Posted on: October 03rd, 2002
Retirement Heavy on Sampras' Mind
- petepageBy MARC NARDUCCI / Philadelphia Inquirer/ October 3, 2002 - VILLANOVA, Pa. - Pete Sampras won his first professional tennis tournament in Philadelphia. Thursday night, he may have also made this area the site of his final appearance as a pro tennis player.
Sampras participated in Thursday night's 10th annual Smash Hits event hosted by Elton John and Billie Jean King at Villanova's Pavilion. The event, which included a live and silent auction, raised more than $700,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and two area charities, ActionAIDS and the Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance.
Sampras' participation came a day after he said he would withdraw from all remaining ATP tournaments this year. That led to speculation that he would retire.
"I'll make a decision in a month or so, whether I will stop," the 31-year-old Sampras said. "Right now, I'm going back and forth whether to stop."
Even though he lost both sets against longtime rival Andre Agassi, 6-5 (2), 6-4, while playing World Team Tennis rules, Sampras displayed a rocket serve that suggested his game wasn't ready for the old tennis players' home. The two also played mixed doubles, with Sampras and Ally Baker defeating Agassi and Sunitha Rao, 6-3.
Sampras' first professional win came in the Philadelphia Indoor Tournament on Feb. 19, 1990, when he defeated Andres Gomez in straight sets at the Spectrum.
"I drove by the Spectrum, and this is when it all began happening for me," Sampras said somewhat nostalgically. "I was 60th in the world and won in Philly, and later I won in New York."
He was referring to the U.S. Open in 1990, when he won his first Grand Slam singles title by beating Agassi.
Sampras, whose wife, Bridgette Wilson, is expecting their first child in December, was asked whether he would contemplate playing in just the four Grand Slam tournaments.
"You can't do that today because you can't turn it on and off like that," he said. "If I play, I will play a full schedule."
When asked whether Thursday night's match could have been his last, King interrupted and said, "It could be, which is why this is such a magical moment."
If he does retire, Sampras said, "I'll be busy, especially having a kid, which I'm looking forward to. But I really don't know right now what I would do."
Agassi, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion who lost to Sampras in a memorable U.S. Open final last month, hasn't begun to think of his own farewell.
"I have no thoughts of retiring," the 32-year-old Agassi said. "I feel I can keep getting better."
Elton John, scheduled to play in a celebrity mixed doubles match, pulled out with bursitis in his shoulder.
"It's such a blow," John, an avid player, said.
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