BY James Beck, Of The Post and Courier Staff
August 24, 2003
Men's tennis won't be the same. Even though Pete Sampras hasn't played since last year's U.S. Open, there was hope that he might show up this year at Wimbledon or the U.S. Open.
But now Pete is ready to officially announce his retirement from professional tennis on Monday. It's a sad but yet historic day for men's tennis.
This brings back memories of a spring Saturday afternoon back in 1988 when I stood next to a junior player on the porch at Wild Dunes Racquet Club. He was 16 years old and appeared to be about 5-9, 150 pounds. Pete Sampras had just failed in his effort to qualify for the U.S. Clay Courts, losing to another kid named Michael Chang.
There was much talk that week in USTA meetings at Wild Dunes about the declining prospects of American men's tennis. Neither Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe had made a Grand Slam final the past two years, and there didn't appear to be anyone ready to take their places.
Of course, little did anyone know then that the future of U.S. men's tennis was at Wild Dunes that year. Jim Courier was there, too, and Andre Agassi would win the U.S. Clay Courts the next year.
The next time the name Pete Sampras came to mind was two years later in 1990 while I was watching the U.S. Open. There was a grown-up Pete Sampras, suddenly a lanky 6-1 and heavier, playing near-flawless serve-and-volley tennis. He won the U.S. Open that year.
The things that stand out most to me about Sampras, other than his awesome serves on break-points and effortless volleys, was his character and court disposition. He was the complete gentleman of tennis, a relief from the racket-throwing, bad-mouthing images of Connors and McEnroe.
Sampras was never heard to speak harshly or negatively about his opponents or line crews and chair umpires. He won a record 14 Grand Slam titles, but he gave tennis far more in return.
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by Mike Lupica, New York Daily News columnist
August 24, 2003
It isn't just another big guy who officially leaves the stage now that Pete Sampras announces his retirement.
I believe it's the greatest male tennis player this country ever produced, and maybe the second greatest player of them all after Rod Laver.
People can talk all they want about how Sampras never won the French Open.
Andre Agassi has won all four majors and Sampras hasn't, and that's a fact.
Here's another: When the match was big, Sampras almost always beat Agassi.
We can talk about the French and that hole in Sampras' resume whenever we have the debate about the great players of all time.
He is still the best American player we've ever had.
That means better than Connors and better than McEnroe in the modern era of American tennis.
I never saw Tilden or Gonzales or Jack Kramer, and maybe they could have beaten Sampras if they could have played him in their primes.
I'd like to know how if Sampras was pounding in that serve.
He was to tennis as Tiger Woods is to golf, even though he was never as popular as Tiger.
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Sampras done at exactly the right time
By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
August 24, 2003
Most hang on a little too long, such as Gretzky, Abdul-Jabbar and Jordan. A handful leave too soon, like Jim Brown or, well, Jordan (the first time).
The rare and fortunate get it just right.
Pete Sampras aced it.
Knowing when and how to call it quits seemingly is harder for the great ones than becoming great in the first place.
Here are the conundrums: Why quit when you still have the burning desire to play, even if your form has slipped, or, why retire after winning a title when, heck, you've just shown you're the best, who's to say you won't be the best in the near future?
As Sampras slogged through a middling 2002, he appeared to be hanging on too long. It took all he had to summon one final command performance: His 2002 U.S. Open championship.
But after his for-the-ages triumph, he started to engage in some sort of wishy-washy, pseudo-retirement. You didn't know if he was playing anymore or not.
It turns out he was just waiting for the right moment. Monday, on opening night at the Open, he will have a brief retirement ceremony. Perfect. The first and last of his record 14 Grand Slams were Opens, bookending his fantabulous career.
Sampras always seemed to have a greater perspective than the average jock. One last time, he is proving it.
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Sampras' combination of class, achievement spoke for itself on court
by Joe Hawk, Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
The only racket he ever made was with his racket, and that's the way it should be as "Rants & Raves" opens this week with praise for a great retired champion, Pete Sampras:
In a sport where throwing tantrums can get you more notice than playing with your mouth shut and just taking care of business, Sampras, who officially announced his retirement Monday on the opening night of tennis' U.S. Open, was considered bland, even dull, by many sports fans. Hey, folks, sometimes vanilla is just the right flavor, as Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam titles attest. ...
Sampras has had his quiet detractors, those who hint he was less than gracious in victory. Could it be they expected more -- even too much -- from a competitor who emotionally didn't have a lot to give? ...
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Don's Extra Point
Substance Over Style: Isn't That What Counts?
by Don Harris, WOAI - San-Antonio radio
August 26, 2003
We've all asked why Tim Duncan doesn't get the respect he deserves. A look at Pete Sampras may show us why.
