Samprasfanz

By Bud Collins, Boston Globe July 15, 2007 NEWPORT, R.I. — Pete Sampras and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario were in town, gracing the Casino, the elder among the planet’s tennis parlors. No, they weren’t making comebacks. Rather, they were coming into new roles among the game’s immortals, tapped for hard-earned, lofty membership in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, along with Sven Davidson and Russ Adams. This was the time, every second Saturday of July, when the past upstages the present. Semifinals of the Jimmy Van Alen Cup, the lone grass-court presentation of the ATP Tour in the US, went on as billed. But for a day, a glorious, sunny, and seabreezy afternoon, the tournament was overshadowed by the Fame Class of ’07, appearing to collect their reward for bygone greatness. (Other … Read entire article »

Relaxed Sampras: Cool, calm and inducted Former Palos Verdes prodigy set to enter Hall of Fame. By Phil Collin, Daily Breeze July 13, 2007 -Ah, retirement. Kicking back, watching the kids surprise each day, tripping back to the East Coast to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pete Sampras, once a mere child tennis prodigy from The Hill, has treated his days away from the game the way he once took on the world shortly after turning pro in 1988: He’s aced it. Saturday in Newport, R.I., Sampras will join Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Sven Davidson and Russ Adams in ceremonies certain to test the famous stoic resolve that Sampras displayed while compiling a record 14 Grand Slam titles. “It hasn’t hit me quite yet,” Sampras said. “I’m sure (it will) when I land there and … Read entire article »

By Bud Collins, Boston Globe July 13, 2007 NEWPORT, R.I. — He was a shy little kid with a big smile, both hands on his racket, patrolling the baseline and hoping for the best. The bests would come. Many of them — but not before Pete Sampras spurted to 6 feet 3 inches, discarded the fashionable two-handed backhand, and established himself as a marauder who found a fortune and a record stash of major championships at the net. A virtuoso of serve-and-volley, perhaps the last of that daring but vanishing breed, Sampras — seven-time Wimbledon champion — will be back on a grass court tomorrow, once more a winner. But no running necessary. This time, at Newport’s venerable Casino, the Californian will be promoted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. As a member … Read entire article »

Peter Bodo, ESPN July 12, 2007 Pete Sampras will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this weekend, and with Wimbledon — the tournament he won 7 times — just concluded, it’s as good a time as any to compare him to Roger Federer. After all, they seem to be engaged in a three-way faceoff for the GOAT (Greatest Player of All Time) title along with that iconic Aussie, Rod Laver. Federer and Sampras are players from different molds — more different than you might think, given the friendship they began to cultivate when Federer stopped by Pete’s Beverly Hills digs a few months ago to whack a few balls and compare notes. As it turned out, there was more note comparing than ball whacking over the days they practiced. … Read entire article »

On the eve of his induction into the tennis Hall of Fame, Pete Sampras had admitted it was the boredom of retirement which drove him back to the game on his own terms. The 35-year-old who retired in 2002 after beating Andre Agassi in the US Open final, has over recent years begun dipping his toes back into the sport that he once dominated. His latest lark was the July World TeamTennis season with the Newport (California) Beach Breakers. Sampras said that after three years of improving his golf, increasing family and wondering what to do with weeks of free time, something was missing. ‘I realised when I played a few exhibitions here and there that I enjoyed it, I enjoyed getting in shape. I enjoyed playing tennis again,’ said the man whose all-time … Read entire article »

WORLD TEAMTENNIS MEDIA CONFERENCE July 3, 2007 NOTE: Pete Sampras returns for his second season in the World TeamTennis Pro League presented by Advanta on July 10 in Newport Beach, Calif. Pete will be playing one home match for the Newport Beach Breakers and will also play three times on the road – in St. Louis, Schenectady and Philadelphia. The WTT Pro League regular season runs July 5-25 in 11 U.S. markets, with the top two teams from each conference advancing to the WTT Championship Weekend, July 27-29. For more information, contact Rosie Crews, WTT, at 817.684.0366 (rcrews@wtt.com ) or visit www.WTT.com. THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon and good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us. This is Rosie Crews with World TeamTennis. I’m here with Pete Sampras for this conference call. Pete … Read entire article »