News Archives

1988 - 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003 to present

News on Sampras

Posted on: July 12th, 2007

WTT: Sampras not enough

- petepage

NEWPORT BEACH — Pete Sampras was nearly out of the point in Tuesday night's Newport Beach Breakers match against the Sacramento Capitals.

Of course, with Sampras, the 14-time Grand Slam singles winner, the point is never over.

He whipped a wicked crosscourt forehand past Sam Warburg, earning a break of serve and throwing in several small fist pumps.

"Is this what you came to see?" the announcer asked, and the sellout crowd of 2,311 roared in approval.

But Warburg broke Sampras' serve back in the next game, looking into the crowd while making a fist pump of his own.

Sacramento always seemed to have a response Tuesday, downing the Breakers, 25-18, for the home team's third straight loss.

Sampras, 35, wasn't playing around in his only home match of the season for Newport Beach. After all, during halftime, this was the same guy who accidentally whipped a serve past an unknowing contestant in a "return a Sampras serve" contest.

The contestant had bent down to stretch.

"It's a work in progress, retirement," said Sampras, in his second year with the Breakers, in a pre-match press conference. "It's good for a man to get his hands dirty. Playing tennis keeps me in focus … Every couple of months I need something to look forward to, something to focus on. I feel good waking up in the morning and hitting some balls."

But the Breakers (1-3) couldn't solve the Capitals (2-2), who won all five sets of the match.

In mixed doubles, 2007 French Open men's doubles champion Mark Knowles and Elena Likhovtseva took a 5-3 win over the Breakers' Rick Leach and Michaela Pastikova.

Newport Beach's Lauren Albanese then had the hard-luck set of the night, losing 5-4 in games and 5-4 in a tiebreaker to Likhovtseva.

Albanese nearly came back from a 4-2 games deficit, earning the tiebreaker with a cross-court passing shot.

But Albanese's shot on set point was long, and she flung her racquet across the ground in frustration.

The dream doubles combination of Sampras and Leach, who have won a combined 19 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles, didn't fare much better.

They lost, 5-3, to Knowles and Warburg, giving Sacramento a 15-10 games lead.

Sampras' game, which he has admitted wasn't up to par with the Breakers last season, didn't appear rusty when he smashed a 132 mph service ace in singles against Warburg.

But it did when he double-faulted twice in a service game at 2-3, leaving Warburg a game away from victory.

Sampras, who will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday, rebounded to win two straight games, setting up another tiebreaker.

But Warburg stormed to a 3-0 lead and won it, 5-1, to give Sacramento a 20-14 games lead and send many of the fans to the exits.

In the last set of the night, Albanese and Pastikova lost the Breakers' third tiebreaker to Likhovtseva and Michelle Larcher De Brito, who, at 14, is the youngest player in World Team Tennis this season. Breakers Coach Trevor Kronemann was left bemoaning the fact that Sampras in men's singles, and Sampras and Leach in men's doubles, couldn't hold their leads.

"We've just been really unlucky lately," Kronemann said. "We just couldn't convert. We've had a lot of 3-all points and a lot of break points where we just haven't been taking advantage of those opportunities. We'll go and try to put it together on the road, and come back here [with a] 3-3 [record]."

Newport Beach plays at Springfield on Thursday and at Houston on Friday.

The Breakers return home on Sunday at 7 p.m. against the St. Louis Aces.

Source: Daily Pilot

Recent Headlines

April 01, 2012

November 20, 2011

October 29, 2011

October 01, 2011

July 13, 2011

June 18, 2011

May 04, 2011

 

 

Back to News