May 4, 2007
Sampras wins big in return to tennis
By Elise Amendola
Pete Sampras of Los Angeles returns to Petr Korda of Czech Republic during Champions Cup tennis in Boston, Thursday, May 3, 2007. Sampras is making his first tournament appearance since winning the 2002 U.S. Open.
In the first match, John McEnroe beat Tim Mayotte 6-1, 7-5. But the night belonged to Sampras, who hadn't played in a competitive match since beating Andre Agassi in the 2002 U.S. Open final.
"It was fun --- it was nice playing in the crowd," Sampras said. "I felt excited walking out there with a nice ovation. This is why I decided to play."
The 35-year-old Sampras, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July, didn't touch a racket for nearly three years before picking up the sport again last summer to get in better shape.
He first played in sporadic exhibition matches and in the World Team Tennis league before deciding to pick up his training following an exhibition with four-time Grand Slam champ Jim Courier, who organizes the senior tour.
"Playing against a former great player got my juices going," Sampras said. "So I did some thinking and (decided) to play Jim's event. Maybe play against some of the former greats, just get my juice going with a little more at stake."
Though he was a bit older than the last time he took center court --- at the U.S. Open --- he still looked like the Sampras of old in his senior tour debut. His booming serve topped 130 mph, his forehand was precise and he was as aggressive as ever.
"I was playing well before I came over here," Korda said. "But this was just too good for me. I knew he was going to come hard. If he's going to show up for something big like this, he's going to come ready."
Using a larger racket than he did in his prime, Sampras overpowered Korda from the start. After dropping just one game in the first set, Sampras won five of the final six games of the second to sweep the match.
He ended the match with an ace Korda had no chance of catching.
"Serving is one shot that when I picked up the racket a year ago that was pretty natural," Sampras said. "It was still there."
According to Courier, McEnroe, Mayotte and Korda, Sampras has more than just his serve left and could make serious run at this year's Wimbledon.
"The guy is a master on grass," McEnroe said. "Roger (Federer) would say he'd play him, but he'd be concerned."
Still, Sampras said there's no way he'll seek an exemption for one more shot at Wimbledon, an event he won seven times.
"I wouldn't play Wimbledon just to play --- I would play to win," he said. "There needs to be a reason to come back and there really isn't a reason for me to come back."
May, 4 2007
Sampras is still dazzling in return to the court
BOSTON --- Pete Sampras is back, and the way he hit the ball last night, it's like he never left.
Crushing serves for aces, slicing backhand approaches and volleying crisp winners, the 14-time Grand Slam singles champion played his first competitive match in nearly five years, and he was good. He defeated Petr Korda, 6-1, 6-2, in the feature match of the Champions Cup Boston, the second stop on Hall of Famer Jim Courier's Outback Champions Series.
John McEnroe, the best 48-year-old tennis player in the world, many believe, beat local favorite Tim Mayotte, 6-1, 7-5, in the first match at the striking Agganis Arena. Mayotte, who grew up in Springfield, trained with Boston pro Bill Drake while on the pro tour in the 1980s and now teaches tennis in New York, was a last-minute substitute for the injured Mats Wilander.
Sampras' last appearance in a singles tournament of any consequence was at the 2002 U.S. Open. Who can forget his emotional victory over Andre Agassi in the final and his dramatic climb through the stands to hug his wife?
Mayotte, McEnroe, and Korda are convinced that Sampras could return to the tour and make a serious run on grass at Wimbledon.
"He could win Queens," said Mayotte, 48. "I practiced with him today and got half a point in 20 minutes. I predicted he would play Wimbledon one more time, and I still predict he will. He'd have to train. He's not going to win seven five-setters without training. I think it would be great for the game."
McEnroe said that Sampras is the best player he ever saw, especially on grass, but he wonders what would motivate Sampras to return for another shot at Wimbledon.
"I could see it, but I don't know. I wouldn't bet on it. The guy won seven. Why bother? He could go out and win two out of three. I don't know about five-setters."
Having said that, McEnroe added that he couldn't name five players on the ATP tour today who could beat Sampras on grass.
"The guy's the master on grass. Roger (Federer) would say he'd play him, but he'd be concerned," McEnroe said. "The reality is your body breaks down. I don't know how fit he is. I could see him get to the quarterfinals and then lose because he was tired or strained something. I told him if he went there and lost in the first few rounds, it wouldn't take away from his place in history."
Korda echoed that sentiment.
"If he served the way he served tonight, not many guys on the tour (could return). They swing at the serve. They don't block the serve. On grass he could beat many guys in the draw, badly," the Czech said.
But after dispatching Korda, Sampras, 35, killed all the Wimbledon speculation.
"I'm not going to play Wimbledon again. I'm curious how I'd do, especially with all the guys staying back. I always licked my chops when I saw baseliners," he said.
But a return, even for one tournament, would mean altering the lifestyle he has come to enjoy with his wife and two children in Los Angeles.
"A lot of things come into play. It's a lot of work. It's a daily grind. I wouldn't play Wimbledon just to play. I'd play to win. There's got to be a reason to come back, and there isn't a reason. To come back for one event is crazy," he said.