Pete Sampras took his victory lap Monday night at Flushing Meadow. A career unmatched, 14 grand slams - he was ranked number one for six straight years, statistically the greatest ever.
You didn't realize that did you? No because when we think of tennis, we think McEnroe, Connors. Yet nobody stayed in the number one spot longer than Sampras, or won more money.
He was 56-1 at Wimbledon winning it seven times in eight years. He was the youngest champ at the U.S. Open at the age of 19, and won it again last year at the age of 31, the oldest champ since 1970.
Like Tim Duncan, Pete was always substance over style, quiet, reserved, yet an animal with a killer competitive instinct and the drive to be number one.
Criticized for being boring most of his career, Sampras all along just wanted to be judged for what he did between the lines - same with Timmy. After all isn't that what counts.
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Sweet Pete memories
By Tom Tebbutt , THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
1. The 1996 U.S. Open quarter-finals: Battling a stomach ailment and dehydration, Sampras threw up on court up during the fifth set of his 7-6, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 win over Alex Corretja. Slumped over and using his racquet like a crutch, he somehow found enough energy to save a match point with a lunging forehand volley in the decisive tiebreak. He won the next point with an incredible second-serve ace, then the match on a Corretja double fault. He went on to win his fourth title at Flushing Meadows.
2. The 2001 U.S. Open quarter-finals: Sampras and Andre Agassi engaged in what was probably their best encounter, which Sampras won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 without a service break under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
3. The 2000 Wimbledon final: Suffering from a painful problem in his left shin, Sampras had to be carried out of the All England Club one evening. But he persevered on pain-killing injections and eventually beat Patrick Rafter 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final. That set a record for Grand Slam titles at 13.
4. The 1999 Wimbledon final: After fending off three break points at 3-3 in the first set, Sampras played "in the zone" to beat the formidable Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, his finest display on his favourite surface.
5. The 1995 Davis Cup final in Moscow: On an indoor clay court, Sampras won all three points for the United States. He beat Andrei Chesnokov but then had to be carried off the court because of severe cramping. The next day, he was able to pair with Todd Martin for a doubles win and came back the following day to beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 to seal the victory. His heroics went largely unrecognized in his homeland and led to a lessening of his enthusiasm for Davis Cup play.
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Sampras steps down
Pete Sampras, one of the greatest men's tennis players of all time, retires.
Editorial, The Free Lance-Star
Date published: 8/30/2003
The King of Swing calls it a match
HE STOOD in the middle of Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday, his 9-month-old son, Christian, in his arms, and with a wave of his hand and tears in his eyes, Pete Sampras said goodbye to professional tennis. But it will be a long time until tennis says goodbye to him.
No one in men's tennis can match Mr. Sampras' record. He won 14 Grand Slams during his career and captured 64 singles titles while tallying a won-lost record of 762-222. The Association of Tennis Professionals Player of the Year for six straight years, Mr. Sampras earned upwards of $43 million at his game.
Born in Washington in 1971, Mr. Sampras grew up in the Los Angeles area and began playing tennis at age 7. He went pro at 16 and became the youngest man ever to win the U.S. Open at 19. But it is not just his success at tennis that made Mr. Sampras special, it was the way he played. Devoid of the histrionics so many others exhibit, his game was cool, concentrated, focused. Leveling his dark eyes at his opponent, he returned their best shots in a pantherlike flash of movement. His lightning serves--clocked at 130 mph, much faster than Sandy or Nolan ever uncorked a heater--could knock the heart out of anyone's game. He exhibited an unyielding will to win, a commitment that transcended fatigue, heat, and pain.
One opponent, Dave Wheaton of Minneapolis, said Mr. Sampras had "confidence in who he was and what he could do. His tennis and his character had been tested under fire. He'd met those tests and he knew what was inside him."
What was inside him was a passion for the game--one shared by millions. Tennis is truly a worldwide, and lifelong, sport, with some 20,000,000 participants in the United States alone. Young up-and-comers and oldsters alike have the opportunity to walk in Mr. Sampras' shoes, playing with style and self-control the game they love.
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Sampras reign at Wimbledon
By Opinion Page staff, The Advocate
August 30, 2003
In sports, there are more "ends of an era" than there are really justifiably important "eras." But it's difficult not to use that phrase about tennis as Pete Sampras retired from the game in a touching ceremony in New York, where he won the U.S. Open at age 19.
The skinny young Greek went on to demonstrate incredible staying-power during 15 years in one of the most grueling year-round sports there is.
There might be some argument about whether he was the greatest tennis player ever. Perhaps Bill Tilden of the '20s or Rod Laver of the '60s would have been better with today's high-tech racquets. But probably no one would question Sampras' majestic domination of the grass-court game.
His seven Wimbledon trophies end that argument. Game, set and match.