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| USTA March 2, 2000 Press Teleconference with Pete Sampras |
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Pete, tell us a little bit about the golf tournament you're hosting. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first tournament you've put your name on and tell us why the Tim Gullikson Foundation is so important to you? PETE SAMPRAS: Obviously, Tim was a good friend and coach, and we lost him four years ago to brain cancer and it obviously affected my life, you know, trying to help out the Foundation anyway I can. We've done tennis events and this year we're trying a golf event. Obviously, Tim was a big golfer. So we have about 35 celebrities on March 6 at North Ranch Golf Course, and it's to help out the Foundation. Certainly looking forward to a good turnout. Certainly, I hope we can make this into an annual event and I'm real excited about it. There are a lot of foundations that help with cancer and research and that sort of thing. Can you describe how the Gullikson is different in the way that it helps families cope with the disease? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, families are affected with cancer and certainly with Tim's family, Rosemary and his two kids, Eric and Megan, saw, had to go through what he went through, and obviously very difficult, and that's where their family pretty much wanted their money to go to. And obviously I'm going to support them any way I can, because Tim was a good friend and he helped me out in my tennis. I was wondering if you might talk about two of your greatest Davis Cup memories, specifically maybe matches that stand out for you above anything else? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I think No. 1 would have to be the time in Russia where I went in there, not really sure if I was playing singles or doubles. End of the year, and I won a tough match against Cherkasov and physically I wasn't in the best shape came back for the doubles and ended up clinching it. I think that probably stands out as one of the highest moments I've ever had in Davis Cup. Right behind that might have to be when I played doubles with John in '92 when we won in Dallas. That was a great moment. Those two stand out more than the other ones. I know in the past you've talked about how you've struggled playing in Indian Wells. Can you talk about that and are you going to make any adjustments strategically when you play in it this year? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the last few years, three or four years, I've struggled, you know, and I've talked about it a bunch, with the dry altitude, the ball kind of seems to travel a little bit further than I'd like and I have a hard time throwing it in the air. This year, I'm playing Scottsdale which obviously has the same type of altitude and I'm trying to prepare myself for our first major tour event. Strategically, maybe try to come in a little bit more and be a little bit more aggressive than I have been the last couple years. And certainly hope I can get into a good rhythm out there and play the tennis I want to play. Was that the strategy when you won the titles the two times earlier in the 90s? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I think the conditions might have been a little bit more to my advantage. I felt like I could hit the ball a little bit -- swing a little harder and the ball would go where I want it to go. And the last couple years, I guess I kind of lost that. I don't know if it's the ball or what it is, but this year, I'm hopefully going to break through and hopefully have some good rounds. Can I ask you about what you did for your rehab since Australia up until now? PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, I've just been getting treatments, pretty much every day for about three, four weeks and really couldn't do much. I was just treating it twice a day and getting rehab on it, but now I'm back to hitting, and I drew the wild card next week to get some matches under my belt. But it definitely took -- bad enough injury where I needed to lay low and not really do much for quite a while. You and Andre really had an intense meeting in Australia and there's a chance that you guys could meet again. I know we've asked this again and again, but you do seem to have a greater sense of urgency when you play Andre; is that correct? PETE SAMPRAS: Greater sense of --. Urgency, it's always an important match? PETE SAMPRAS: Oh, absolutely. We have played each other enough that if it's the finals of Wimbledon or the finals of a tournament here in L.A., it's just as important. You know, we have a lot of respect for each other, each other's game, and certainly, you know, we both know that we need to be at our best to beat each other. You know, you can't force playing or lose points or lose games against Andre. He's too solid and too strong, and I think he feels the same way. So when we're both playing our best, the best tennis we have to offer, the ingredients are there to be a great rivalry. And we've had glimpses that over the years, and certainly starting off the year with the great five-set match in Australia was great, and I think having a good year, we'll get a chance to play a lot. I was in yesterday for the dedication of the new stadium at Indian Wells, which, you know, is a pretty splendid thing, I was just wondering, do players take notice of the stadiums or does that, know, get you hyped up or anything like that? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, we definitely take notice, especially when they improve the locker room facilities, certainly the site in Palm Springs is a good site. I think Charlie wanted to make it better, and certainly has done that from what I hear, but it's still the same court and dimensions; so there's nothing different when it comes to that. I'm looking forward to seeing it. They are going to have actually maybe three show courts and have a lot of fans out there and certainly looking forward to seeing it, playing in a new stadium, since I haven't had too much luck there. Considering the injuries, like the Open last year and what happened in Australia, how hungry does that keep you to continue to playing and going after that 13th Grand Slam? Can you put that on a scale? