Samprasfanz

June 16, 2011 – Pete Sampras seemingly has little in common with Dirk Nowitzki. But at about the time Sampras began carving out a legacy as one of the greatest tennis players of all time in the early 1990s, Nowitzki was winning junior tennis tournaments in his native Germany. Nowitzki eventually switched to basketball and won his first NBA title Sunday night with the Dallas Mavericks. Sampras, a Los Angeles resident who can often be seen at Staples Center watching the Lakers, said he appreciated something else about the way Nowitzki finally won his ring. “You know, I just like to see good basketball,” Sampras said in a phone interview. “I don’t have any preference for one team over another. You’re just happy for Nowitzki. He’s sort of a humble guy, and obviously … Read entire article »

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were more Federer-Nadal than McEnroe-Connors. During their careers, the two tennis stars had a rivalry that was mostly confined to the court and didn’t include any petty, off-court troubles. It took retirement for things to get heated. One year after Agassi embarrassed Sampras with awkward jokes made during an exhibition match, Sampras is still holding a grudge. He refused to play his long-time rival last week during a scheduled exhibition in Argentina after a testy phone call with Agassi following their last match. From TENNIS.com: “Andre phoned Pete after that match to tell him he should have slowed down a little bit to make it more entertaining and not take the exhibitions that competitively,” said one of the sources. “The conversation didn’t have a friendly ending and Pete … Read entire article »

March 28, 2011 – Pete Sampras, winner of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, retired officially in 2003 but has been showing plenty of interest in playing the game of late. He has taken part in exhibitions in the United States, including a match in Madison Square Garden in New York last month against Andre Agassi Tweet … Read entire article »

March 8, 2011 – Pete Sampras beat Thomas Muster 6-3, 7-6(2) at the BNP Paribas Zurich Open, and will now face his old rival Goran Ivanisevic on Wednesday in his second round-robin match. The American needed to fire on all cylinders to see off the super-fit Muster, and ultimately it was his greater weight of shot that told. “I played Thomas a few years ago in Brazil and he’s in much better shape now than he was then,” said Sampras. “He’s hitting the ball well, he served well and he made me work pretty hard there in the second set.” He will now face Ivanisevic, who suffered a straight-sets loss against the in-form Mark Philippoussis, who recently won the Delray Beach ATP Champions Tour event. “Although I got the better of Goran during our … Read entire article »

Monday, February 28, 2011 NEW YORK — While Monday’s first match — a 50-something battle between Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe — ended with a sprained-ankle retirement by McEnroe, the main event in the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden was so not old-man doubles. Back in the day, Pete Sampras had the game’s best serve and Andre Agassi usually neutralized that with a peerless return of service. But eight and a half years after Sampras won the last tournament he ever played — the 2002 U.S. Open, over Agassi in the final — that serve overpowered Agassi, early and often. When one ace down the middle went darting into the crowd, Agassi could only smile and widen his eyes in mock horror — or maybe it was real. Sampras, it turns … Read entire article »

Feb 8, 2011 – For the lighter side of tennis, Monday night at HP Pavilion was the place to be. Push-ups, sit-ups, between-point wind sprints, photo breaks … the exhibition match between retired 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, 39, and up-and-coming French showman Gael Monfils, 24, had a little bit of everything. When it ended, there was even some smack talk. Peeking ahead to an exhibition match against longtime rival Andre Agassi (also retired) at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28, Sampras told the crowd of 4,911, “I’m looking forward to playing Andre. I’m always looking forward to kicking his little (behind).” It was the last laugh in a match filled with them. On the opening night of the SAP Open, Sampras and Monfils ran around the court for a little more than an … Read entire article »