid can,
they were involved. But as I turned pro,
started traveling with different coaches, I
was on my own. They supported, did what
parents do. They just love you. They always
say the right things. They just have always
kept their distance. They've never wanted to
get in my way when I'm competing.
Q. Is there danger now that your dad
will develop into the kind of guy who will
dance on the box?
PETE SAMPRAS: He won't be putting up any
signs either, no (laughter). He doesn't quite
like the attention maybe like Mr. Williams.
Q. Are you grateful that your parents
are the out-of-the-limelight types, maybe not
more stifling of the attention?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, one thing, my parents
have always been, they've always been my --
my parents are not tennis parents. You see a
lot of cases where parents get too involved.
They've always kept their distance. I mean,
when I go home, I'm the same Pete that they
have always treated me as a kid. You know,
they've given me the strength and the heart
to be here. They gave me a chance to play
this great game. Obviously I'm thankful for
what they've done for me. Obviously as the
years go on, you want them to be a part of
situations in your career. This is one of
them. Maybe The Open in a couple months'
time. Talking to my dad, I think he needs a
little break (laughter).
Q. At what point did you ask them to
come? Was this something you planned in
advance if you got to the finals?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, we've talked about it.
Each year I get to the final, I invite them.
My dad said, "Oh, no, you're doing
fine." Just didn't want -- not that he
didn't want to be a part of it. He just gets
very nervous. You know, I just mentioned it
before I left on this European trip. "If
I get to the final of a major, I want you
guys to be there." They remembered it. I
talked to them after I won my semi. I said,
"All right, let's see if you guys get on
that plane." They did.
Q. What about crowd reaction?
PETE SAMPRAS: They were great. The crowd
was into the match. At the end, it was a
great moment. It was an amazing setting
because it was getting dark, the flashes. The
roar of the crowd was a moment that I'll
never forget.
Q. What's left for you to accomplish
in tennis now?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, from an achievement
standpoint, I've done what I've wanted to do.
I've been No. 1 for a while, I've won Slams.
Obviously the French is the one that's
missing. But I still love competing and I
love playing. I love being in situations like
today where you feel nervous before you go
out there, you have anxiety, you find a way
to get through it. Today I did that. I got
through it and found a way to win. You know,
it's time to just kind of sit back and really
soak this up, enjoy it, not really worry
about what's next, just reflect on these last
two weeks.
Q. Is there a chance that you would
scale back? You have the record now, you're
engaged. These are major milestones in your
life. Is there a chance you scale back the
schedule, just prepare for the Slams?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I think that's kind of
my schedule, my goals for the rest of my
career, give me the best schedule, you know,
to do well at the Slams. You know, as much as
I'd like to get back to No. 1, it's not as
much of a priority. I mean, these are the
occasions, the reason why I practise, play
and train, for the majors.
Q. What are the chances of playing
Davis Cup?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, it's hard to really
say at this point. I've taken some pretty
aggressive measures to play here. It's time
to let this thing heal properly. But I'll do
whatever I can to make the trip. You know,
how effective I'll be, I don't know. If
things are good, I'm planning on going.
Q. Do you remember the sixth game when
you broke, trying to consolidate, you
double-faulted, down a breakpoint. Was that
nerves?
PETE SAMPRAS: That's nerves. When you get
that break, you tell yourself, "I have
to hold serve three more times." You
feel the nerves. When your heart rate is
going up, you feel the nerves. No matter how
many times you've been in the Wimbledon
final, you're going to feel the pressure.
That was obviously a huge game to get
through. From then on, just broke him the
next game and made it serving it out that
much easier.
Q. Did you know his family were
coming, all the way from Australia? You
spoiled their party, but did it sort of --?
PETE SAMPRAS: Not really.
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