Posted on: March 09th, 2008
Present vs. Past: Slumping Federer faces Sampras at Madison Square Garden
- petepageThe Associated Press
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Pete Sampras was hardly at the height of his powers when he handed Roger Federer the keys to Centre Court at Wimbledon, losing their only head-to-head encounter that counted.
Sampras would go on to win only one more match at the All England Club after that 2001 defeat, never coming close to adding to his seven championships at the grass-court Grand Slam.
Federer, a decade younger, would go on to supplant Sampras at No. 1 in the rankings, assume Pistol Pete's status as a perennial power at Wimbledon with five consecutive titles there, and begin to chip, chip, chip away at his record for major trophies.
So perhaps fair's fair, considering that Federer has been, well, rather un-Federer-esque heading into his latest exhibition match against Sampras, which is Monday night at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Yes, Federer actually is on a rare losing streak. The Swiss star was upset in the Australian Open semifinals in January — preventing him from adding to his 12 Grand Slams, two shy of Sampras' total — and then in the first round of a tournament in Dubai this month.
That's right. Gasp! Two consecutive losses.
"I think it's a cause of concern for Federer, to be honest," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "To me, it's really big that these guys go out there and don't seem to be intimidated by Federer and have sort of figured out that if you play consistently and can run a lot of balls down and make Federer hit a lot of shots, that you can beat him. Certainly, I wouldn't say it's a crisis for Federer. But I'd say that his days of utter domination may be coming to an end."
An explanation emerged Friday, though: It turns out Federer was diagnosed in February with mononucleosis, an infection caused by a virus with symptoms that include fever, sore throat, headaches and feeling tired.
"This gave him a reason for why he wasn't able to move and why he wasn't able to recover," said Federer's agent, Tony Godsick. "It was annoying for him to not have reasons for why his body wasn't responding."
Sampras, who beat Andre Agassi in the 2002 U.S. Open final in his last professional match, paid quite a compliment recently by comparing tennis' current top player, Federer, to its former standard-bearer, himself.
"He's got a good perspective. Doesn't get too high or low on losses or wins. You know, just sort of has that attitude that I had: single-minded focus," Sampras said. "He just goes out there and wins."
And make no mistake: While there's no Grand Slam championship or winner-take-all cash prize on the line Monday, that drive could very well be on display.
"He's not going to want to lose; I'm not going to want to lose," Sampras said. "That's what people are coming to really see. It's not us doing cartwheels. It's about me serving 130 (mph) on the line."
After all, for the two of them, just as for the more than 19,000 people who will be in the arena and however many might be watching live coverage on the Tennis Channel, it represents a rare instance of a "Who would win?" argument coming to life.
Tiger Woods vs. Jack Nicklaus.
Mike Tyson vs. Muhammad Ali.
It just does not happen often.
"There's going to be a never-ending debate about who is the best or who would have done what against people from the previous era. We can talk about this for days and not come to a conclusion. That's part of why this match is attracting a lot of attention and a sellout crowd," said Ivan Lendl, who won eight Slam titles and is helping promote Monday's event.
"They didn't get to the top of the field in their time — and most likely top two or three or four all-time — by not being competitive," Lendl said in a telephone interview. "So, yes, there may be a little lightheartedness, but at the end of the day, I think both will want to win rather urgently."
So who will win, Ivan?
"If it goes the way I think it will go, in terms of atmosphere and a good match, the winner, in my mind, will be tennis," he said. "How's that for avoiding the question?"
The current edition of Madison Square Garden opened in 1968, and has hosted Sinatra, Ali-Frazier, and Knicks and Rangers championship teams. But it's been a dozen years since a men's tennis match was played there.
That could be why MSG told the Federer-Sampras promoter, Jerry Solomon, it would be pleased if 2,500 tickets were bought during the first three days of sales in January. Instead, more than 8,000 were gone within 72 hours, Solomon said, and the whole thing effectively was sold out in three weeks.
"There's just a tremendous interest in these two guys. Pete retired after winning the U.S. Open and then sort of wasn't around anymore. Roger has not been, until recently, all that high-profile in America," said Solomon, who worked to promote a tennis event at the Garden at the start of his career in the 1970s.
"So I think there's just a real fascination with these two guys, who are not only great champions but great people and great ambassadors for the sport. They don't get in trouble. They're not throwing rackets. They're really world-class guys, in addition to being world-class tennis players."
He hopes it's enough of a success that it sets the stage for an annual tennis evening at the site.
McEnroe, slated to be on hand Monday for a prematch tribute to his Davis Cup-winning team, agrees the sport benefits from this kind of showcase event.
"The buzz in New York is pretty big. It's a great idea. They're giving the people what they want," he said. "Quite honestly, tennis needs more of this kind of thing. We're a little behind the ball when it comes to things like this, unique kinds of things. With all the personalities that tennis has, whether it's current players or former players, it proves that there's a market for that."
Federer, 26, and Sampras, 36, faced each other three times in Asia in November, and by all accounts wound up as friends and mutual admirers. Federer took the first match 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul, and the second 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in Kuala Lumpur, while Sampras claimed the third 7-6 (8), 6-4 in Macau.
Federer came away impressed, saying Sampras' volleys would match up with the best on tour these days and acknowledging that Sampras' serve still stings.
"You can wake him up at 2 in the morning," Federer said, "and he'll hit a monster serve."
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