26th August 2011
Rolling back the years? Tennis star Pete Sampras doesn't look so Old School
By HOLLY THOMAS
As a former world champion and still formidable athlete, it is to be expected that tennis star Pete Sampras keeps himself in pretty good nick.
But the 40-year-old appears to have taken his defiance of the aging process a step further, looking if anything younger than he did a few years ago.
The six-time consecutive World Number One turned heads with his youthful visage at the the DIRECTV Old School Challenge in New York yesterday.
Pete had turned up to take part in the private tennis event which precedes the 2011 US Open.
The friendly matches feature 'old school' tennis legends, this year including Ivan Lendl and the Jensen brothers as they battle it out against 'new school' stars --- which this year includes Sampras.
The star's broad grin and line-free face suggested that he has been taking very good care of himself.
Pete has made many returns to the court since his retirement in 2002, and only a few years ago tennis legend John McEnroe said that Sampras would be worthy of a 'top five seeding' at Wimbledon were he to enter the tournament.
And it appears that the star's dedication to keeping up his champion form hasn't gone unnoticed.
An interview with Serena and Venus Williams in Hamptons magazine this month suggested that Pete is something of a pin up among his sporting peers.
Talking to Hamptons, Serena confessed to a long-standing crush on the former Wimbledon champion.
Asked by Venus about her memories of the U.S. Open, Serena said: 'I remember Pete Sampras playing in 1990; I was watching on television, and I remember that was the first year he won a Grand Slam.
'He was really young, and they were talking about how good he was going to be. He was wearing such short shorts; they were almost like a bikini. [Laughs]'
Venus then asked if she thought Pete was cute.
Serena replied cheekily: 'I definitely thought Pete was very handsome, but around 1996 I thought he was really hot --- but I also think everybody is hot, so I don't know if that is saying much.'
To judge by these recent pics, it's fair to say that quite a few people wouldstill agree with Serena's judgement.