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Sampras Ousted by Hewitt

June 17, 2001

In the semifinals of the Stella Artois tournament, Pete Sampras lost to Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 3-6, 2-6.

Despite the loss, Pete remains confident of his quest for his 8th Wimbledon title when the tournament begins on June 25.

"I don't consider it a setback," Sampras said. "All things considered it was a productive week. It would have been nice go into Wimbledon having won a tournament, but I've got a few matches under my belt. I feel pretty good. It wasn't meant to be today."

In the first set, Pete broke Hewitt in the eigth game and took the lead 5-3. He then served for the set.

In the middle of the second set, Pete questioned the umpire when his first serve was overruled. This seemed to have distracted Pete and he lost his serve. Hewitt took advantage and was able to level the match.

Hewitt continued to put pressure on Pete and was again able to break in the opening game of the 3rd set.

"I was playing aggressively and, all of a sudden in the middle of the second set I put in a couple of loose points,'' Sampras said. ``He had a couple of good returns and he just went on a great roll. I just dropped off the touch and that can happen on grass when you can get careless a little bit. But I have to give Lleyton some credit.
He came up with some great returns and passed very well and even his serve picked up. The guy moves unbelievably well on this stuff."

"If you can't get motivated for Wimbledon - that's our Super Bowl - you shouldn't be playing," he said. "I feel a lot more relaxed coming in this year than last year so that could help. I still feel I'm at that level I was at last year and the years before. Getting older on grass is good because you have that experience."

Later in the day, Hewitt defeated Tim Henman to win the tournament.

Based on Reuters

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Courtside Report - Stella Artois Semifinals
Sampras Loses to Hewitt

June 17, 2001

We got the last two seats for the Final on Centre Court and also for the Semi Final on Court 1. We sat two rows behind the court....it was wonderful to be so close to the players. We sat just to the left of the players and the ref chair. Pete looked wonderful....I think he had shaved but his hair was still long. He looked very relaxed. We watched him doing his warm up exercises before taking to the court. It was very windy and quite chilly. The clouds overhead looked like they could open at any minute and every now and then you would feel slight mist.

The match begun and Pete easily won the first set, however in the second set there were many line calls that really got to Pete..... He did more than stare...he vocally talked to the chair ref about them but non were overturned. At one point he got so mad that he hit the tennis ball totally out of the complex getting him a code warning....seemed that after that Pete played well but not well enough to win....Somehow I think he just said to himself, I've had enough practice on grass....think I'll go home. As I said it was very windy and cold and getting colder....I could not imagine playing tennis for another few sets.

In the third set, Pete was down two breaks and so I yelled to him, "It ain't over till it's over Pete," and to my delight he looked over and gave a smile. It didn't help him win the match....but it was exciting to be so close that he could hear what we were saying to him and that he responded.

After the match, I happened to look up and there was Bridgette, all bundled up.....I said Hi Bridgette and she immediately looked at me and smiled. Cyn and I decided to wait to see if we could see Pete come out.....as we waited we saw Bridgette come out of the building where you request transportation. We went up to her and asked if Pete had come out yet and had a nice chat with her. She is very friendly and down to earth....she got into the car and then soon came out Pete. He talked with us a bit and we said sorry he lost today but wished him luck at Wimbledon and he said thanks and took off. He did not seem terribly down, just smiling and relaxed.

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Courtside Report - Stella Artois Semifinals
Sampras Loses to Hewitt

June 17, 2001

Hi Fanz! Joy has told you all about our adventures at Queens, but I just wanted to add a few comments.

Pete really seemed to appreciate the support he was getting on court. No. 1 at Queens is a tiny little court & it felt a bit like School Sports Day rather than an international tennis tournament! When we were having fun shouting down the Hewitt supporters during the changeover breaks, in between swigging his drink you could see Pete giving little grins! Only wish we had realised then where Bridgette was sitting - it would have been lovely to see her response to our support for her husband. We saw Paul after the match & I asked him if Pete was okay or whether he was upset, and he replied 'Well, he's NOT HAPPY!' But when we saw Pete come out to the courtesy car to leave the ground he seemed fine. I said 'Bad luck about those lousy line calls Pete', and he replied 'Yeah!'. Then I wished him luck at Wimbledon and said 'Here's to #8 and #14', and he smiled and thanked me. When he got in the car he turned & smiled & waved at us. Can't besure that he realised that it was Joy & I who were shouting loudest for him, but certainly hope so!

Pete did what he had set out to achieve this week, & as Joy said, with his getting so many bad line calls, he seemed to feel that he'd had enough of playing in those uncomfortable conditions & didn't fancy the prospect of up to 4 more sets - he'd rather be out of there! He had played some excellent matches & was playing well against Hewitt until the lines people upset him. It's not like Pete to get annoyed about bad calls, but he just seemed to lose interest at this point. Perhaps he felt it wasn't worth risking an injury by playing longer under the circumstances, with Wimby so close now. When you think of the handicap with which Pete went into Wimbledon last year - the recurring tendinitis, which started at Queens - I feel confident that as he said he WILL play better this year. Of course it wasn't his best tennis when he was injured & couldn't practice - but he still won. The media are all saying that Pete is favourite & the one to beat etc, so he will enter the hallowed grounds of the All England Club with his invinceable aura still intact.

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