IDML9907E

July, 1999
DENNIS MILLER LIVE

When Pete is introduced he walks out and sits down. Someone in the audience shouts, "Take your shirt off," and Pete says, "Maybe later."

Miller: I watched you coming off at Wimbledon and everything I read about you, you know I met you briefly a few years ago in Florida, and you see your interviews, and you think wow what a solid, humble guy. You're walking off with that 12th grand slam, and you have to know in your head that you dwell in the ether, you know this is like the Mount Rushmore of tennis, you know you're tied for the most grand slams ever, and I'm thinking in your own head you must go back and forth in this mad game of PONG thinking, "I'm the greatest, no be humble Pete, I'm the greatest, no be humble, Pete." It must be distracting?
Is it hard to deal with, or....?

Pete: It's funking awesome. (Big Smile) I did it. I said it. (Everyone is going crazy at this point, laughing their heads off)

Pete: No, it was a great moment for me it was, uh, to have won 12, to beat Andre who was playing great, had just won the French. And play the way I played. I'm still a little bit overwhelmed. I was kind of in the zone there for a little bit, but through everything I've done I've always tried to stay modest and humble, but when your talking about history, talking about breaking records, you know, at times I don't know what to say, you know, I'm just kind of this normal guy that happens to play good tennis and that's really it.

Miller: Talk about being in the zone, they always act like the zone is some Chirroco(sp?) that blows in off the desert then all of a sudden your in the midst of it and you don't know what the hell happened, you're covering your mouth and then it goes away and you're thinking, "Wow, I'm gonna go funk a camel or something." But, in your instance, I was watching that match....I'm watching 3-3 all in the first set, and Andre is like up 0-40, whatever it is, and I'm thinking wow if he gets a toe-hold here, this is, you know, he's a feisty, little b@stard.

And I'm thinking if he gets his foot in the door here and then it almost seems like you, uh, summoned the zone, in a weird way, because there's like four laser beams, no I expect you to die Mr. Bond. Even the second serve, after you finally miss one is unreturnable. I'm just thinking. I think this is over. I think I just saw this match go, you know, now do you, were you able to institute that? Are you able to summon that up? Or....

Pete: At that point, grass court tennis is tough to play on grass especially that time of the tournament because it's very fast and a couple of points here and there change the whole course of the match, love-40, if he wins that game, he serves for the, he serves at 4-3, if he wins the first set the match is completely different. I win that game he hits a couple of loose shots it's 5-3, 6-3 and the whole match is changed in a matter of two minutes. And then once I got that first set, I was comfortable, I was like, you know, I feel good, I'm feeling good. I just got better and better as the match went on.

Miller: Well, to me that, uh, they weren't loose shots, it looked like, you know, listen I think the world of Andre, but that had to blow his mind, he had to be really, felt unrequited at that moment because, you know, when your #141 a year ago, you can win the French that's an admirable thing he did there, he's in the pantheon now, 1 of 5 guys to ever win 4, but the simple fact is that deep, deep down it takes a little longer than one grand slam to get that massive confidence back, you know, I think he was kind of like pushing it, pushing it, if he had gotten there that's the next level of confidence but I think what....when he got that he felt so rebuffed it was just kind of like slapped in the face, you know??

Pete: Well, I slapped him pretty good. (Another big smile) I have a lot of respect for Andre, he's great for the game of tennis, and he brings out the best in me. To play in the finals of Wimbledon against him is like Borg/McEnroe. That's historical and um, it's a good chance we'll play maybe at the U.S. Open in a couple of months, and it's good for tennis, it's good to see two completely different guys, you know, I'm kind of the more quiet guy and he's a little more outgoing and our games are different and it's a great match-up.

Miller: Do you have any less confidence at the U.S. Open than you do at Wimbledon? Because I sense when you step onto that, just seeing the color green, you just salivate, it's like Pavlovian inducement, you must think nobody can kick my @ss here, I own this, you know, because even Becker who said it was his livingroom, gave it up. He said, you know, he's the best I've seen here, but when you get on the U.S. Open, do you think Rafter is starting to develop at the U.S. Open, what you have at Wimbledon? And if you're gonna smote him down, this might be the year, right?....

