An Interview with Fred Stolle, August 2000 (at the Tennis Masters Series – Cincinnati ATP Tour Event)
Vince Barr: How do you think tennis historians will remember Pete Sampras, especially after winning his 13th Grand Slam? What if he never wins the French?
Fred Stolle: “Well, I think they will put him down as one of the greatest players. I think Pete will say he is one of the greatest players. But the one thing that has eluded him has been the French. However, if you have a look at all the great champions, there’s quite a few of the “great” players that come in one sentence that didn’t win all four. Somebody had a bit of problem on one surface or another. Laver’s won all of them, (John) McEnroe didn’t, Borg didn’t. But Sampras has shown, by winning Wimbledon this year when he was injured, that he could stick to a plan and was confident enough to know that Centre Court was his. And when he plays out there, he doesn’t lose.”
VB: You’ve won the French (in 1965, defeated Tony Roche 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3); what did you do differently that perhaps Pete has not done, to win at Roland Garros?
FS: “I played A LOT on clay. We went over there --- in those days, the Tour was different. We only played on two surfaces: clay and grass. We probably played over there about eight weeks before the French championships came around. Pete tried that one year and went down in Hamburg and (then) in Barcelona and (really) gave it a shot. That year, he got to the semifinals (of the French). I think he’s got to do that (again). Pete doesn’t have time on his side. I don’t think that Pete, as good a player as he is, can win the French championships. I’ve gone on record saying that. He’s a great player; obviously, he would like to win that one. I don’t think he has the patience and I don’t think he has the ground strokes to do it.”
VB: How do you feel about the state of American tennis? Courier has retired. After these guys…?
FS: “We said the same thing 15 years ago when McEnroe was fading out of the American tennis scene. Who was going to come in and replace him? Suddenly, within a couple of years, we had Sampras and Agassi, Courier and Chang --- those four boys. Well, they’ve been around since 1987. It’s time. They realized that they were getting long in the tooth and that they (the U.S. tennis federation) had to get through with some other youngsters. I think they have to send the youngsters over to Europe, to play more on the clay courts, to get the experience over there for extended periods of time. Unfortunately, the game has got to the situation now where the players, if they don’t like to go anywhere for three or four weeks, they don’t. They just come on home; but (playing in Europe on the slow red clay) that’s the only way they are going to learn (how to be successful at Roland Garros). These two young fellows that they’ve got in here, Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick, two good youngsters, and Jan-Michael Gambill, can come through (and win majors). He’s a little bit older than those boys but he’s started to play Davis Cup. His first shot at Davis Cup (a loss to Italy in Milwaukee at the 1998 semifinals) was not very successful; the second one was a little more difficult for him because it was not played at home, it was played in Spain. But he is a good talent. I would have liked to have seen him play in the (Sydney) Olympics.”
VB: I want to ask you how the Davis Cup situation with John McEnroe, where he publicly critizied whether or not Pete’s injury was sufficient for him to not play in the tie against Spain, would have been handled in Australia had it involved Australian players? Your captain would not have critized one of his players publicly, would he? I mean, if something like that ever became public, wouldn’t your coach have been fired?
FS: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t accept that (line of reasoning) because Philippoussis pulled out both times. The last time he was tired or had an injured knee. That’s about the same sort of thing that Pete did in that tie. Who knows? But with all that stuff, you really (have to) want to play in Davis Cup. Something is there: either you have it or you don’t have it. McEnroe, it’s tough for him. He’s supported Davis Cup. I just felt that when they nominated (John) McEnroe (for the captaincy) that they would get some interest in Davis Cup in this country (the U.S.). You know, (people in the States) really don’t know what Davis Cup is all about. And it is an American event! That’s the thing that’s sad as far as I’m concerned. They play the centenary deal: Australia vs. the United States in Boston. And the USTA and the other folks that are involved with promoting it, don’t do the job at all. They’ve got 5,000 people there and no one knows it is an American event. So with the naming of McEnroe, we all thought that the Davis Cup would get some recognition and it has. Good or bad, McEnroe has put it on the front pages of the newspapers. So hopefully now, tennis players or those who are involved with sponsoring the Davis Cup will realize that Davis Cup IS an AMERICAN event and should be TOTALLY SUPPORTED over here!”
VB: Do you think that McEnroe is secretly jealous of what Pete has accomplished? He tends to be very critical of Pete when he’s commentating Pete’s matches, he’s quick to criticize his play in or out of Davis Cup and so forth. Do they have a personality conflict or what?
FS: “I don’t think that’s the case. McEnroe’s is just being himself. He’s going to say what he likes and sometimes he says it without thinking a lot and other times he gives it a lot of thought. I think McEnroe’s been a great player; he’s been a great supporter of Davis Cup; the same as Sampras, who’s been a great player and hasn’t supported Davis Cup as much as he possibly should have. But it’s a changing time and we’ve got to realize the fact that when McEnroe played and was at his best with Borg and Lendl --- we (sometimes) forget Lendl in that equation, there wasn’t as much money around then that there is now. There’s a lot more pressure on the players to do certain things. There’s a lot more endorsements out there now. You win Wimbledon, you get on the box of Wheaties. What Sampras had to do in the 48 hours after winning Wimbledon (immediately fly to New York, do interviews with the New York Times, appear on the Today show, get the contract signed with Wheaties, etc.) in the days of McEnroe and Borg, they wouldn’t have had to do that. So the game has changed, the techniques have changed, the equipment with tennis has changed. So that’s something we’ve all got to accept and live with.”
VB: Players complain so much about the scheduling of the Davis Cup; is that the real reason many of them don’t want to play or is that merely a convenient excuse they like to use for non-participation?
FS: “I think the schedule is the main reason but it’s not going to change. People have either got to want to play for their country; get out there and do it. And that’s basically it. You’re either a Davis Cup player or you’re an individual and you do your own thing.”
End of Interview
2000 Tennis Conversations
2002 Tennis Conversations