Tennis Week
March 16, 2004
One Last Look
By Steve Flink

He spent 15 years exploring the heights of professional tennis, capturing a record 14 major championships, celebrating six consecutive years at No. 1 in the world, establishing himself as a big match player of unparalleled stature. He set himself apart as a man of quiet dignity, as a spirited competitor who displayed grace under pressure, as perhaps the greatest player in the history of the game.

But Pete Sampras is now far removed from those heady days as a champion. He played his last match in 2002, toppling his revered rival Andre Agassi to capture his fifth U.S. Open crown, and officially announced his retirement on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court little more than six months ago. Today, it is strikingly apparent that Sampras is at ease with himself as a 32 year old retiree and is certain that he left tennis at precisely the right time.

"It was as perfect an ending as I could find," says Sampras. "I came out of a two-year drought to win a major, beating the young American Andy Roddick and then beat Andre in the final. It really took everything out of me and the last drop of gas I had in my tank was that match with Andre because the two years leading up to it took so much out of me. I felt content after winning that match, and that was something I had never really felt in my career. I had done everything I could and I had nothing left. I look at that symbolically. I am still kind of riding a high from that. I feel great about my career."

While Sampras is thoughtful when reflecting on his time at the top of tennis, he is clearly enjoying a less stressful life these days as a father and a husband. Asked to describe his typical day, he replies, "I get up early with my boy [16 month old son Christian Charles], sometimes at 6 a.m., sometimes at 7. Then I go and have a workout, play some golf, do a few business things. (He is an equity partner in Tennis magazine and The Tennis Channel. He is looking forward to working on an autobiography in the months ahead.) Maybe twice a week I play basketball at night at my house with friends. I play some golf tournaments, and I am remodeling a home in Beverly Hills. So dealing with all of that keeps me pretty busy. I know that nothing will replace tennis and that high of walking out on Centre Court. For the first year, maybe in two years, maybe 10, there will come a day when I will say, 'Let's see if I can make a difference by giving back.' I have my eyes and ears open."

Meanwhile, he follows the sport from a distance, watching very little tennis on television. But, Sampras says, "I did see a little bit of the Australian Open final with Federer and Safin. Federer is clearly the best player in the world. He has really taken his game to a new level and has started to develop an aura about himself that he is the man to beat. Roger has the whole package. He might have an occasional off day like I did because he is a shotmaker, but if he hits a bad shot he just moves on. He doesn't get too high or too low. I see him winning multiple majors. The way he played in Australia, these guys couldn't beat him from the backcourt, and he has got a great serve and he can come in. So I think the other players are really in trouble."

Turning his attention to the resurgent Safin, Sampras asserts, "The way he played against me when he won the Open [in 2000], I thought Safin was going to dominate the game. He has the tools to be great. I think he is on his way now. Safin against Roddick is a pick'em match. Andre is still very much a contender, especially at the majors, and I still believe he can win one more big one and there could be some destiny left in his career. But Federer is the class of the field."

Sampras believes the current generation of Americans -- Roddick, Mardy Fish, James Blake, Robby Ginepri, Taylor Dent and company -- will make their presence known in the years ahead, but doubts they will equal the accomplishments of himself, Agassi and Jim Courier. As he puts it, "The group I was in with Andre and Jim was pretty unique. I don't know if Andy and Mardy and James and the others can duplicate what we did, but they will do very well. Roddick can stay in the Top 3 to 5 in the world for as long as he wants. He has the game and he plays well in almost every match. He will win a number of majors. He will go through some pressures on and off the court, but he has a pretty good grasp of it."

When asked to turn his attention from between the lines to the boundaries beyond the court, he speaks with the same clarity and candor. He says of the current drug testing controversy in men's tennis, "Tennis is probably the cleanest sport in the world. I think 99.9 percent of the guys are clean. I was clean and I assumed the person I was playing was clean. There was one time I tested positive for morphine in my urine, which was obviously ludicrous. It turned out I had eaten a piece of bread with either poppy or sesame seeds. So that kind of thing can happen. But when I was taking vitamins, I would go straight to the drug testing person and ask if everything was OK with it. Anything I would take I would make sure I was 100 percent fine."

As a very good judge of talent and a champion who realized and even exceeded his largest goals, Sampras has had time to reflect on his sparkling career. Some authorities would point to 1993-97 -- when he collected nine of his 14 Grand Slam championships and only once failed to secure two majors in a year -- as the best tennis Sampras ever played. Others would say 1999, when he won four tournaments in a row including a gem against Agassi in the Wimbledon final, was his zenith. But Sampras has his own perspective.

