Samprasfanz

October 2, 2002 Reuters / Miami Herald – Pete Sampras will not play tennis again this year, the winner of a record 14 grand slam titles said on Wednesday.

Sampras, who won his fifth U.S. Open singles crown last month, has withdrawn from all the remaining ATP tournaments in which he was entered in 2002.

The move fans rumours that the 31-year-old is ready to hang up his racket for good.

“Since winning the U.S. Open on September 8, I have been taking some time to reevaluate where I want to go from here,” Sampras said.

“I’m therefore not sufficiently prepared to compete in the upcoming tournaments in Madrid, Basel and Paris.”

He also told reporters in Philadelphia where he is scheduled to appear at the Smash Hits charity event that when the day comes, it won’t be an easy adjustment for a guy who has spent most of his life playing competitive tennis.

”One day, you’ll wake up and you won’t be playing anymore and you’ve got to sort of reinvent yourself,” said Sampras. “Having been injured a little bit during my career, without tennis to fill my day, I can understand how that’s not going to be easy. Part of me looks forward to not having a schedule, but after a while of going out and playing golf, I think I’ll get bored. Nothing lasts forever, but you’ve got to come to terms with actually stopping.”

Sampras, who has not played since winning the U.S. Open, had been scheduled to play at the Madrid Masters Series from October 14-20, the Swiss Indoors in Basel from October 21-27 and the Paris Masters from October 28-November 3.