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| Sunday Morning Post (Hong Kong) June 14, 1998 Pistol Pete's personal comfort zone By Craig Gabriel |
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"Wimbledon seems to agree with me and that's great because it's the biggest tournament we have in the world" |
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The Wimbledon Centre Court was once described by Boris Becker as "my lounge room" but when Pete Sampras beat the German in the 1995 final at the All England Club, to win his third consecutive Wimbledon Championship, Becker declared that the lounge room now belonged to the American. On June 22, when Sampras, the defending champion, walks on to the most famous tennis court in the world, that lush and manicured grass court where the sound of a ball meeting the racquet string sounds so different to anywhere else, just as all defending champions before him and he himself has done, he will be entering familiar territory. The world number one will be in his comfort zone, certainly after the continued disappointment he suffers at French Open where he has never reached the final. By contrast, Sampras has never lost a final at Wimbledon. He has only ever lost one match on the Centre Court -- that was in 1996 when he was beaten in straight sets by Richard Krajicek, who went on to win the title. Here, in the run-up to the 112th Wimbledon Championships, Sampras talks about his ambitions, the pressures, the sport's greatest fortnight and what it's like to be the best player in the world. Q The thought of winning four Wimbledons in a span of five years was perhaps not something that you imagined you would fulfil. But here you are at still a young age where Bjorn Borg's five in a row is historic in the modern era, and you could go way past that number. What's your feeling of your achievements here? A It's something that I never planned on happening, to be honest. As a kid you always dream of winning Wimbledon, but I never thought I would ever be at this level and to have won what I have won. But the reality of it is that grass has turned into one of my better surfaces. When I first played Wimbledon, I only won one match in my first three or four years here. But now I have a confidence on that Centre Court at Wimbledon and I have a confidence on grass that I'm tough to beat. When you can serve well and return pretty well, it obviously helps. It's a little overwhelming to think of myself being compared to a Borg or whoever, but as far as my achievements are concerned, it's something that I will appreciate much more when I'm done playing. Now you are tunnel-visioned about what you are doing, Wimbledon seems to bring out the best in me and I certainly hope that happens this year. Q When the tournament begins people say the guy who beats Sampras is the guy who has a chance of winning it. You're expected to walk away with the Championship. Does that give you an edge in the locker room or is there an expectation that it gets tougher each year? A It's tough every year. It's tough to defend. It's tough to win any major, and Wimbledon, sure I'm one of the strong favourites and I think players obviously know that and players know that I play well on grass and I don't know if that brings an aura about me on grass and it's intimidating....but I hope it does. Wimbledon is very tough to win, with the weather, the rain delays, the speed and playing guys that can get hot at certain times. It's a very tough surface to play on. You can make a couple of mistakes and you're out. For some reason over the past four or five years I have just managed to find a way to play well enough to win there. You feel when quarters, semis come around at Wimbledon, this is it, this is what you play for and you are more pumped up for those matches than maybe any other match of the year. It brings out the best in me. Q Talk about what comes over you when you walk out on that Centre Court and how you respond to the crowd tension. A It's not something that comes over you, it's something that's familiar. I was probably a bit overwhelmed when I first got on to Centre Court: I was finally on there. But now that I've been on that court a number of times I am familiar with the surroundings and just the whole scenery. I have grown to love it -- I haven't quite had that feeling at the French Open, as we know. Wimbledon seems to agree with me and that's great because it's the biggest tournament we have in the world. Grass is a very scary surface. You come out and there are these guys who serve big, but you just have to stay sharp and be on your toes on grass more than any other surface. You can't afford to make a mistake. Q Having had a year of not winning in 1996 and not being introduced as the Wimbledon champion, did winning it in 1997 again make it even sweeter? A No, I lost to Krajicek in a tough match but that's sport, it's part of what I do. I'm not going to win every close match on that Centre Court. He played great for the two weeks and you have to accept it and move on. It doesn't matter if I win Wimbledon the year before or not, I go in so pumped up, it's