"Honestly," he declares, "I think the best tennis I played was when I was older. I wasn't playing as consistently well by then, but beating Agassi in the 2002 Open final [he won 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4] was the highest level I ever played for one match, especially those first two sets. If you look at that match and then watch the final I played against Andre in the 1995 Open, the tennis wasn't as great in '95. I felt my backhand return was great in the 2002 final and I was using it as a weapon, rather than just chipping it back as I did in '95. The 2002 U.S. Open Pete would have killed the 1995 Pete. My best tennis for one match was when I was 31, versus when I was No. 1 in the world and winning majors left and right. I was 10 times the player as I got older than when I was really dominating."

The primary reason Sampras believes he played his finest tennis at the end was his vastly improved second serve and markedly better volleying. Until 1997, he frequently stayed back after his second serve; thereafter, he came forward relentlessly, Sampras explains, "I started serving-and-volleying a lot more on my second serve and using it as much more of a weapon, to the point where in the last four years of my career, I hit my second serve as hard as my first, just putting a little spin on it. It was worth it to go for much bigger second serves and risk a few double faults. The more I served-and-volleyed on my second serve, the more effective I became as a volleyer. The combination of my first and second serves has got to be up there as maybe the best ever, and for me to say that is a lot. I always try to stay humble. Pancho Gonzales and Lew Hoad and others had great serves. But for my time, I probably had the best serve."

That serve was so exemplary that it obscured his wide-ranging, across the board talent, including his incomparable running forehand and his impeccable overhead. But what carried Sampras past his foremost rivals to so many prestigious triumphs was his psyche, his singular capacity to come through at the times of consequence. Agassi was his biggest rival. The two prodigious Americans clashed 34 times between 1989 and 2002, with Sampras prevailing in 20 of those showdowns. They split 30 matches elsewhere, but Sampras was 4-0 over Agassi at the U.S. Open (including the 2002 final).

"It was a great rivalry, two heavyweights going toe to toe," reflects Sampras. "But I just felt that the bigger the match at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open the more confident I was, the more I believed in myself. I just felt comfortable being on the big stage. I am not saying that Andre didn't feel that way as well, but I loved it. With Andre, I liked the pace that he hit the ball and where he stood on the court. I used my athletic ability to win tough points. I felt more relaxed when I played him. I respected him so much that I didn't think about what I was doing too much. I just let it go."

The man he mentions next on his list of cherished rivals is none other than Boris Becker. Sampras had immense respect for the burly German, who presented such a formidable challenge with his imposing brand of big-hitting tennis. According to Sampras, "Boris had a lot of power, and I was a little bit at the mercy of his serve and his ability to hit great shots. Our final in Hannover [in 1996] was an epic that I won in five sets. I will never forget walking on the court with him for that match. While I was waiting in the locker room before the match, I could hear the crowd chanting and clapping their hands. Then Boris and I walked on court and they put the bright lights on us and I was kind of taken aback for a moment. I thought, 'Wow, this is pretty cool to be a part of this.' As much as the crowd wanted Boris to win, they also thanked me for being a part of that match. For atmosphere, that one rates as the best I ever experienced, without a doubt."

Sampras fondly recalls his career series with former doubles partner Jim Courier. Although Sampras swept 16 of 20 battles with his fellow American, they battled gamely against each other in every major championship across the years, and twice (in the 1995 Australian Open and 1996 French Open quarterfinals) Sampras needed to recoup from two sets to love down before recording noble victories. Recollects Sampras, "Jim really pushed me hard in a lot of areas in my tennis. When we turned pro, we spent a lot of time together and worked out at Bollettieri's, and this guy was an absolute workhorse, practicing three hours a day, running, lifting, doing everything. I saw that and did it with him and got myself in great shape. Then he got to No. 1 and won the French and the Australian twice and kind of opened my eyes to reaching the top. I thought if he could do it, so could I. I hope the same thing can happen with Roddick and Fish and Blake and the other young Americans."

Sampras cherished the rivalries, but nothing mattered more to him than succeeding at the majors. His 14-4 record in Grand Slam finals is irrefutable evidence of his big occasion stature. "I can't really explain it," he says of his seven triumphant years at Wimbledon. "I just felt like I was born to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. They really were to me the granddaddies of all tournaments. What happened at Wimbledon was magical. There is no other place like it. I am very proud of my record in Slam finals and particularly having not lost a Wimbledon final. It is the biggest match in the world, and to be seven-for-seven is a great feeling for me."

