Graduation in history brings tears to the eyes of Sampras
July 9, 2000
IT WAS 8.57pm when history was made yesterday, and Pete Sampras burst into tears. Until that point he wascertainly the greatest grass-court player of his generation, but the graduation to true greatness, historic greatness, took a little longer. In fact, it took just under three hours and in that time, by beating Pat Rafter 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2, he won his thirteenth grand-slam title and his seventh at the All England Club. No man has done more and no man is likely to do it again. It was enough to make a grown man cry.
Sensing history in
the air, Sampras had brought his parents over from the United States for
the final. That was possibly not the wisest of moves as the last time they
had watched him play was in the Davis Cup, and he lost. When Rafter took
the first set, the omens were not looking too clever. But that is not accounting
for what has made Sampras supreme on these courts - even if he did admit
to needing a little divine intervention to help him through.
"It means so much to me that my parents were here, they have never seen me win a grand slam," he said. "I love Wimbledon, I love playing here, it is the best court in the world. The match could have gone either way and I needed a little help from upstairs."
The match itself was a tale of tie-breaks, rain delays and heavy clouds - not exactly the best way to break a record. With two of the best serve-and- volley players in the world at each other's throats, one of them chasing history and the other desperate to be a part of it, the men's singles final appeared to have everything going for it. Then the weather moved in, and what should have been a feast turned into a few light snacks split over a dark and damp day.
It was a contest between perfection and attraction - Sampras has never quite worked out what the paying public wants from him, while Rafter merely has to smile for the crowd to melt before him. Finally appearing on court more than an hour late because of the constant drizzle, Rafter sat down and took off his tracksuit bottoms to a chorus of wolf whistles and cheers. For all his 12 grand-slam titles, six of them on the Centre Court, Sampras had never had a reception like that.
Perfection, though, has been struggling this year. Normally when he first walks through the gates of the All England Club, his eyes light up. For all the problems and the injuries that have gone before, Sampras is a new man. This time it has been different. For all that he has tried to brush off the injury to his shin, he knew full well that he has not really been tested in the six rounds that took him to the final - and that Rafter would provide that test. Desperate to break Roy Emerson's record of grand-slam titles - the two were level at 12 - Sampras knew that Wimbledon provided the best opportunity to do it and that, at the age of 28 and with a chronically bad back, time was running out.
Given that both Rafter and Sampras needed to stamp their authority on the match from the very start, the conditions did little to help their cause. Sampras knew that if he made a slow start, as he has done since his shin started to hurt last week and he gave up practising in between rounds, Rafter would be all over him like a rash. Equally, Rafter knew that if Sampras started serving at full pelt, he would be playing catch-up for the rest of the match - and that is not the best way to try to win a grand-slam final.
With two committed serve- and-volley players, the tennis was always going to happen in short bursts. From time to time a rally would break out, but it was only for three or four shots at a time. And, just as Rafter had feared, Sampras was thumping his service. In the first eight games, the champion dropped a mere three points on his service and two of them were double faults. His second service was cracking in at more than 120mph, and that was faster than some of Rafter's aces.
What was becoming apparent was that Rafter was having to work a great deal harder to hold his service than Sampras. After a few games to size each other up, Sampras started to get a clear view of all that Rafter could throw at him. The backhand return was sent scurrying to Rafter's feet, leaving the Australian to try to dig out a volley from his ankles. After six deuces, although no break points, he held on for a 4-3 lead, but as soon as he raised his arms in mock triumph, the rain started again.
They were back on court in 26 minutes, but only for eight more. By that stage a tie-break was on the cards, but once involved in it more than 2½ hours later owing to another rain delay, Sampras began to look vulnerable. Superman had obviously been sitting next to the kryptonite in the locker-room and, with two consecutive double faults, the tie-break was donated to Rafter.
It was the last real moment of weakness from Sampras. While he took his time to work out what to do with Rafter's service and it took him more than two hours to put that knowledge into practice, he was never really playing from a position of anything but strength. The look of delight on his face when he took the second-set tie-break was a turning point and 20 minutes later when he secured the break, watching Rafter plant a simple volley into the net, he knew that he was on his way to true greatness.
From there, Rafter was not the same player. Sampras was too strong in every department - especially between the ears. However much his leg may have hurt during these championships he has been a man on a mission, and even if he had to win on his knees, he would have done it. The fact that Rafter, who had given his all, began to fold just made it all the more possible.
Serving for his place in the record books, Sampras planted his shot to Rafter's forehand and as the return sailed wide, he cracked at last. For 13 years he has been the calm and controlled winner, but this time he put his hands on his knees and started to sob. The rest, as they say, is history.