Sampras played six exhibitions and World Team Tennis last year, but it was a match against Courier, his contemporary, that sparked his interest in the seniors tour.
"It got my juices going. There's a little more at stake. Coming out today felt good.... it felt exciting," he said.
Sampras told McEnroe that he didn't pick up a racquet for three years after winning the Open.
"Last summer, the first couple of balls he hit were absolute screamers. He was missing, but he wanted people to know he could still hit with pace," Mac said.
"When I picked up a racquet a year ago, the serve was still there," Sampras said. "I can still serve big up the middle. I can still do some things."
Like hustle to the net for a backhand half-volley and execute a perfect drop shot for a winner, earning a huge ovation.
Sampras will return tonight against Mayotte and then face McEnroe Saturday night.
"I'm ready for him, and I want him to know that. John, I'm coming after you," he joked with the crowd.
Said McEnroe: "I'm not afraid. If I feel good, I'll go out against anyone."
May 5, 2007
Sampras, McEnroe win at Champions Cup
BOSTON (TICKER) -- Pete Sampras continued to cruise through his return to competitive tennis, defeating Tim Mayotte, 6-2, 6-1, in the second night of action of Champions Cup Boston at Agganis Arena.
He now is ready to face John McEnroe here Saturday in one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament. McEnroe defeated Petr Korda, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5, 10-2.
"I'm expecting just an entertaining match a match of two guys that like to come in, two really good shot makers," Sampras said. "John's 48 but he's still very competitive. He still has his great hands and hits the ball early."
"I've always matched up pretty well against John, even when we were both in our primes. We want to both play well and put on a good show."
The Sampras-Mayotte game was equal parts tennis and entertainment, as the two competitors pandered to the crowd and chatted back and forth with each other and the line judges. The two even allowed a ball boy and ball girl to play a point during the match.
"Going out and playing with Tim obviously he hasn't played competitive tennis in many years. You want to play well; you want to put on a good show. People still want to see me serve 130 and do the things I can do."
"As the weekend goes on I'm just going to play 100 percent. Because people ultimately just want to see good tennis. They like the entertainment, but to see the highest quality tennis is what these people are paying good money to see."
Sampras dominated the Massachusetts native with a powerful serve. The 14-time major winner didn't appear to lose much on both his first and second serves, as he didn't lose serve once during the match.
"I felt pretty good," Sampras said. "My arm came up pretty good and my body feels pretty solid. I've been hitting two or three days a week for the past couple of months so I've gotten used to it. I feel like I pulled up pretty good today."
Sampras took the first set with relative ease, breaking Mayotte in the third game and carrying that momentum to a 6-2 victory. Mayotte, a last minute replacement for Mats Wilander, struggled to get his service over the net and allowed Sampras to break his serve again on a double fault when the set was at 4-2.
The second set was much of the same, as Sampras broke Mayotte again in the third game on another Mayotte double fault and won out from there, winning the match by breaking Mayotte for the fifth time.
The win improved Sampras to 2-0 while Mayotte fell to 0-2.
After falling to Korda in the tiebreak to end the first set after blowing a 4-2 lead, McEnroe responded by going up 5-2 in the second set. Korda rallied back, but McEnroe broke Korda's serve to win the second set before taking the tiebreaker, 10-2, to emerge victorious.
The win improved McEnroe to 2-0 while Korda fell to 0-2.
In the day's previous action, Todd Martin of perennial Davis Cup fame defeated Wayne Ferreira in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Martin now stands at 2-0 while Ferreira fell to 0-2. Jim Courrer followed by defeating Pat Cash, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to improve his record to 2-0, while Cash fell to 0-2.
May 06, 2007
Sampras advances to Champions Cup final
Pete Sampras advanced to the final in his first competitive tournament start in nearly five years, beating John McEnroe 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday night in the Champions Cup.
"I hit the ball better today than I did in my prime because of the bigger racket," Sampras said. "I think I can still play at a pretty high level. I can probably compete against anyone in the world today just one match, two sets."
After double-faulting in the opening game, Sampras rebounded to win the first three games of the first set. He never trailed in the second set, and took the lead for good after breaking to go up 2-1. The 35-year-old Sampras had six aces, and kept McEnroe off guard with an array of well-placed baseline shots.
"The guy hit the outside of the line like 20 times. It was unbelievable," McEnroe said. "It's incredible how many lines he hits. It's unbelievable --- I've never played a guy who can consistently do that."
Sampras will face defending Champions Cup champion Todd Martin, who advanced to the final with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 (tiebreaker) win over Jim Courier.
Sampras owns an 18-4 career record against Martin, including a win in the final of the 1994 Australian Open. They haven't played since 2002.
"I'll have a chance if I play like I did tonight," Martin said. "I would like to have more than a chance. In order to that, I won't be able to let my serve wane at all in the middle of the match."
Sampras, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July, says he didn't touch a racket for nearly three years before picking up the sport again last summer to get in better shape.