 |
|
|
FEATURE
ARTICLE
(Last updated: March 8, 2000)
There is an old interview with Pete Sampras in the Golfdigest.com website:
The Grillroom with Bob Verdi
Pete Sampras
By Bob Verdi
© Golf Digest
What's the world's best tennis player doing with all these golf clubs around the
house?
I'm hooked. Started when I was 17, and that was it.
You're also pretty good, or at least fairly long.
My first real golf tournament with caddies was the celebrity event in Lake Tahoe [Nev.],
1996. A bunch of us were in a driving contest
and I hit mine 332 yards, just beating out Brett Hull. A great week. No gimmes.
Nervous?
Are you kidding? Worse than Wimbledon. A couple hundred people around, and I'm shaking.
Is that your forte, distance?
Well, I do take a big rip at it. I guess I get my strength from my legs, which are also
important in tennis.
Assess your game.
I don't have an established handicap, but I'm probably about a 10. Where I fall down is my
short game. I don't practice enough, and when
I have to take a half swing from 50 yards out, that's trouble.
When you travel for tennis, do you bring your clubs?
No. Ivan Lendl is a fanatic, worse than me. But he really wants to be good. Me, I
go out there to relax.
What about technology?
I can serve maybe 125 m.p.h. with a wood racquet and a graphite. Difference is,
with the graphite racquet, I can do it more consistently,
more often. It's like golf. With high-tech equipment, you have fewer misses. Bigger sweet
spot.
Jack Nicklaus has won 20 majors; you've won 11. Can you catch him?
Ooh, I don't know about that. But I have followed his career, and I see how he's
geared his career for majors. I'm the same way, the
Grand Slam events.
A long time ago, Nicklaus stopped playing for money per se and pointed toward the
majors. When did that happen to you?
Probably when I was about 20. I won my first major, I was making enough money to
pay expenses, and my goals changed.
Do you watch golf on TV?
Tons. I don't look so much for tips. It's just great entertainment, beautiful
surroundings. When they interview a Nicklaus or a Palmer, I'm
all ears. I listen to guys who have done it, been successful -- and for years. I'd love to
go to a Masters or a Ryder Cup. Played Augusta
once; shot 83.
What's the difference between golf and tennis?
In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win. Not in golf. You can
run around in tennis. I played three rounds in that Tahoe
event, and I was drained. Mentally, not physically. Plus, golfers are forever working on
mechanics. My tennis swing hasn't changed in
10 years.
In general, the perception of golfers is that they're wholesome and honorable. But
tennis players are often portrayed as spoiled brats. Unfair?
I admire the way golfers handle themselves. But don't forget, tennis players are
a lot younger as a rule. There aren't many teenagers
on the golf tour. Media access to us is more regulated than in golf, too. That said, I
think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
What's your golf fantasy?
I had one not long ago. Pebble Beach, Cypress, Spyglass with some friends, including Jerry
West [general manager of the L.A. Lakers].
Even though I wrecked his favorite driver a couple of years ago. Swung hard, and the thing
just sort of unraveled.
Anything you have to fix in golf?
The way I hold the club. Got my hand way over, like I'm driving a motorcycle. My Kawasaki
grip.
email me at: tovariche@aol.com
CAREER RESULTS