Posted on: December 12th, 2006
Sampras-Ginepri draws 4,000 at Kennesaw State
- petepageBy STEVE HUMMER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/10/06
Professional tennis — a diluted, non-threatening form of it, anyway — returned to the Atlanta area Saturday night. Pete Sampras and Robbie Ginepri shadowboxed for three sets on a jigsaw SportCourt inside Kennesaw State University's convocation center, more a inter-generational scrimmage than high tournament drama.
This was Walkman vs. iPod. Pager vs. Blackberry. Madonna vs. Aguilera. Mostly for fun.
The old ways, for once, prevailed, 35-year-old Sampras beating 24-year-old Ginepri 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. He now has beaten the kid in two out of three exhibitions.
It was not exactly the Sampras of old, some of that for the better. Carrying on a running conversation with the crowd, he showed a lighter side of himself that he kept well buried while winning 14 Grand Slam titles — half of them at Wimbledon.
"I still have a few tools in the shed," he told the crowd afterwards.
"Growing up and watching a lot of matches on TV, and now playing him, it's a completely different story," said Kennesaw's Ginepri, currently the world's No. 51-ranked player. "It's fun to see how he carries himself on and off the court. Just being around someone with the achievements he has is phenomenal."
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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