Sampras Seizes the Moment and Wimbledon Title
July 9, 2000
WIMBLEDON, England, July 9 -- In the camouflage of the crowd beneath the rafters of Center Court, Pete Sampras's camera-shy parents took nervous peeks at their son on the grass below.
He was in trouble,
and they were helpless. But through the stress of two rain delays, the near
doom of a tie breaker and the descending darkness that threatened to suspend
a day for history, Sampras regained his spirits and used his racquet like
a Jaws of Life. Upon his uplifting escape today, at the moment Patrick Rafter
futilely flailed at his inhuman serve, the typically detached Sampras bent
over and wept.
History overcame him. After winning a 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 test of his mental resilience for his seventh Wimbledon title, a dominating Sampras separated himself from Roy Emerson. With about 10 minutes left of daylight this evening, Sampras squeezed in his moment to become the greatest title winner with his 13th Grand Slam victory.
This is the reason he coaxed his parents out of obscurity and begged them to submerge their anxieties about watching him. This is why he prodded them onto a flight after his semifinal victory and wanted them to witness their first Wimbledon. He needed them to share this with him. But where were they? With his vision a bit blurred by his tears, he stood on the court and swiveled his head in search of Sam and Georgia Sampras.
In the friends' box, his coach and fiancée pointed up high in the stands. Deep in the shadows of the stadium, Sampras spotted them. As fans ushered his parents down the rows, Sampras climbed over a fence, hopped up the steps and met each for an emotional embrace. "I love you so much," his mother said.
"They've always been very supportive, very loving," said Sampras, who will be 29 next month. "They weren't the typical parents, where they're with me every week. I'm my own man. They've always given me my independence. "I wanted to thank them for giving me the chance to play this game, to be able to play here and break this record. I want them to be a part of it. As much as I like to say I'm going to be back here every year, there's no guarantee. Win or lose, I wanted them to be here. If it didn't happen, it didn't happen."
But it did, beneath glorious applause. There was a great appreciation for his remarkable run of Grand Slam titles that began in 1990. In the decade since, Sampras has made mulch of the record books with his incredible dominance on grass. Today in winning his fourth consecutive Wimbledon championship, Sampras tied Williams Renshaw for most men's Wimbledon titles, and he won for the 53rd time in 54 matches at the All England Club. Perhaps more incredible, Sampras was not broken in his last 87 service games. With the increased competition, and the fragility of players caused by a loaded schedule, Sampras's Grand Slam total may be unapproachable.
"Time will tell if it will be broken," Sampras said. "I think in the modern game, it could be difficult. I mean the next person might be 8 years old, hitting at a park somewhere around the world. You never know. There are great players who could do it, but it's not easy."
Today, history was especially tricky. For hours, the outcome on this drizzly day was uncertain. There was an hour rain delay before the first serve, a 24-minute stoppage of play midway through the first set, followed 8 minutes later by a 2:30 eternity that left both players stirring in the locker room.
When it ended, Sampras emerged out of sorts. And the unthinkable happened. Throughout a fortnight when tendinitis mysteriously crept into his left shin and threatened to undo his run, he could always use his serve to prop himself up. But in the first-set tie breaker, his trusty support system betrayed him. On his last two serves of an extended tie breaker, a rattled Sampras felt his heart race as he served consecutive double faults to help turn the set over to Rafter.
"We all choke," Sampras said. "No matter who you are, you just get in the heat of the moment. The title could be won or lost in a matter of a couple of shots. I really felt it slipping away."
At the end of the second set, the same unthinkable scenario started to unfold. Sampras began the tie breaker with a double fault. And after he tentatively pushed a forehand volley way long, his famously slumped shoulders drooped a little more as he stared at a celebratory Rafter. The Aussie with the eroding rotator cuff, with only a limited supply of serves remaining, was shaking his fist over his commanding 4-1 lead in the tie breaker. But then it was Rafter's turn for a bout of butterflies. During a 5-point run by Sampras, Rafter served a double fault and missed a sure passing shot. Inspired by his opponent's sudden collapse, Sampras cracked two volleys for winners. He was alive.
"I thought, 'Oh, God, this is really going downhill,' " Rafter said. "I was really going to find it hard to deal with the nerves more than anything. That was sort of a mental blow more than anything."
In an instant, the match sped toward a finish. After letting 9 break points slip away during the match, Sampras broke Rafter's spirits again in the fifth game of the third set. On the first break of serve by either player, Sampras came up with a series of crisp passing shots on his way to taking a 3-2 lead. From there, Sampras barely flinched. In the last two sets, Sampras scurried to make history before nightfall postponed it.
"It was difficult at the end," said Sampras, whose serve darted even more invisibly as darkness began to arrive. "It was an interesting time, interesting day."
It was also a day that left a major question hanging in the air: Does the record make Sampras the best ever?
"To seal it, he'd have to win the French Open, and I think he knows that," said Rafter, referring to the only Grand Slam Sampras has failed to win. "That's Pete's last big challenge.
"Like all great champions, I think you've got to win on all surfaces in the majors. But you know, Pete, in my eyes, still goes down as the greatest player ever."
Whatever rift there was once between Rafter and Sampras -- one borne out of a disputed line call two years ago -- there was no edge to it today. Rafter was gracious in defeat, while Sampras was humble in victory.
It is a trait Sampras shares with his parents. In contrast to the attention-grabbing celebration Venus Williams shared with her tap-dancing father one day earlier, Georgia and Sam wrapped their arms around their son, and then blended into the background. When approached by reporters, they kept their customary silence.
"My dad won't be putting up any signs," said Sampras, noting how Richard Williams flashed messages from the visible seat of the friend's box during his daughter's victory. "He doesn't like the attention like maybe Mr. Williams does.
"They're just my parents, not tennis parents. I mean, when I go home, I'm the same Pete as I was as a kid. You know, they've given me strength and the heart to be here. Obviously, as the years go on, you want them to be part of the situations in your career."
The opportunities to surpass Emerson's record were shrinking on Sampras. With injuries that have come with age, many wondered if this Wimbledon was his last best chance. If it was, he made the most of it.
"I don't look at it as relief," Sampras said. "I never planned on breaking this record. It's kind of transcended into something that I put myself in position to do. It hasn't hit me. It won't hit me for months."
Maybe the scope of what Sampras accomplished will not register for a while, but the emotion was there. It was in his eyes, and in the faces of two parents dabbing their tears in the background.