The New York Times
May 17, 2003
Sampras Isn't Competing but Isn't Retiring, Either
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
Pete Sampras's decision this week to withdraw from the French Open
and Wimbledon may signal the end of the most remarkable tennis career
in the last 30 years.
But Sampras, 31, the winner of a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles,
is still not ready to say he is retiring. He has not competed since
September, when he captured his 14th major title by defeating Andre
Agassi in the final of the United States Open.
"Sure we've talked about it," Paul Annacone, his coach, said
yesterday by telephone. "He feels like: O.K., Andre Agassi, finals of
the U.S. Open, two-year drought, 26,000 screaming fans. It doesn't
get a whole lot better than that in terms of a resurgence and maybe
an overall completion of the picture.
"It's like Michael Jordan hitting that last shot years ago against
Utah. In a romantic way, everyone says, `Walk away.' It sounds
terrific. But in reality, it remains to be seen. We'll see what not
being at Wimbledon does to him."
Sampras gave himself some wiggle room for a possible return when he
was interviewed by ABC television during the Lakers-Spurs playoff
game Thursday night. "I am not ready to close the door quite yet on
my career," he said.
Sampras announced in February that he planned to return to
competition this year, but he has withdrawn from several tournaments.
He said this week that it was unlikely he would return for this
year's United States Open.
Annacone said Sampras had been much more of a part-time player in the
last six weeks, when Annacone has focused more on Sampras's business
activities than on his game. "It went to a couple times a week, and
he probably went one spell where he didn't hit for two to three
weeks," Annacone said. "Since then, it's been once or twice a week, a
casual 40 minutes just to keep the groove."
But Sampras said he was not burning to prove himself again on the
circuit he dominated for much of the 1990's. "When I started the
process of trying to play Wimbledon, I found that my heart wasn't 100
percent into it," he told ABC. "It takes a lot of work, and if your
heart's not into it, it's time to move on."
Sampras said he chose not to retire now because he did not want to
run the risk of changing his mind.
"I don't think he'll pull a Jordan or a Lemieux," Patrick McEnroe,
the United States Davis Cup captain, said yesterday by telephone.
"That's not his personality. He's stubborn in a way, very thoughtful
about the decisions he makes. He's very attuned to his place in
tennis history, and he's not going to play if he doesn't feel he can
win, and he wants to make sure that when he says he's stopping, he is
really done."
Annacone said Sampras was adamant that the birth of his first child
in November was not influencing his thinking about continuing his
career. "It's not: `I need to be home. I have to be with my child,' "
Annacone said. "It's about `Am I ready to do this seven days a week
$B!=(J with that focus, that discipline, that sacrifice?' "
Annacone thinks this layoff just may generate its own challenge. In
the modern game, no established star has won major titles after a
long break. "Maybe that will be intriguing to him," he said.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company