Posted on: May 28th, 2003
Sampras is a study in greatness
- petepage[May 28, 2003 Josh Bean, Times] Pete Sampras isn't playing this week at the French Open.
He won't play at Wimbledon next month, either.
How sad that the greatest tennis player of a generation -and probably the greatest tennis player of all time - has faded into the shadows of the sports world.
Sampras, 31, married actress Bridgette Wilson in September 2000, signaling the end of his tennis career and the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
It's a shame we no longer get to see Sampras in action.
It's an even greater shame that Americans - sports fans and otherwise - fail to recognize Sampras' greatness.
Pete Sampras isn't as volatile as John McEnroe or as egotistic as Andre Agassi.
That's what's so impressive about Sampras.
His name never shows up on a police blotter, and he played the game with class and dignity.
Sadly, that's precisely why the public never really got to know Sampras.
Agassi summarized the attitude of American athletes when he proclaimed "image is everything" during TV ads a decade ago.
You remember them - Agassi, long hair bouncing more than Britney Spears, selling camera equipment with his tennis skills.
Agassi's shameless promotion made him a household name at a time when Sampras emerged as the game's best player.
Agassi's legacy is built on his celebrity ¡V a marriage to model Brooke Shields and a subsequent marriage to former tennis star Steffi Graf.
Not Sampras.
Sampras will be remembered for his resume and nothing more.
Take a look - 14 Grand Slam titles, including a record seven at Wimbledon.
Pretty impressive, eh?
The American sports landscape has become littered with players with more style than substance, more panache than performance.
How else can we explain basketball phenom LeBron James signing a $90 million sneaker deal before actually bouncing a pass or shooting a free throw in the NBA?
Hype sells.
That's why Michael Jordan can't keep his bald noggin out of the limelight, and over-the-hill boxers continue to be beaten into submission for a fistful of pay-per-view dollars.
Once in the spotlight, it's difficult for athletes to step out of it.
But not for Sampras.
He never seemed comfortable with his celebrity, retreating from the public eye and concentrating on becoming one of the greatest athletes of all time.
If sports fans can't recognize Sampras' greatness, it's their loss.
It doesn't take an over-hyped image or a slew of endorsement deals to make an athlete successful.
Winning does.
Sampras won more majors than any player in tennis history.
That's greatness.
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