March 05, 2008
Sampras to show off for Florida fans
By MICHAEL LEWIS
It's an absurd new reality for the greatest men's tennis player America has ever produced.
When Pete Sampras walks onto the tennis court now, he's not sure what parts of his game will be there.
Will the howitzer of a serve still go in? How fast will he be able to close in on a volley? And will his legs chase down a ball that his head wants to return?
It is a mystery each and every time, he admits. Finally, after a brilliant Hall of Fame career that many consider the best ever, Pete Sampras gets to feel a little bit like the guy at the Saturday morning game at the park.
"I throw it up and I wonder what's going to happen," he said. "Before, I knew what was going to happen. Now, it's a whole different feeling."
Sampras was speaking by phone last week from his home in California. That feeling he's not sure about will be on display Thursday night at the Jacksonville Veterans Arena. For what he believes is the first time ever, the 14-time Grand Slam champion will play a match within driving distance of Central Florida.
Sampras will face former Top 10 pro Todd Martin at 7:30 p.m. in the first of two exhibition tune-ups before a March 10 match with Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden.
Sampras and Federer have met three times already, with Pete grabbing an eye-opening win last November in Asia.
But before the 36-year-old king of Wimbledon meets the All England Club's current monarch, he and Martin will put on a show.
And Martin is quite clear on his role.
"Pete thinks I'm a pretty good Washington General," Martin joked. "We go out there, the crowd cheers, and he kicks my butt."
For Sampras, the past year has been an unlikely toe-dipping re-entry into the sport he loves. After retiring following his triumph at the 2002 U.S. Open, Sampras became a virtual recluse, nowhere to be seen in the public eye.
"I needed to decompress, and breathe a little," he said. "I just wanted 2-3 years of having fun and doing nothing with my wife."
Sampras began to play some exhibitions in 2006, and competed in a few tournaments on the Outback Champions Tour, pro tennis' senior circuit.
"It's still exhilarating to go out and play in front of 12,000 people," Sampras said. "You get that rush of adrenaline that you used to get all the time."
And it's not like the 36-year-old Sampras has been Willie Mays stumbling around in center field during his tennis re-emergence. Besides the victory over Federer last year, Sampras crushed current men's pro and former top 5 player Tommy Haas last month in an exhibition in San Jose.
Martin, a longtime friend who has seen Sampras play several matches in the past year, said there are only slight differences in Pete, version 2.0.
"The only big change is if you find your way against him and start to play well, he's not as quick to react to that," Martin said.
Sampras said the improvements in racket technology just since he's left the game have helped him. He admitted serving and volleying, a style he was a master of but which in tennis is now as extinct as pay phones, is a lot more painful for him.
"The back gets sore, and the arm gets sore," he said. "That didn't happen before."
Still, with his recent success has come the clamoring from fans for Sampras to return to the game.
ESPN analyst Cliff Drysdale said "he could be a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon this year, without a problem," and he's not alone. Many fans and tennis analysts think Pistol Pete could still be a threat.
But Sampras is resolute: He's certain he's through with pro tennis.
"Every time someone says that to me, I say 'you do all the work, and I'll do the playing,' " he said, chuckling. "I have nothing left to prove."
"But I do admit," Sampras added, "it's real nice to hear."
Go See a Legend in Jacksonville
WHAT: Pete Sampras vs. Todd Martin tennis exhibition.
WHEN: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
TICKETS: $30-100, available at box office.
WHERE: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
HOW TO GET THERE: Take I-95 North to Exit 350A (Prudential Drive/Main Street) and proceed across the Main Street Bridge. Take the Ocean Street Exit off the bridge. Take a right on Forsyth (the next light), left at Liberty, right on Monroe, left on Catherine Street and a right on Duval Street. The arena will be on your right.