Sampras survives scare in Miami
Source: Eurosport
March 23, 2002
Pete Sampras survived an opening match scare on Saturday as the 11th seeded
American rallied to down Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 4-6 6-3 6-2 and move
into the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open Masters.
Looking to end a nearly two-year title drought that stretches back 23 tournaments
to 2000 Wimbledon, Sampras arrived in Miami buoyed by a respectable performance
at the Indian Wells Masters where he worked his way through to the semifinals
before being swept aside by world number one Lleyton Hewitt.
A three-time winner on the Miami hard courts, Sampras received a loud ovation
from the near capacity when he stepped onto centre court and appeared in
complete command when he broke the 66th ranked Finn to take a 3-1 lead in
the opening set.
But Nieminen, a player Sampras disposed of with a minimum of fuss in the
opening round of the Australian Open, proved a much sterner challenge in
their second meeting as he immediately broke back and again to go in front
4-3 to take control of the set.
A tentative Sampras began the second set slowly but the 13-time Grand Slam
winner would not be broken again. The second set featured a single break
but that was all Sampras needed to level the match.
Now playing with the confidence that had been missing earlier in the contest,
Sampras stamped his authority on the match breaking the Finn to open the
second set and again to take command 5-2.
With the match approaching midnight, Sampras stepped to the service and
blasted three aces past the stunned Finn, including one to close out the
match.
"It's good to come through when you're not playing that well,"
said Sampras. "But I managed to pull it out and I'll get better.
"The first match out I fell a little unsettled out there. I feel like
I can play better."
In the third round Sampras will play Chilean qualifier Fernando Gonzalez,
who advanced with 6-4 6-2 win over 21st seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya.
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TMS 2002 - Nasdaq 100, Miami (Round 2)
Post-Match Interview
Pete Sampras defeats J. Nieminen
4-6, 6-3, 6-2
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Pete, please.
Q. That serve give you fits for a while?
PETE SAMPRAS: His serve? Yeah.
It was safe to say I didn't really have any rhythm out there, especially
my return. In the first set I was just struggling in every aspect of my
game - serving, returning. He kind of kept me off guard.
Finally got my game going a little bit in the second and third. But the
most important thing is the win. But I feel like I can, you know, play a
little bit better, play a little bit sharper.
But he returns well, and he's got a tricky serve. Not with a lot of pace,
but with a lot of spin. It was giving me some problems, as we saw in the
first set.
Q. Now you have to play Fernando Gonzalez. What do you know about him?
PETE SAMPRAS: I don't know a lot. I've never seen him play. But he beat
Moya sounded like pretty easily, so Moya obviously can play this game. I'm
sure he hits the ball very heavy from both sides. I'm sure I'll figure out
- not figure out - but I'm sure I will find out a few things tomorrow, what
he plays like and figure him out come Monday.
Q. Do you mind me asking, I know it's looking ahead, but Davis Cup, playing
on grass in Houston. Supposedly I'm told it's your first grass professional
tournament in North America?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yep.
Q. Your thoughts on getting to do that?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, it's -- there's not really much of an opportunity to
play on grass here in the US. Newport is the only tournament, and that's
right after Wimbledon so it doesn't really fit in.
But I'm looking forward to it. I hear the grass is a good grass court.
But it would be nice to -- I think I've won 99 matches on grass. This would
be 100 if I can get through a match there. That's a nice little credit on
the resume.
So... But it's nice to play on grass in the States so people here can see
how I do it. Hopefully, I won't embarrass myself.
Q. You didn't just learn how to play on grass overnight, either. Looking
back on that, can you talk about how that happened?
PETE SAMPRAS: For me, it was strictly mental. I went over to London thinking
grass was going to be like a walk in the park because of my serve and volley.
And I learned pretty quickly you need to return serve, you know, and be
able to move and adjust. I always thought it was an unfair surface, I thought,
you know, losing to a guy six and six that had no business beating me.
And I just, mentally, when I broke through and got to the semis one year,
I just was more positive out there, returned a little better, just felt
more comfortable. Then the next year I won it and it just kind of exploded
from there.
But I really -- didn't really enjoy grass when I first went over. I felt
the bounces were tough, and just mentally went out there pretty negative.
And that's the reason why I didn't do too well in the first couple years.
Q. Returns, chipping more than hitting over the ball? Did you chip a lot
before?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, for me, I took big cuts, you know. And playing on the
California hardcourt, I've got some long swings. I learned pretty quickly
on grass you can't do that. Especially in today's game, it's pretty quick.
Working with Tim Gully, we shortened everything up, be more exact using
the chip, taking it back more short. That's the key to grass. You don't
have time to take a long swing, and guys are serving too big to do that.
So just a combination of that, second serve's a big shot on grass. And
movement, I think, is a very big part on grass. So those are two things
that I do pretty well, and that's why I've been able to do pretty well over
there.
Q. Is it a quick transition from here to there?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah. I mean, depending on how things go here, it's not a
lot of time. But everyone's in the same boat and we'll be there four, five
days before. And it's an adjustment. You know, you just spend a lot of time
serve and volleying, a lot of time returning. You just do that for hours.
Physically, it's not the most taxing surface, but you need to be in shape.
But you just -- ton of returns and a ton of serve and volleys.
Q. Because the points will be a little faster on the grass, can you conceivably
play three matches? A doubles?
