Samprasfanz

Gael Monfils of France took on Pete Sampras, the American great, in an exhibition match at the SAP Open in San Jose, California. The match was part of the promotional activity for the tournament, and was scheduled in the evening session. While Sampras has been in retirement since 2002, he has played several exhibition matches since then, including one against Tommy Haas at the 2008 edition of this very tournament. He has also played Roger Federer twice and most recently colluded with Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi in a doubles fund raiser for the earthquake struck country of Haiti. He also won two Outback Champions Series titles in 2009, defeating both John McEnroe and Pat Rafter en route. Since Monfils and Sampras play contrasting styles of tennis, this match was always going to be … Read entire article »

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)-After one long point, Pete Sampras sat in a chair to catch his breath, while Gael Monfils dropped to the ground to do a push-up, followed by a sprint and then a sit-up. That was just one piece of evidence of the 15-year age difference between the two competitors in the exhibition match that highlighted the opening night of the SAP Open on Monday. Monfils was faster on the court, showing the ability to track down drop shots and other volleys Sampras thought would be winners. Monfils had more power on his serve as evidenced by three straight 130-plus mph aces at one point. And Monfils got the better of the 14-time Grand Slam winner, beating Sampras 7-6 (4), 6-4. “I felt I played a little better than I did … Read entire article »

December 17, 2010 Three scrapbooks and a trophy stolen from Pete Sampras at a West Los Angeles public storage facility over a month ago have been recovered. Lt. Robert Edgar, of the LAPD commercial theft division, said that a citizen contacted the police last Friday after finding those items in Griffith Park. Nearly 100 trophies and awards were stolen from Sampras’ storage facility, including his first Australian Open trophy, an Olympic ring and seven ESPYs. “I can’t tell you if it was a random event or if they knew if the property of Pete Sampras was there,” Edgar said. Edgar said the police have several leads, but declined to to comment on the specifics. Sampras said none of his items were insured because he didn’t think there was a way to assess their value. Leila Dunbar, who … Read entire article »

The International Tennis Federation will offer former world No. 1 Pete Sampras a replica of his stolen Davis Cup trophies. Sampras, whose 14 major championships are second in men’s tennis history to Roger Federer’s 16, was robbed of most of the trophies he won throughout his playing career, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. Sampras, 39, told the newspaper that while he still has 13 of his Grand Slam awards, he lost ‘everything else,’ when dozens of boxes were stolen from a public storage facility in west Los Angeles. Items included trophies for his first Australian Open title as well as two Davis Cup wins. “We were sorry to learn of the theft,” Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of the London-based International Tennis Federation, said in a statement. “We know how special a Davis … Read entire article »

LA TimesDecember 7, 2010 Trophies and other memorabilia from Sampras’ record-setting tennis career recently were stolen from a public storage facility. He still has championship hardware for 13 of his 14 Grand Slam singles titles, but almost everything else is gone. When Pete Sampras finished his legendary tennis career, he had enough hardware to open a store. Also, the perfect name: Aces. No longer. Sampras has been robbed of the majority of trophies, medals, plaques, crystal and rings that are a testament to a career that brought a then-record 14 major titles and status as one of the greatest ever to play the game. Three weeks ago, he found out that the dozens of boxes containing these symbols of his career had been stolen. “I have 13 of my 14 Grand Slam trophies,” he said. … Read entire article »

CHENGDU, China. October 23, 2010 – Pete Sampras (USA) and Greg Rusedski (GBR) plowed through their respective round robin groups without dropping a set, securing their places in the Chengdu Open Final on October 24. Sampras boasted a double victory, finally beating his jet lag and then easily eliminating Paradorn Srichaphan (THA) 6-2, 6-3. Sampras was at his freshest since arriving in Chengdu on the 20th. “Today I actually felt more coherent, like I was actually here,” he said. “I just felt better movement-wise. I was finding my range a little bit better, I really hit the ball well from all sides of the court. I served pretty well. I just felt physically better. I just finally got the jet lag under control…in time to go back tomorrow,” he laughed. Hitting … Read entire article »