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I'm obviously concerned. I mean, these are two substantial injuries. The back was a lot more serious than my hip, but it just tells me I need to take better care of and be more aware of my body and making sure I'm doing the right things off the court. But sure, I've had a lot of time off. I've only played a couple events the last six months. I've had a lot of time at home, just kind of thinking about my tennis and the next three or four years. And being away from the game has given me kind of a new appreciation for how much I enjoy playing and how passionate I am about playing this game, and I am very hungry and just want to have a good year and looking forward to starting out next week, and being part of some Davis Cup this year is something I'm looking forward to. You know, it could be a blessing in disguise, but it's not fun going through, but you definitely kind of appreciate what you've done in the game a little bit more since you've had some time to think about it. The phone call between you and John, were you surprised that he called you, considering? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, no. I mean, he -- I was waiting for the call, but we talked and we -- you know, I heard some things I needed to hear from him, and, you know, at the end of the day, we cleared the air, and what happened, happened and it's time to move on and look forward to playing in L.A. and playing for the rest of the year. So I'm glad we talked through it. I was going to ask you about that call. He seemed to say that the first few moments were a little awkward. Did you find it that way? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, it was a little awkward. We -- last time we talked, there's some things said that got to me and I didn't appreciate, but you know, I understand he was put in a very tough position and maybe -- you know, I don't want to speak for him, maybe he didn't handle it as well as he would have liked. But we talked about it and I'll leave the details between he and I, but like I said, I heard some things I needed to hear. I told him I wanted to play this year and I changed my schedule this year to play Davis Cup. You know, being here, you know, after Australia with the injury and hearing some of the things I heard being here, it wasn't a fun time. Let me ask you, if we get through this match as expected, how do you stand when it comes to the semifinal which presumably will be on clay shortly after Wimbledon? PETE SAMPRAS: How do I feel about it? In other words, your availability, would you want to play? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, yeah. I've said that, haven't I? About playing on clay right after Wimbledon? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, that's what's going to be --. In other words, you're available, whatever it is, is that it? PETE SAMPRAS: Yes. And can you just tell me what the treatment was that you were receiving for the hip injury? PETE SAMPRAS: Like specifics? Well, is there something that people recognize from what type of treatment you would be getting? PETE SAMPRAS: Ultrasound, electricity, a week went by, doing some stuff, trying to make the muscle a little bit stronger, and next going for a walk on the treadmill and as time went on I was able to go for a run, and it was kind of a slow process of getting it better. If I'm not mistake in, this was the first time Davis Cup is coming down to L.A., and I just wondered with the rich tennis history down there I was wondering whether you were surprised you haven't coming down there earlier? PETE SAMPRAS: I was a little surprised. Tennis in L.A. is a huge sport, just to play in the Palm Springs tournament, which is close, and the L.A. tournament is packed every night. L.A. is one of the better tennis towns in the country and I know Gene and the people at the Forum have been trying to get Davis Cup in L.A. for years, and finally it all worked out and it's here. I'm obviously being very excited being from the area. Just moving here a little while ago, I'm pleased, even with all the ticket requests coming around. I saw the 60 Minutes blurb they did on you last fall. I was wondering when you first found out they were interested in interviewing you, were you worried at all that Mike Wallace might be sent to talk to you or one of their more bulldogish reporters? PETE SAMPRAS: Actually, I went on the Charlie Rose, he did on PBS a couple of times last year and he recently started working with 60 minutes II, and he just kind of contacted me and my manager to do something. So from the first day, I was going to do it with Charlie, and he's a big tennis fan, and I like him. We had a good time. So you didn't have to worry about facing --? PETE SAMPRAS: No, I didn't have to worry about all that -- all the really, really tough questions. I also had a follow-up. I've seen you at a Laker game recently, and I was wondering when you go to those, are you able to be a fan or do people come up and treat you as sort of a celebrity along the lines of the actors and actresses you see at the games? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, you have people that know I'm there and stare and ask for some autographs, but people, especially at those games, see people so often, they leave people alone, and, you know, I make sure I put on the hat and sit down and kind of watch the game. But people are very, very nice, and certainly going to Laker games is not a hassle. I'm obviously a big fan and love to go. What is that like to be trying to watch the game and have that feeling that people are staring at you instead of what's going on on the court? