Posted on: July 13th, 2007
Relaxed Sampras: Cool, calm and inducted
- petepageRelaxed Sampras: Cool, calm and inducted
Former Palos Verdes prodigy set to enter Hall of Fame.
By Phil Collin, Daily Breeze
July 13, 2007 -Ah, retirement. Kicking back, watching the kids surprise each day, tripping back to the East Coast to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Pete Sampras, once a mere child tennis prodigy from The Hill, has treated his days away from the game the way he once took on the world shortly after turning pro in 1988: He's aced it.
Saturday in Newport, R.I., Sampras will join Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Sven Davidson and Russ Adams in ceremonies certain to test the famous stoic resolve that Sampras displayed while compiling a record 14 Grand Slam titles.
"It hasn't hit me quite yet," Sampras said. "I'm sure (it will) when I land there and see the Hall of Fame and see the whole display of the history there.
"It's an emotional time. You kind of live your life, taking care of your kids. This gives me a time to stop everything and look back and appreciate what I was able to do.
"You can kind of lose sight of your identity at times, but this gives me a chance to be appreciated, and I'm looking forward to being officially inducted. It's a great honor; all the all-time greats of the game are in there, and I'm looking forward to the weekend."
Sampras was chatting in Newport Beach, which has become a part of Sampras' return to the game after he left on top with his 2002 U.S. Open win over Andre Agassi. Sampras is playing World Team Tennis for the Newport Beach Breakers and will continue to play in exhibitions, including three with current No. 1 Roger Federer in Asia in November.
This weekend, he'll be joined by his mother and father, sister Stella and brother Gus. His last coach, Paul Annacone, will deliver his Hall of Fame introduction.
Perhaps it's the start of the victory tour he didn't afford himself after calling it a career following his 14th major. There was his marriage to actress Bridgette Wilson and the birth of sons Christian, now 4, and Ryan, 1.
But for sure, you can tell there's a part of Sampras that misses the game he grew up loving on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
"I realized when I played a few exhibitions here and there, I enjoyed it," Sampras said. "I enjoyed getting in shape, I enjoyed playing tennis again.
"It's not a crazy schedule where I'm playing every week, but every couple months. I need something to look forward to, to focus on. It keeps me sharp, it keeps me in the game. It's not anything I need to kill myself over, but I still want to play well and perform well, and really when I'm home, I just want to wake up in the morning hit a few balls and get myself in shape.
"It's good for every man to get (his) hands dirty. And I needed to kind of get back to work a little bit. I didn't do anything for three years, and after the third year, I was getting a little bit restless."
It's hard to imagine Sampras considering tennis as dirty work after watching a fluid, graceful and gracious player hold the year-end No. 1 spot for six consecutive years.
The running forehand. The stylish one-handed backhand. The crisp volleys. And, of course, the rocket serves.
On the way to seven Wimbledon titles and five U.S. Open crowns, Sampras always was working behind the scenes for charities, raising millions of dollars and awareness.
He wasn't the ever-present pitchman, choosing instead to pick his endorsements carefully. And in 2000, he left England without his Wimbledon trophy, leaving All England Club officials scrambling.
Lakers public relations director John Black, a longtime Sampras friend who attended the tournament, was contacted.
"After winning the tournament and getting caught up in all the excitement and what not, he left the grounds without taking the trophy," Black said. "I'm not sure how they tracked me down, but somebody found I had a later flight. They said, `Well, the trophy's here. Can you pick it up and take it to him?' Uh, sure.
"I definitely kept it as a carry-on. I felt responsible for this thing. What if I lose it or break it?"
Black and the trophy made it home without incident. Still, there was no word from the Sampras camp.
"When I got back, I left him a message that I had it," Black said.
"A week had gone by and he was busy doing stuff and our schedules were not in sync. I had this thing at home and finally I remember calling him and saying `Hey, come get this thing. I'm getting nervous with this thing sitting in my house. I don't want to be to responsible for it.
"`I think I had it hidden in a box in the closet. It would have been a nice candy dish, though."
Little of the carefree side of Sampras made it to the court. He played behind a mask that never betrayed his emotions, save for one memorable moment.
During the 1996 Australian Open, just after Sampras' coach Tim Gullikson died, Sampras broke down weeping during a match with Jim Courier.
After a rocky couple of moments, Sampras collected his bearings and won the match - and the tournament.
"When I played, I was in control of my emotions," Sampras said. "I didn't have to act out if I wasn't playing well or there were bad calls. I just had this attitude when I hit great shots that I was going to do it again, so there wasn't time to jump around like I just won Wimbledon. There's a time and a place for that, but not every match I played.
"And you know, when I lost my composure against Jim, and people said it was `finally, to see him human,' I took a little offense to that.
"It's just that I happen to be a little more stoic than the rest, a little bit of the (Bjorn) Borg mentality. And throughout the years I think people just kind of appreciated it and embraced the type of player I was and the type of competitor I was. I let my racket do my talking in a day and age in the `90s when it was more about sound bites and being a little bit more controversial. And I really wasn't.
"But I'm happy the way I did it. I didn't compromise anything in my career. I was just happy to be who I was."
Source: Daily Breeze
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