February 17, 2009
His game is sore spot
By Bill Bryant
For Sampras, the body and mind now say 'no way'
"I'm 37. Sometimes I feel like a senior," said Sampras, only a few days removed from an appearance on the 30-and-older Champions circuit.
"But I can still serve OK."
As if the 14-time Grand Slam winner needed to prove it, he went out and drilled 10 of his first 11 first serves in the exhibition match before a thrilled sold-out stadium court crowd at The Racquet Club.
"I pride myself on my return of serve, but some of those I couldn't touch," Hewitt said later. "He still serves big."
On this night, however, Hewitt --- who is in the main draw this week at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships --- actually served better, if not bigger. Routinely hitting 125 mph on the radar gun, Hewitt also managed to break Sampras at 5-all in the first set and in the first game of the second set on his way to a 7-5, 6-4 victory in a rematch of the 2001 U.S. Open final (won by the Aussie).
Sampras, who gave no quarter during a 14-year career, simply ran into an opponent who has shown no give-up throughout his own illustrious career. Let's just say if Wile E. Coyote had been modeled after Hewitt, that Road Runner character would have been one-and-done.
"I thought it would be a little lighter atmosphere," said Sampras, "but he came out ready to play."
Asked when he knew yukking it up wouldn't be on Hewitt's agenda, Sampras smiled and said, "during warmup."
The former world No. 1 is just five months removed from hip surgery that has helped send his ATP ranking spiraling to No. 103 in the world. While stepping onto the court with Sampras certainly appealed to his sense of history, getting to play before a big crowd appealed to Hewitt's sense of the here and now.
"I haven't played enough matches lately (and) I want to win some more tournaments," said Hewitt, who will face No. 3 seed James Blake in a first-round match Wednesday night. "This was great match practice. There was a buzz in the crowd."
Sampras famously stepped away from the public eye after his epic win over longtime rival Andre Agassi in the 2002 U.S. Open final. He resurfaced three-plus years later to play in his first exhibition and has since played sporadically --- and sometimes spectacularly, pushing and even beating Roger Federer --- in events that count a little and others that do not.
But Sampras is fast approaching 40. By his own admission, he doesn't get on the court often, playing as much Wii tennis with his two sons as he does real tennis with his practice partners.
"I think I've figured it out," Sampras said of the video game. "My kids love it, maybe a little bit too much."
To eyeball his serve, though --- and during an up-close-and-on-court chance Monday afternoon practice session, that's just what we did --- it's clear Sampras hasn't lost any zip. It's the zest that's the problem.
"I could be competitive (on tour) for about a set-and-a-half," Sampras said. "I can still play at a pretty good level, but to do it for two hours two days in a row? I don't have it in my body. I don't have it in my mind."
And if he needed a reminder, Hewitt's topspin lob --- generally regarded as the best in the game --- provided him more than one Monday night.
"There was a lob or two I was like 'Get up there, Pistol,' but I was not quite getting to them," said Sampras, whose overhead may very well be the best in the sport's history.
"The mind wants to get the ball, but the body's sort of saying 'Easy, big fella.' "
No sense in making the subject that much sorer.
February 17, 2009
Memphis Tennis First Round: Plenty of fire
Neither Sampras nor Hewitt backs down in exhibition match
By Ron Higgins
There are flashbacks when the 37-year-old mind of Pete Sampras thinks he's in his 20s again, rippin' and roarin' to 14 Grand Slam championships, $43 million in prize money and six straight years as the No. 1 ranked tennis player on the planet.
"When I serve, hit a crisp volley and move well, it feels good when I sort of hold my own," said Sampras, who won the singles title here in the Memphis tour event in 1996.
Lleyton Hewitt had more than a good time on his mind when he played Pete Sampras in an exhibition at The Racquet Club on Monday. Hewitt, coming back from a hip injury, says he needs match experience.
"That's the way I was taught to play. Bring the gas and be aggressive."
Then, there are reality checks, like on Monday night in Sampras' 7-5, 6-4 exhibition loss at The Racquet Club to current touring pro Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, almost nine years Sampras' junior.
"There was a lob or two where it was, 'Get up there, Pistol'," Sampras said with a laugh, "but I couldn't get the hops. Your mind wants to get to the ball, but the body is saying, 'Easy big fellow, you're not 27 anymore."
You couldn't have convinced Hewitt of that. Five months removed from hip surgery, Hewitt, who turns 28 in a week, is looking at every opportunity to regain the form that saw him beat Sampras to win the 2001 U.S. Open title and win Wimbledon a year later to rank No. 1 in the world for the second consecutive year.
So while the sellout crowd of 4,755 thought they were watching an exhibition to cap a competitive first day of tennis in the The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and The Cellular South Cup, Hewitt didn't see it that way.
"When I got asked to play this match, I didn't hesitate," said Hewitt, who plays his first round match on Wednesday againstJames Blake, the 11th ranked player in the world and the No. 3 seed in this tourney. "It was good for old times, but it was great match practice. I need to get back and win some tournaments."
Which is what Sampras got an eyeful of, considering he thought the exhibition might be a lighthearted affair.
"He was cracking the ball in the warmup, there was no smiling going on," Sampras said of Hewitt. "It's tricky for him, because he's playing a guy that is six years retired and he doesn't want to lose, and I don't want to embarrass myself."
"The first couple of games, he came out swinging, I came out swinging, so I thought, 'OK, it's on.' "
For a while, it was. Sampras' big serve kept Hewitt on his heels, like in the third game of the opening set when Sampras boomed four straight aces.
But toward the end of the opening set, Sampras began to tire a bit. Maybe it was age, maybe it was the fact that he played and won the singles title on Sunday in Boston over John McEnroe in the Champions Cup, the opening event of the 2009 Outback Champions series for tennis players 30 years and older.
"The first couple of games, he was poppin' aces to the corners and I thought, 'I don't remember this from Lleyton'," a joking Sampras said. "I want a steroid test on this guy."
Hewitt broke Sampras' serve to take a 6-5 lead at the end of the first set, and never looked back.
Sampras had a few fleeting moments of glory in the second and final set, such as ripping a gorgeous forehand winner down the line past Hewitt in the sixth game. Hewitt responded with two aces to close the game for a 4-2 lead.
"He still hits it big," said Hewitt of Sampras, knowing he had to keep the heat on his elder. "I pride myself on my return of service, but it's hard to get back what you can't touch."
To the bitter end, though, Sampras kept fighting and the crowd kept urging him on. He thoroughly appreciated the support
"It feels great," Sampras said of the love shown by him from the Memphis crowd. "Throughout my career, when you're the best player in the world, you get respect but you don't get that support."
"As I got older and started losing more, they started to cheer for me. It's kind of like what (retired pro golf legend Jack) Nicklaus felt his last few years walking up 18, getting that nice ovation."
"I hope I'm back here next year."