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, they are not staring at me the whole time. They are staring more at Shaq. You know, it's just people that walk up and down the stairs, they look over and they stare, ask for an autograph. It's really not a hassle. I've been going to games for years, and it's really not a problem. I'm here in Del Rey where Pat Rafter has just come back after a long injury and he was talking about how he realized that there's no guarantees and that it might have been over, and said that if he couldn't play again, he would be totally satisfied; he'd accomplished more than he'd ever expected. I was wondering if that scenario came to be, hopefully it won't at this point for you, would you have that same feeling or would you be disappointed that you'd miss out on other things that still lie ahead? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, sure, I'd be disappointed, sure. I mean, I love to play and certainly want to play this game for as long as I can, as long as I'm doing it. But if it ended tomorrow and I couldn't play, sure, I'd be very satisfied with my -- with my career and how I've done. But I still have a deep passion to keep on going and fortunately my injuries weren't serious enough to be career-threatening, so I haven't really considered not playing. But if it stopped, you know, I'd certainly have to find something else to do, which isn't always easy, and so I, you know, with all this time off and injuries that I've dealt with, it's told me how much I really miss the game and looking forward to coming back. Interestingly, he said he hasn't missed the game. I just wanted to also ask you, can you talk about the PETE SAMPRAS Classic coming up and how you got involved, how you decided to get a charity thing together for the Gullikson Foundation. You have a pretty good lineup, were you involved in getting anybody on board? PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, I know a few people here and there and over the years, have done different things, tennis events, an exhibition at the Garden one time. And this year we tried to do a classic, a Golf Classic. Tim was such a big golfer and being in L.A. now, I know some people that can help out. And it's on Monday at North Ranch Golf Course and we have a good list of celebrities, and hopefully we'll raise a good amount of money for the Foundation and hopefully we can make this an annual event, because Tim was a big golfer, and a lot of support from the community of L.A. and a lot of celebrities are coming out and if it's as successful as I think it will be, we'll do it again. Was it something you came up with or someone came to you and said, hey, do you want to put this together? PETE SAMPRAS: I think it was something that I was approached -- someone approached me about it, and I -- I was thinking, great, I love to play golf. Not only living in L.A., which is a lot more accessible to get celebrities to play, and I got a lot of club support from the course there. You mentioned it just a second ago, but how is your golf game at the moment? PETE SAMPRAS: Oh, I haven't played much because of my back and -- over the past six months, and now my hip, but I'm going to play this weekend and hopefully not embarrass myself on Monday. Is North Ranch your local course? PETE SAMPRAS: It's not. I've never played it. Fortunately it's a scramble so we take the best ball and you can at least shank it and still drop a ball on the fairway. I play to about a 12. Is it just celebrities or are there any other golf pros playing? PETE SAMPRAS: There are no golf pros, just celebrities. Can you talk a little it bit about playing alongside Andre in the Davis Cup, what's it going to be like, and obviously it should bring back a spark to the Davis Cup team, it probably will bring a spark with a close match against Zimbabwe and so on? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I've played tennis with Andre early on in our careers, and I don't think we've played together on the same team since '95, but it's nice to go out and play and not have the pressure of having to win. You know you have Andre waiting in the locker room, which is a nice feeling to get you into a winning match, and so, at the end of the day, I like our chances against anybody, two of the better players in the world on all surfaces. And certainly will bring a lot of attention to Davis Cup which obviously we need in this country, and with John being captain brings it even more attention, and that's great for the game, great for the game in the States, and I'm certainly happy I'm part of the team this year and hope we can win the Cup. I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about the ATP and the new format that they have got, you know, coming up this year and whether the players like yourself have had any kind of influence and been able to talk with them about your opinions about making it easier for fans and media and everybody to follow? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I think with the ranking system in place, it will be a lot easier to follow. It's not really a ranking, it's a race, where everyone starts at zero and you play the year and it's lot easier to understand for the average fan. I think that it's positive. Obviously, trying to get, you know, nine big, big events, all the Grand Slams, getting all the players playing. That's really what's going to sell the game, top players playing each other, rivalries occurring through the year. Grand Slam are obviously doing just fine. But some of the tour events they have definitely improved with some of the sites, and trying to really make this sport much more popular around the world is not always easy. But I like the effort the tour is doing to improve the game and I'm looking forward to it. We'll see how it all works out and so it should be -- it should be interesting. Were you or the players consulted on it? PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, we were. I was talked to about it, about the ranking system, what I thought about it. I liked it. I always felt the ranking system up until this point wasn't always the fairest and guys got to be No. 1 almost in a fluky way. And now it's not really