Samprasfanz

The Associated PressSaturday, March 8, 2008 Pete Sampras was hardly at the height of his powers when he handed Roger Federer the keys to Centre Court at Wimbledon, losing their only head-to-head encounter that counted. Sampras would go on to win only one more match at the All England Club after that 2001 defeat, never coming close to adding to his seven championships at the grass-court Grand Slam. Federer, a decade younger, would go on to supplant Sampras at No. 1 in the rankings, assume Pistol Pete’s status as a perennial power at Wimbledon with five consecutive titles there, and begin to chip, chip, chip away at his record for major trophies. So perhaps fair’s fair, considering that Federer has been, well, rather un-Federer-esque heading into his latest exhibition match against Sampras, which is … Read entire article »

By: Troy JohnsonColumbus Ledger-Enquirer sports columnist Here’s a transcript of the telephone conversation [I had] with 14-time Grand Slam tennis champion Pete Sampras on Wednesday in anticipation of Saturday night’s exhibition match against Todd Martin at the Columbus Civic Center. Often criticized for not being emotional enough on the court, Sampras seems to be exactly what you would expect: cerebral, articulate and, above all, incredibly polite. Question: What made you want to do the exhibition matches? Do you use it as a competitive outlet or is it a way to stay connected to your fans? Sampras: A little bit of everything. I still enjoy playing, but I don’t play a ton of exhibitions. It (the Martin exhibition in Jacksonville, Fla., and Columbus) kind of happened last minute. It’s a way to get a … Read entire article »

Todd Martin gave the hometown crowd a thrill Thursday night when he defeated tennis legend Pete Sampras in the Serving Up Aces exhibition at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. The Ponte Vedra Beach resident won 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 over the Grand Slam titles record-holder in a match played on the Premier Court indoor carpet surface. “It’s old hat,” Martin joked after the match. “That’s the fifth time I’ve beaten him. I’ve lost to him 25 times.” Martin said it was particularly gratifying to play well against Sampras in front of the local crowd of about 3,000. Martin took an early break in the first set, then held serve to take a 3-1 lead. “Winning, frankly, is really nice,” Martin said. “The thing I was most concerned about was coming out here and getting shellacked, … Read entire article »