January 27, 1997
Sampras scales yet another peak
By Nirmal Shekar
For the greatest summiteer in contemporary tennis, Sunday brought up yet another peak, one that he ascended with far greater ease than he might have expected to. But, for Pete Sampras, it was just another stop, however heady the feeling momentarily --- not really the destination.
Now, following the great man's 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Carlos Moya of Spain in the men's singles finals of the Australian Open tennis championship, a triumph that gave Sampras his ninth Grand Slam singles title, there are not too many peaks left to conquer, really.
But, as far back as he can remember, Sampras has never aimed for anything but the ultimate. And the historic climb will continue for modern tennis's greatest missionary. There are a few formidable peaks with famous names in sight, and the next stop will perhaps be the Bill Tilden (10 titles) summit. And then there are Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg (11 each) and finally Roy Emerson (12).
And to think the world champion is just 25 years old! Well, not too many would bet against the great man occupying a peak of his own --- one that will be the ultimate challenge for all the future greats in the game --- by the time we enter a new millenium.
Sunday's thrashing of the unseeded Moya in an hour and 27 minutes was Sampras's easiest victory --- in terms of the number of games lost --- in the 11 Grand Slam finals he has played in over eight years and it gave him his second Australian Open title. He has four U.S. Open titles and three Wimbledon crowns.
While other peaks do beckon, and he will soon resume his marathon journey, Sampras will perhaps allow himself a brief celebration tonight. For, his last two campaigns down under might have left a few scars.
Two years ago, Sampras's coach, the late Tim Gullikson, had to fly back to the United States from Melbourne after he took ill. And an emotionally shattered Sampras steeled himself to carry on. But he broke down for all the world to see during the match against Jim Courier when a spectator shouted: "Do it for Tim, Pete."
Sampras went on to win that thrilling five-setter but came up short, physically and emotionally, against Andre Agassi in the final. And, last year, the world champion was bombed out of the championship in the third round by Mark Philippoussis of Australia.
In the event, today's triumph should help heal a few wounds for Sampras, although the victory itself was taken for granted by many once he had come up with that tour de force on Friday against Thomas Muster.
"I thought about it this morning," said Sampras, referring to the trauma of the last two years in Melbourne. "I'm sure Tim is looking down and he's pleased with the way I fought. He helped me so much with my attitude, he taught me to be tough. When he passed away, I didn't want to play tennis anymore. But time... time has helped and I just have to get on with it."
And the great man has indeed got on with it wonderfully well as he won the U.S. Open last September to end 1996 as the No. 1 and this is as good a start to the new season as he might have dreamed of.
"This is what it is all about. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well at the Slams. When you look back at your career, that's what stands out --- the Grand Slam titles," said Sampras.
Yet again in a major tournament, an outstanding feature of Sampras's success this fortnight has been the way he peaked for the business end of the event. He had that one bad match against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia in the fourth round and it was almost as if we were seeing a different, and more familiar, Sampras from the next round.
"The quarterfinals, semis and the finals of the Slams... that's the time to step it up," said Sampras, although he made this "stepping up" business look so simple that one might have wondered if all it took was to press the right button.
For Moya himself --- the first Spanish men's finalist here since Andres Gimeno in 1969 --- it would have taken a Herculean "stepping up" to try and match his great opponent on this day. In playing and beating other superstars such as Boris Becker and Michael Chang, the big man from Majorca did prove that he had the skills and big match temperament.
But to meet Sampras anywhere near the altitude at which the world champion operates in a Slam final would have taken a helluva lot more than that. And the 20-year old first-time Slam finalist just did not have the resources to accomplish was almost an impossible task.
"He's No. 1 and he showed it today. I didn't play as well as I did in the previous matches. But he didn't let me play well. I learnt a lot more today than in the last two weeks when I was winning," said Moya.
Indeed, it was a lesson in championship tennis from Sampras today. On a warm, humid afternoon, the last thing that the Greek- American might have wanted was a wobbly start or a long, grinding match. And he set the pace early and put a little distance between himself and the young challenger, a distance that increased with every passing game.
"It was humid and warm and I wanted to set the tone early. I thought I played really, really well," said Sampras. "Winning the second set was the key to the match," he said.
Moya looked every bit the unseeded floater in the first set as Sampras broke serve first to 3-1 and then to close out the set. But the Spaniard, who has won many fans here with his exploits, found a spot of inspiration from the "Come on Carlos", "Come on Carlos", cries from the stands and suggested a revival in the second set when he broke back to 1-2 and then held to 2-2.
The great man across the net might have smelt the first whiff of trouble and in the seventh and eighth games of the set Sampras proved why he is such an invisible competitor in a Slam final.
Down a breakpoint, Sampras fought his way to 4-3 and then got the better of an opponent brought up on clay in two successive rallies to give himself the chance to break through in the next game. The point where Sampras broke to 5-3 symbolised his strength of will as much as his racquet skills as he ran down everything before hitting a forehand winner.
In 51 minutes, the world champion was up two sets on a hot afternoon and the die was cast. Moya fought on for a while, but his resolve was well and truly broken in the third game of the third set --- the longest of the match --- when Sampras broke to 2-1.
From then, it was just a question of time and it came sooner than one might have expected as Moya started the first service game in which the big question was asked of him --- the ninth game --- with a double fault and followed up with two nervous mishits. Sampras, not wanting to stay on court a moment longer than absolutely necessary, said a big thank you and closed out the match on his first matchpoint with a drop volley that the Spaniard desperately scooped over the baseline.
As in the match against Muster, a stunning aspect of the final was the number of times Sampras won points from the baseline, outhitting an opponent who is more comfortable from the baseline. Given the conditions --- the heavy balls and the slow court --- this was almost the equivalent of winning the French Open for Sampras who beat three of the best clay court players in the game --- Albert Costa, Thomas Muster and Carlos Moya --- in successive matches.
But that --- winning in Paris --- remains Sampras's biggest goal now. "This is the toughest major I've won --- physically. The heat, the balls, the conditions... they weren't favourable to my game. But the French is the one that's missing. I'll do everything I can to give myself a shot there this year. But I can't put too much pressure on myself. If it comes, it comes," said Sampras.
While the victory has further strengthened Sampras's position at the top in the ATP rankings, Moya himself makes the top 10 for the first time following his final appearance. The Spaniard is ranked No. 9 while the man he beat in the first round --- Becker --- has fallen out of the elite 10.