PETE SAMPRAS: Sure. I mean, I -- depending on how Friday goes, I feel like
I can play a little bit of doubles. We'll see how it goes. And I'm sure
we'll talk about it Friday night, see where we're at. And if I'm feeling
okay, I mean, I'd be fit to go. I'd be fit to go.
Q. A person with your experience, how much discomfort do you feel when
you drop a set like you did tonight?
PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, just -- not just dropping a set, just the way I was
playing. I didn't really find the range, wasn't serving well. And it's a
good effort to come through not playing well. It always makes you feel good.
But you always want to hit the ball well, and I'm pretty tough on myself
out there. I get a little down on myself. But, I mean, as you pull it around
in the second, get off to that break, I just served a lot better as the
match went on and kind of got out of a couple service games, you know, which
was nice.
So, you know, I'll get better the next match, you know. First match out,
I just felt a little unsettled. Have a good day of practice tomorrow and
come ready for Monday.
Q. Did you feel like your topspin (inaudible)?
PETE SAMPRAS: Say again.
Q. The topspin you have, did you feel it took him out of his rhythm maybe,
maybe shake his confidence a little bit?
PETE SAMPRAS: Maybe a little bit. I started to make him play a little bit
more. Pressed and missed a few shots. I think he actually -- we had a long
point there, first game I broke him. I think it took a little bit out of
him. But he hit the ball pretty heavy. He kept me on my heels throughout
the match.
But the backhand started coming around in the third, getting it deep and
heavy. I could work the forehand a little bit better when I do that.
I, you know, need to work on some things. There's no doubt that I, you
know, feel like I can, you know, play a little bit better. Not to take anything
away from him, but I know what I'm capable of doing out there. And, you
know, as the competition gets tougher I need to be sharper.
Q. How do you rate his speed alongside Andre, Michael?
PETE SAMPRAS: Quick.
Q. Hewitt?
PETE SAMPRAS: He's very quick. He got some shots there that, you know,
I thought I had a couple winners there off the forehand side and he came
back with some good stuff. You know, I think Hewitt and Chang are probably
in another league, but he's pretty close.
Q. Did you feel he hit some really good shots in the corners and down
the lines in that first set that, you know, no matter how you were playing
he couldn't sustain that quality throughout the match?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, you know, he was playing at a pretty high level, but
I think I was helping him a little bit in the first not really playing that
well.
You know, when I played him in Australia he was a little bit more nervous
and I think he came out a little bit more relaxed and used to my game. He
came out with some great shots, great passing shots, to break me a couple
times there.
But I felt like if I could just keep plugging away, get my game going,
get the serve going - that's such a big part of my game - that I could come
back and win this match, and that's what happened.
Q. If you don't mind, my understanding is your first match was with Sammy
Giammalva. I was talking with him the other day. Have any recollections
of being, you know, on the court at that age and what you learned, and how
it's different on the court now for you?
PETE SAMPRAS: Just completely different - much more experience and just
coming through quallies and playing at Levy - what was the name of the club
there? I don't know. There was a club there I played. Then I was out at
Philadelphia Arena. It was kind of overwhelming, even though there was about
15 people in the crowd (laughter).
I was, you know, just starting out, you're just trying to play well, trying
to learn, you're not too critical of wins and losses. You're just trying
to get better.
You know, as the years went on, I got more experience playing some bigger
matches. You know, I think it takes time, you know. The way I play with
the serve and volley game, it took me a few years to kind of feel confident,
feel more secure in myself and -- but that first match wasn't pretty.
Q. The off-court training program you're into now, assuming you're able
to continue it periodically throughout the year, do you feel like you'll
be a different player if you have to go Saturday and Sunday at the US Open?
PETE SAMPRAS: Well, you know, I hope so. You know, I know it's a tradition
at the US Open, but I think it's the worst tradition in tennis. Its really
is. It's really, if you play the second match there, you get done late.
Such an emotional big match, playing that semi. Then coming back the next
day. I've never really had an opportunity to shut it down emotionally. That's
a big part. Physically, I felt fine the last couple years.
You know, this year I want to put a big effort practicing more, spending
more time on the court rather than doing more off-court stuff. That's what
I do when I play, I just need to spend more time on the court, which I'm
going to do with Jose.
You know, and it's a tough turnaround; there's no question. It's a tough
turnaround.
Q. How do you attack it emotionally?
PETE SAMPRAS: You know, for me, I -- you get off the court winning a match,
semifinal match, big match, and I never shut it down. Went straight to the
press, you're stressed about getting a massage, eating good food, getting
that sleep, and you never really have a chance to just kind of take a deep
breath. You're kind of just going. So when you're 19, 20, you recover a
little bit better than when you're 30. We saw that in Hewitt and Safin.
But when I put in more time on the court like I will this year, practicing
a little bit more on the court, you know, if I get to that situation, hopefully
I can be in match shape and, you know, put in a better performance. Last
couple years it's been a little bit disappointing.
Q. Pete, I'm writing a story about the coaches and I want to ask you if
you think that it's absolutely necessary to have a coach to play at a top
level, even for someone like you with a lot of experience?
PETE SAMPRAS: I think coaches are very important no matter what you've
done in the game, how well you're playing. I don't see what I see -- excuse
me. I don't see what I look like. You need someone that has a bird's eye
view of what you look like, your ball toss, your movement, your footwork.
Jack Nicklaus always had a coach. A coach is very important just to work
on things, to see what you're doing out there, strategy. I think at this
level, you need one.
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