Posted on: April 12th, 2006
Sampras attains yet another milestone
- petepage[April 11, 2006] Pete Sampras came back to tennis last Thursday night in historic fashion. The 14-time Grand Slam champ returned to the court for the first time in nearly four years in an exhibition match broadcast live and exclusively on the United States Tennis Association's web site.
The match against Robby Ginepri at River Oaks International in Houston, Texas, was the first one to be broadcast live on usta.com.
And for those who missed it — don't worry. The complete rebroadcast can be still seen on demand at usta.com.
The broadcast begins with an in-depth interview of Sampras, covering his past, present and future plans.
Sampras fans will learn that he's been keeping busy playing poker and golf, and bonding with his 3 1/2-year-old and 7-month-old boys since retiring from tennis in 2003. You can hear how he has been getting in shape by hitting with the UCLA men's team and Justin Gimelstob. He also touches on his future plans of playing World Team Tennis and some exhibitions.
In a series of questions from viewers, Sampras reveals that Davis Cup play is out for him, but an exhibition with Roger Federer could be a possibility.
After a quick interview with Ginepri, it's onto the match itself. A word of warning, though — if you don't have high-speed Internet, the broadcast can be frustrating. While the audio portion virtually streamed uninterrupted, the video part did not. It's like watching a slide show.
Even with high-speed Internet, the ball is a little hard to pick up at times, the lighting isn't the best and there are no fancy, close-up shots or angles.
As for the match itself, well, it was on clay — Sampras' worst surface and Ginepri's best. Sampras, 34, hasn't played professionally in almost four years and 23-year-old Ginepri is ranked No. 19 in the world. Need I say more?
But all that aside, you can still appreciate the match for what it is — Sampras' return to tennis. And you can watch it any time you want.
Welcome back, Pete.
Recent Headlines
April 01, 2012
November 20, 2011
October 29, 2011
October 01, 2011
July 13, 2011
- "Li Na and Friends" to square off with Sampras and others at two-day tennis event in Wuhan - petepage
June 18, 2011
May 04, 2011
Back to News