just something about the place that forces that out in you. This is it. This is our Championship. Winning the year before doesn't matter. Q Does making a mistake in a match affect your mental approach for the rest of the match? A On grass you can't afford to let bad shots linger in your mind. It can all happen so quickly out there, a double fault or bad luck, you can't afford to let bad shots linger for even a couple of minutes because you can get your serve broken and when you have your serve broken it catches up with you. You just get on with it as best as you can. Q How can you explain the rapid turnover at Grand Slams now compared to the seventies and eighties? A The way I look at the four -- the French, I see 20 to 30 guys who can win it; Wimbledon or the US Open, eight to 10 guys; the Australian maybe 12. The French is so wide open because there is no dominant clay-court player and there are not that many fast court players in today's game. It seems like with Spain taking over men's clay-court tennis, it's not surprising to see the final we had in Paris. The game today is not like 15 years ago when you always saw Lendl, Connors, Borg, McEnroe in the semis or finals of the majors. Now it's anyone's ball game and a lot of guys know that. They get hot at Wimbledon or the Open; like last year at the Open. The guys are so good today and there is so much depth in the game, the favourites are not as favoured as they once were. Q How tough is it to be the number one in the world? How demanding is it to sustain that level of excellence month after month, year after year? A It's not easy. It's one thing to get there, it's another thing to stay there and it's twice as hard to stay there, trust me. You need to back it up and what I have done over the past number of years is to have fun with it and not worry about the rankings. I have put pressure on the majors and if you do well at the majors you are going to be ranked pretty high. To be, and stay, number one, the game almost needs to be consuming, it has to be your life in a lot of ways. It is a priority but, unfortunately, this year hasn't been that consistent. But I know it comes down to the end of the year and obviously I'm going to try and break Connors' record of number one ranking (both have held the year end number one ranking for five consecutive years). There are a lot of commitments from sponsors to media -- there's a lot of stuff that needs dealing with. It's not easy, but I think with my boring personality it helps. Q You obviously have that desire otherwise you wouldn't be here trying to win a fifth Wimbledon crown. A Absolutely, I want to be the best player I can be. I couldn't live with myself when I'm done with my tennis, of not having given it my best shot. I still have my bad days but I want to take advantage of these years when I'm young, playing well and I'm hungry and healthy. I don't want to have any regrets when I'm done playing. I'm not fighting any lack of motivation but there are no shortcuts in any sport, especially tennis. When a major comes up you have to disregard the negatives like bad weather. But there are times of the year when you do feel tired. As good as I feel I am, I do need a break and I'm going to take that. Q Many players say the hardest part of a Grand Slam is the first two or three rounds until they get into the swing of the event. Who would you hate to meet in those rounds at Wimbledon? A For me it's the first round, it's always the most difficult. You are a bit on edge and it's nice to get through that first match and work into the tournament. You don't want to play someone with a huge serve, and if it's a bit windy, a cold day, lots of things can happen. We know those players, the ones with huge cannons. You don't get time to breathe. To win Wimbledon you need a second serve and you need a return. Q During the clay court season things have usually been disappointing for you. How long does it take to get back on track and does it get tougher over the years to get fully motivated? A It's the same. I lost on the Wednesday in Paris and I had to force myself to hit balls on the Monday. I didn't want to, I was thinking `what am I doing out here? My heart and mind is in Paris'. It takes a tournament to be over, but time heals and it goes away. The balloon popped, you are tough to be around and I want to be left alone. I can't watch it on TV. I'll go play golf. But I've always taken pride in moving on and not dwelling in the past. Q What is it about the Wimbledon experience that gives it the status as The Championship? A A lot of the guys look at it as the biggest. For me it was the one that I enjoyed watching on TV. I'd get up at 6 am and watch it live. The echo of the ball on the grass, it's unique. You don't quite feel that at the Open. There is a certain aura that you really don't feel much through the year. The Centre Court. It's just historical. It seems like the whole world is watching when you are playing Wimbledon. People who don't follow the game or might not be tennis fans, somehow know it's Wimbledon and will watch it.
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