Pete: Well, he's won there twice back to back, and you know he's got a ways to go to win it six times. I love hardcourt tennis. I grew up in California playing on hardcourt, it's not gonna be easy, you know, you got Rafter, who's playing great and Andre. It's gonna be fun. It's what it's all about going out, laying it on the line against the best players in the world.

Miller: You've got twelve in the can, you're tied with Emmo. But listen, unless there's like, uh, you know, unless Gorgo comes up out of the sea and attacks London next year you're gonna get thirteen, so you ought to just go in and do a little Corretja thing, maybe throw up, get on the ESPN. Bobby, you got a question for Pete? (Talking to Bob Costas, who was on before Pete)

Costas: Just one thing in line with what you were talking about. You mentioned Roberto Clemente from your home town of Pittsburgh. John Sails, the filmmaker, said once, he learned everything that he knew about style from Roberto Clemente and yet guys from that era. I always thought watching Clemente were Sandy Koufax, or Willie Mays, or Gayle Sayers. I thought these guys were tremendously stylish and entertaining without strutting without preening for the camera without going through stupid antics. And you're kind of a throw back to that. I find you entertaining to watch, and I don't need a stic from you to feel that way.

Pete: I appreciate that, thanks.

Miller: Well, you know what, Pete. It's a.... I'll say it for you because I know you're still in the midst of it and you can't say it. It must be maddening for you to be called on bullsh#t like not being an egomaniacal @sshole or a primadonna. Now, I know you can't go into it, you gotta be the good guy, but it must be maddening to you to have people even question you about being normal. For Christ's sake, it's like some inverted bizarro world where were questioning this guy because he's not a nutcase.....You know what I mean???

Pete: Yeah, you look at the NBA and you look at someone like Rodman, he's a great athlete, he's a great rebounder, but people are more concerned about the controversy of him. People are always looking for an athlete that does more than play their sport, it's who he's sleeping with or what he's doing or if he's doing drugs. You watch sportscenter, you know, and it's about they're either in jail or getting out of jail.

Costas: And that's the sportscast!!!

Pete: That's right.

Miller: Rapping Robert, huh??

Miller: Let me ask you about the French here, now you've got everything

Pete: Do you have to?

Miller: You know, that six years in a row at #1 seems to me to be the most arduous task because people must think....I think people must think that can get just phoned in like with these weird ranking systems that just happens. And I can't imagine a more, a more death march like trek than to be #1 for six years. It must eat away at you. You've got 12, you're gonna get 13 grand slams, you're place in history, now I know a guy like you, you're probably a bit an@l retentive and you probably want to close everything up, and there's one thing sitting out there that makes it the neatest little package and that's the French. What is happening at the French? Is the surface that different? And I'm not....listen if you never win it....you're the greatest tennis player ever, but is that surface, that mind-boggling? Or are you setting yourself up by thinking about it too much?

Pete: Exactly right. You should be coaching me. I need Dennis Miller to coach me.

Miller: Ten percent of you is a little more than I'm making here.

Pete: No, no, it is, you're right. It's the one I haven't won, and I put way too much pressure on myself to win there, you know, and it is difficult with my game and the slipping and sliding, to win the French today compared to forty years ago is completely different. I mean you look through the rankings, everyone can play on clay. For me to win the French, I just need to play. I'm worried about not winning it, how I'm going to play, rackets, strings....I mean it's just so many different things that go on for me to play well there, and I just need to play it, you know, not worry about what people are saying and writing about me not winning the French and, uh, it takes good fortune to win any grandslam. For me to win the French, it's going to take an act of God. (I think he was joking here)

Miller: See, even a year in advance though, that's the problem. You've got to go in there, get in on the concord the morning of your first match, come off with a beret, get blasted on some French antisept(sp?) or something, come out with one of those striped white and black shirts like the guys that drag the chicks when they dance, just come out thinking.... thank heaven for little girls and don't give a sh#t about it.

Pete: I'm gonna do that.

That is about all of it, Miller goes on to ask Pete about meeting the President and Pete talks about meeting Clinton on the golf course where he is smoking stogies with Sly Stallone and playing golf. But this was all of the tennis related stuff.
This whole thing was done in a jovial atmosphere and they were laughing throughout the whole thing, so don't read a whole lot into the sarcastic comments because it was mostly done for laughs in most instances.