I`ll play as long as my legs allow: Sampras
January 23, 2002
Pete Sampras is adamant he will continue to play for as many years as he believes there are grand slam championships in his ageing legs.
With a title drought that has stretched to 21 tournaments, the suspicion must be the end is near.
But Sampras regards the last two sets of his latest loss as fresh evidence he is still a contender.
"There's never been a doubt in my mind," he said after Monday night's 6-2 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (8-6) Australian Open elimination by Marat Safin.
"I'm always going to keep on fighting and definitely there were moments tonight where I certainly felt like I had it at times and fought hard to get back into it."
Sampras had wobbled in the previous round against Nicolas Escude. But the effort proved too great and his start against Safin too slow.
The American rallied magnificently when down by two sets and a break in the third to almost force the match to a fifth set.
Back to Archives - 2002 | News