Feeling good after three events
September 25, 2011
Pete Sampras
Philadelphia --- Sept. 24
I feel pretty good after three events, and my body has held up pretty well after beating Michael and Jim in Ft. Lauderdale, and Andre here in Philadelphia tonight. But, Michael was able to get me last night. It has been good to see the guys that I competed with for most of my career --- we're trying our best out there, and obviously we're not as good as we were, but it's still fun to compete again and we want to put on a good show for the fans that attend.
I plan on playing four more of these --- Vegas, LA, Seattle and Arizona --- so I think it's a great night of tennis.
I'm headed to Shanghai, China this Tuesday to play an exhibition match against Marat Safin. But, I usually hit a few balls every now and then just to keep my back and tennis muscles loose, and to get some timing and rhythm out there. The last thing you want to do is play cold turkey, because that's how you get hurt. I still want to play well on this Series --- the fans deserve to see good tennis.
I'm not as nervous out there anymore like I used to be --- this is a little more relaxed atmosphere, even though we are playing for prize money at the end.
I'm much more nervous when I have to play golf in front of a crowd. Even though I'm a pretty good golfer, I'm way out of my element when I have to perform in front of people at a pro-am or charity tournament. In golf, I'm trying to hit a ball to my left, whereas in tennis I have to keep everything in front of me. Much different.
May 15, 2011
Pete Sampras
Was at the Staples Center a few weeks ago with Jim and Andre to promote the Champions Series circuit we are playing in starting in September in the States. I'm going to be playing in 7 of the 12 tournaments this fall and it's going to be sweet to compete with my friends and rivals and bring some great tennis around the US. I'm playing pretty well right now and having these one-night tournaments is a great way for me to stay motivated and competing without having to be gone from my family too much. I'm playing in LA (love the home game), Ft Lauderdale, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Seattle, Las Vegas and Surprise, AZ. I'm particularly pumped to play at the Staples Center since I've never gotten the chance to do so until now. I go see the Lakers play there quite a bit so it'll be fun to get to be on the court playing rather than watching.