Posted on: September 01st, 2002
Don't give up on Pete yet!
- petepageSource: Tennis Magazine - September 2002
By George Vecsey -- Pete Sampras may be in the twilight of his career. But for Pete's (and his fans') sake, he should stick around.
We all know Pete Sampras hasn't won a major since Wimbledon in 2000. He got bumped in the first round of the French this year and the second round at the All England Club. He's even had to suffer voluntary career guidance from a career quarterfinalist like Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who suggested that Pete contemplate the dreaded R word. But where is the rule that he should jump on a funeral pyre?
Rather crankily, Sampras asserts his intention of playing until he's good and ready to call it quits. I have one word for him: Bravo! Unless there's something wrong with his health, and there isn't, he should keep doing what he does best. I guess this is a selfish reaction, because great players are hard to find (don't we all still miss Chris, Martina, Jimbo, and Mac?). And the guy is only 31, after all. Why should we be in a rush to feel nostalgic about him?
Retirement is serious. Some regular civilians who pick up their pensions reinvent themselves, but others keel over from sheer boredom. It's even trickier for athletes, who retire at an age when they have half their lives ahead of them. Pete has some general post-tennis plans--he'll host an instructional show on the soon-to-be-launched Tennis Channel, for example--but it's not as if he has a place waiting for him in med school. It could be that retiring at this stage would be a way of avoiding a bigger challenge than he has ever faced, namely, reinventing himself as a formidable tennis player in his twilight years.
Many superb athletes experience a trough in their careers. Baseball pitchers who rely on power in their youth often have a losing season before they learn to mix up their pitches and keep batters off balance. Pete hired a new coach, Jose Higueras, and is actually practicing after matches, so maybe he's on to something. Let's give him a chance to find out.
It's true that young sharpshooters come along, looking like Billy the Kid, eager to knock off the old gunslingers. At the U.S. Open last September, Lleyton Hewitt was fresh in every sense of the word when he defeated Pete. But while Sampras still has that serve and springy extension he should push himself to fight these squirts off for as long as he can.
Pete might also want to look at the athletes who missed the buzz and then tried to come back--Magic Johnson, Guy Lafleur, Michael Jordan. Unless you've been at the top of a sport and experienced the adrenaline rush, it's unreasonable to ask these athletes to walk away from the Big Show. Pete should remember the roar of the crowd when he and Andre Agassi played their wonderful quarterfinal at last year's Open. The thrill that comes from competing in a match like that can't be duplicated in retirement.
Granted, it's hard to cope with slipping from the top. Chris Evert couldn't stomach the losses, but more importantly she also wanted to start a family. Pete insists he could be Mr. Mom for his wife, Bridgette Wilson, but I suggest he take a look at Agassi, whose professional attention span seems to have grown now that he's both husband and father.
Before Pete mothballs himself, he may have discovered that grueling practices, fear of losing, challenges from opponents, travel, critical press, and adoring fans have helped make up the best years of his life. As part of his own life experience, he should see what more he can accomplish, not out of desperation but out of joy. One major title in his early 30s, when he's a bit creaky, might just be more fun than any of the 13 Slams he won when he was young and bouncy and didn't know any better.
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