a ranking, it's a race, and you just kind of play the year and when December comes around, you'll have the final ranking, which is the way -- it really does work out at the end of the day, but now it's a lot easier for people to understand. I know that you got a wild card here. I think in high school in your junior or senior year, you had a pretty good run, can you talk about that success and how that might have helped you in your career? I guess at the time you were an amateur and at the time considering going pro or going to college, can you say how that helped your career? PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, that was kind of the turning point going from the juniors and turning pro. I beat a couple good players in the quallies, and I beat Krishnan and Telsher both ranked in the mid-20s and lost a tough match to Sanchez. I felt like I was ready, felt like it was time for me to go out and travel around the world and see what I could do, and that's the tournament I turned pro and finished my junior year of high school, and then from that point on, I played full-time. So that was -- it was a huge turning point. It was tough on Charlie to give this little skinny kid a wild card there. That was definitely a fun time. I'm not saying it's not fun anymore, but when you're 16, you're getting points and a little bit of money, it's a pretty good high. Can you also talk about your memories of your two championships at Indian Wells? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, one was a good final against Korda, five sets. That was good tennis. The other final was against Andre and he just beat me in Australia. I'm not sure if that was the start of our rivalry that year, and played well there, and other than that, it's been a little bit dreary since then. Sometimes you have priorities during the year, and there are a few of them it seems this year and I was wondering what sort of order. You're trying to bring the Davis Cup back, and then the No. 13, and maybe the French, and maybe the No. 1 ranking. Can you tell me where they all stand? PETE SAMPRAS: Well, obviously the Slams are kind of the heart and soul of the year. Then you've got, you know, definitely put Davis Cup a priority this year. And obviously, I would love to be ranked No. 1. I feel like I've achieved that goal, and I've kind of -- to do it for the six years and play all the tournaments, and I'm not sure I'm willing to play all the tournaments just to do that. But Davis Cup, I've committed that all year and I've changed my schedule to play for Davis Cup. And that probably won't help my ranks, but I'm to the point now in my tennis where I've been ranked 1 for many, many years and I'd love to get back on top of there, but it's not as much a priority as it used to be. It's just about the Slams now and Davis Cup certainly. And the record, of course? PETE SAMPRAS: Obviously, the record. That goes hand in hand with the Slams, and obviously the majors. Where's the French in this whole thing? PETE SAMPRAS: When I say majors, that fits in there. It's kind of rhetorical now in my career to talk about how important majors are. About your priorities, a few years ago, Davis Cup probably wouldn't have been so high up there. I was wondering if you could just talk about the evolution of the Davis Cup and its importance for you? PETE SAMPRAS: I just felt through the years in trying to stay No. 1, I just felt it was hard to do everything, to win majors and play Davis Cup and be No. 1. I felt it was too much tennis for me to play, and then with my injuries, Davis Cup obviously didn't fit in. Obviously, I've gotten my criticism about that, and I took it and that was the way that happened. But just the past couple years and seeing -- seeing some situations that, you know, for instance the English, U.S. tie, being at home watching that, trying to put myself in a position to be motivated to have a passion to go out and play and have fun playing, kind of inspired me to play a little bit last year. But now I've committed to the whole year. Davis Cup isn't much about ranking. It's about playing for your teammates and your country, and I'm to the point now where that's important to me and being No. 1. It's nice, but I won't be remembered, you know, when my career is done how often I was No. 1. I feel like I've achieved that goal and some, and now it's time to kind of try to find the motivation to do some other things. Davis Cup certainly fits right in there. McEnroe has always been a very vociferous supporter of the Davis Cup and how you're giving back to tennis by participating in it. Has that played into your decision that you see like how this is a way of giving back to the sport? PETE SAMPRAS: I don't think giving back to the sport, if anything, it's making the sport more popular in the U.S., and that, you know, Davis Cup will never, I don't think, ever be to where Ryder Cup is. Ryder Cup really is the biggest thing in golf. But with myself playing and Andre playing certainly it will bring a lot of attention to Davis Cup. Playing this next time in L.A. will be exciting. They are hopefully going to sell it out at the Forum. That's great for the game. I don't look at it as giving back to the game. I look at it as -- to kind of add to what I've done for the game, as my career winds down and playing with Andre who is a competitor and a rival and a friend will be memorable, and that's kind of what has gotten me passionate about playing Davis Cup again. You've talked about how to fit in Davis Cup with your schedule some other tournaments will probably have to be sacrificed, do you know which of the nine Tennis Masters Series you're not going to make or how many you can play and play Davis Cup? PETE SAMPRAS: You know, Monte Carlo is kind of looking -- these aren't final decisions, but I'm not -- I'm not playing all of them, I'll playing most of them. I'm trying to -- I don't know if I can really announce what I'm playing. How about a number, do you have any idea about the nine? PETE SAMPRAS: Probably seven or eight or so, give or take. |