On the other hand, Sampras never found the form or the conviction to rule at Roland Garros on the slow red clay. He did not reach a final at the French Open and did not advance beyond the third round in his last six appearances. But between 1992 and 1996, he captured the Italian Open title and was seeking a fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament title, but bowed to Courier in the French Open quarterfinals. Did he sell himself short in that span, particularly in 1994? "There is some truth to that," he responds. "When I was getting to the quarters and then the semis that one year (1996), I don't know if I totally believed that I was good enough on the clay. At the end, doubts crept in, and I would get down on myself. It is unfortunate, but that is the way it goes."

Another misfortune for Sampras was not being able to lead the U.S. to more Davis Cup victories. He played on two winning teams, joining forces with John McEnroe to win in the doubles against Switzerland in the 1992 finals, then almost single-handedly pushing the Americans past Russia in the 1995 final at Moscow, where he captured two singles matches and took the doubles in between alongside Todd Martin.

"I place that one right up there among my achievements," says Sampras. "The pinnacle for me was in Russia, playing at the end of the year on clay indoors, a surface I hadn't done that great on. That was my Davis Cup highlight, and it goes up there with being No. 1 and winning majors. It was one of the best efforts I put together anywhere."

Had the international schedule of tournaments and Davis Cup not been so congested over the years, Sampras would surely have appeared more often, although he did represent the United States eight different years. "After that '95 final in Russia, I had to go down to Australia three weeks later for the Australian Open. To not have an off season and have a Davis Cup tie right after or right before a Grand Slam tournament definitely takes it toll. It is pretty much impossible to stay No. 1, win majors and play Davis Cup. You will go crazy. It is too much tennis and too much stress on your mind and your body. I played a lot of years of Davis cup, so I don't feel poorly about my commitment. But I wouldn't have been able to achieve all those majors and stay No. 1 if I would have played more Davis Cup. I was frying myself trying to do that, so I gave up some Davis Cup and took the criticism because it meant a lot to me to stay on top of the game."

That was the driving force for Sampras. Once he reached No. 1 in the world in 1993, he refused to let go of that status, staying up there for six years in a row. That record is unlikely to be broken. Success on that level required supreme dedication. "I had great people helping me, like Paul Annacone and Tim Gullikson," says Sampras, "but I had to figure out for myself how much I really wanted to be the best. One loss changed everything: losing to Edberg in the '92 U.S. Open final. I felt I quit to some degree and I promised myself I would never do that again. After that, I was consumed with being the best. I look back on that match as the reason I was able to win 14 majors. In tennis, in business and in life in general, it is up to you to reach your goals. I look at Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl as guys who also stayed No. 1 for a long time, and we were made in the same mold. It wasn't just that we wanted to be No. 1, but we needed to be on top. Connors had that intensity, and, man, it pissed Lendl off when he lost his No. 1 ranking."

The obsession of standing alone at the top meant that Sampras could not do as much as he would have liked off the court to promote the game. Does he have any lingering regrets about that? "It is kind of a Catch 22," he answers. "If I had not been so consumed with winning tennis matches, I could have done a lot more for marketing, making appearances and doing some shows here and there. But I would not say it is regret because I would much rather be the best player in the world for six years than do talk shows. Maybe I could have done more than I did. But, then again, all I cared about was winning matches and that is the only way you can stay on top. I would not call it a regret, but it is something I have thought about."

Something else he has dwelled upon often is his place on the sport's historical ladder. He not only holds the record for men's major singles titles, but he stretched his talent majestically and won his first and last Grand Slam tournament titles 12 years apart, setting an Open Era record with that feat. He collected major crowns in 10 different years, something no other man has done. Across the last 13 years of his career, he only once failed to reach at least one Wimbledon or U.S. Open final. His combined total of 12 Wimbledon or U.S. Open championships is another mark among men. A considerable number of knowledgeable critics consider him the best ever to play the game.

Asked to address that topic, Sampras humbly responds, "I am not going to say I am the greatest ever. I did feel at times I played tennis to perfection. But I guess my take on this would be imagining three guys sitting around and talking about tennis. One guy says, 'I saw Laver in his prime and he was the best.' The next guy says, 'I saw Lew Hoad and he was the greatest.' And the last guy says, 'Well, I saw Sampras and he was the best I have ever seen.' I would just like to be amongst that conversation."