Mar 16, 2010
Tennis --- Djokovic left stunned after finally meeting Sampras
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
INDIAN WELLS, California, --- Pete Sampras was Novak Djokovic's greatest tennis inspiration as a child and the Serbian world number two was in disbelief when he finally met the American earlier this week.
Djokovic caught up with the 14-times grand slam champion and had a brief conversation with him shortly after Sampras had practised with top-ranked Roger Federer at nearby La Quinta.
"I was very happy to meet Pete, who is my lifetime idol," Djokovic told reporters after battling past Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 2-6 7-6 at the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Monday.
"When the kid meets an idol, I surprised myself. I thought: 'It's not going to be a big deal. I'm on the tour for many years. I'm grown up.' But it was incredible, you know.
"I mean, you looked up to somebody and then you meet him and shake hands with him, and he tells you that you win with your mind and your heart," said the Serb, who won his first grand slam title at the 2008 Australian Open.
"I fulfilled my childhood dreams because he's the one who gave me a lot of motivation to become a professional player. I saw him winning Wimbledon when I was four, five years old.
"Because I didn't have anybody playing tennis in my family, I had to do it myself. To be able to meet him for the first time was just amazing."
Sampras was one of the best serve-and-volley players of all time but Djokovic said the American's mental strength had given him the greatest inspiration.
"Definitely his commitment and mental mindset, the way he approaches matches, tournaments," the Serb said.
"He's just one of the biggest ever that played this game.
"I wish one day I can hit with him. He promised me he's going to hit with me, so I'll keep him for the word."
17 March 2010
Djokovic delighted to meet 'idol' Sampras
INDIAN WELLS, California --- Novak Djokovic didn't realize just how star-struck he could be.
But when tennis' current world number two met boyhood idol Pete Sampras for the first time while tuning up for the Indian Wells Masters 1000 that old hero-worship kicked in.
"I surprised myself," Djokovic said Monday, after winning his third-round match at the Indian Wells Masters 1000. "I thought, it's not going to be a big deal. I'm on the tour for many years. I'm grown up. But it was incredible."
Djokovic, 22, was introduced to Sampras after the US great had hit with Roger Federer on a court in La Quinta, a desert community just up the highway from Indian Wells.
For Djokovic, the brief conversation "fulfilled somehow my childhood dreams.
"He's the one that gave me a lot of motivation to become a professional player," Djokovic said of Sampras, winner of 14 Grand Slam titles. "I've seen him winning Wimbledon when I was four, five years old."
Serbia's Djokovic, whose only Grand Slam title to date came at the 2008 Australian Open, said he admired Sampras' commitment and his mental approach to the game --- and his serve.
"His serve was not that fast, but it was so precise," Djokovic said, "and he gave himself a lot of opportunities for easy next shot."
In their brief conversation, Djokovic said, Sampras told him "You win with your mind and your heart --- and that's something that's very true."
"I wish one day I can hit with him," Djokovic added. "He promised me he's going to hit with me, so I'll keep him for his word."