Posted on: September 09th, 2003
'History Will Be Pretty Good To Me' - [August 26, 2003]
- petepageAfter his farewell in Flushing, Pete Sampras told Dan Patrick and Rob Dibble that he is done with the game he loves. "I really felt like I was standing there saying goodbye to something I love to do. And the US Open has meant so much to me," he said.
A selection of the Aug. 26 interview:
Irreplaceable challenges
Dan Patrick: What do you do now?
Pete Sampras: What do I do now? Well, I pretty much am doing what I've been doing for the past year. I've just been playing golf, hanging out … having some fun, doing some things I didn't have a chance to do, going on a few trips here and there. I love it. I love not having the responsibility of being on the tour and enjoying this retirement.
DP: But you find that athletes need something, that there's that competitive juices that you need to get into to let 'em flow. Is golf going to be that outlet for you?
PS: Golf is more recreation and fun, not necessarily going to replace tennis in any way. But I don't know. We'll see over time what I want to do. Nothing will replace walking out to Wimbledon or the U.S. Open in front of packed house. I know it's time. I know it's not in my heart anymore to go out there and play. It is a transition. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to finding something over the next couple of years to see what I like, whether it's some sort of business or just not doing much, just having some fun. I am competitive, but I think I'm only competitive in tennis. I'm not needing that in my life. The limelight hasn't been something that's really important to me. I'm just going to ride off into the sunset, so to speak, and enjoy this time in my life.
'Picking up a racket is the last thing I want to do'
RD: If you need a little extra spending money, why don't you just go spank (Jimmy) Conners and Bjorn Borg and (John) McEnroe in that old-timer's tour, now that you're retired?
PS: Honestly, the thought of picking up a racket is the last thing I want to do.
RD: It's probably the last thing they want you to do, too.
PS: But I don't see myself playing any senior tennis. I still enjoy hitting the tennis ball. But the thought of hopping on a plane and going to Chicago or anywhere else in the country, I really have a hard time doing that right now. Maybe in three or four years I might do it for the fun of it, just to get out. But I don't see it happening anytime soon. DP: You have another kid, Bridgette gets pregnant again, you going to want to get out on the road, you may want to play tennis. You know what? McEnroe may never look better when get out on the road I think to go to play tennis.
PS: You're talking to the man with experience. You have what, six kids now, Dan?
DP: At last look, I think I've got seven. I haven't been home in a couple of days, so she may have had another one. But I think you still owe me a tennis match in your back yard. Didn't I bid some ungodly amount of money?
PS: Sure did. Whenever you're in LA. I'm not going anywhere. Tennis, golf -- I have time.
'It hit me all at once'
DP: Do you say to yourself last night, I don't want to get emotional?
PS: Yeah. It accumulated all day. It really did. It did for the last eight months just slowly saying goodbye. I think my life for the last eight months, year, have been great, I haven't thought about tennis, I've been having some fun. But I think getting back to New York, I took a drive to the site, which I've done for 15 years. Being at the site, seeing a lot of people, I think it did hit me that I really am leaving, that I'm saying goodbye. There's a sense of closure there. And when I walked out there, I think it stored up for months and the day ... the ovation from the crowd was very touching. I felt really appreciated. De finitely hit me. I really felt like I was standing there saying goodbye to something I love to do. And the US Open has meant so much to me. Winning the US Open for the first time and winning there last year, it just kind of emotional. It just hit me all at once, that I'm never going to play again.
'People want to see you suffer a little bit'
DP: But wasn't it interesting in your career that once you became vulnerable, it's almost as if people rooted for you a little bit differently or a little bit more so?
PS: Absolutely. When I was dominating in my early-and mid-20s, there wasn't a rival. I was winning majors and people really didn't know me that well. I didn't show a lot of emotion. There wasn't a ton to cling on to. The more I won, I felt a little more appreciation. Then I really felt I like I got a lot of support when I was losing. For the past couple of years it's been a struggle. Like I've said all along, I felt like a got more fans over the last two years as I lost more.
DP: Isn't that interesting?
PS: People want to see you suffer a little bit. They don't like to see someone dominating, making it look too easy. They want someone to cheer for. So the past couple of years I just felt I got some more fans, especially at the Open, knowing that I've been dropping in the rankings, not sure how much more I was going to play. And so I think I felt that last night from the fans. I think I felt appreciated. It felt really good to know that. I think history will be pretty good to me over time. So it is the way it kind of works in athletes in an individual sport. Once you start suffering a little bit, then you start to get those fans.
Source: ESPNRadio
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