Pistol Pete Not Ready to Pack it in
Sampras Will Hunt for 15th Major after Glorious
Open Title Run
September 9, 2002
NEW YORK— Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi to win the 1990 U.S. Open. Twelve years later, it appears that Sampras is hungry to win another major tournament following his four-set victory over Agassi in this season’s final.
Sampras played very well in his 6-3, 6-4, 5-7 6-4 victory over Agassi in the final match of the ’02 Open. And if Sampras wants to leave the game after winning his fifth Open title, then his run here would serve as a storybook ending. But I don’t think Sampras wants to retire. Despite capturing his 14th major with his triumph here, Pete obviously still enjoys playing and he proved he still has the skills to compete with the top players in the men’s game. Overall, Sampras’ performance here completely took me by surprise and I’ve been forced to change my take on his future. If Sampras stays healthy, I feel he has a good chance to win his eighth Wimbledon title next year. That’s something I wouldn’t have said two weeks ago. But Sampras has not only found his lethal service game, but he is attacking the net aggressively, too.
TURN BACK CLOCK IN FINAL
The clash between two active legends lived up to the hype. Sure, the 31-year-old
Sampras and the 32-year-old Agassi combined to make this the oldest U.S.
Open final in history. But this match was about great tennis, not age. It
seemed as if these guys were in a time warp as they battled like warriors
on almost every point.
Agassi and Sampras played against each other the first time in 1989, and Sunday was their 34th-career meeting. Tennis fans have been so fortunate to watch two of the all-time great champions come in together and frankly, it is simply amazing that they are still playing near the top of their games.
In fact, Sampras looked 10 years younger Sunday as he took the first two sets rather quickly against Agassi. However, Agassi, a seven-time major winner himself, wouldn’t give up. He took the third set and put enormous pressure on Sampras in the fourth set. But Sampras wouldn’t budge, pulling off big winners and serves every time it seemed like Agassi was taking control of the match. Overall, Sampras finished with 33 aces in the match, many of them coming at very big moments.
LONG ROAD BACK
Many believed Sampras’ game had fallen off too much to make a big splash
at this year’s Open. I didn’t believe that Pete was finished, but I also
didn’t think he’d make it past the quarterfinals here and I certainly didn’t
expect him to make it to the finals here or at any other major. But again,
I have changed my opinion about Sampras’ future.
Remember, Sampras hadn’t won a tournament since Wimbledon in 2000. That’s 26 months ago and as time went on his game — and his ranking — slipped. In fact, Sampras won more than one match in only four of the 14 tournaments he entered before his journey here. That said, there was no reason to believe that Sampras could turn things around so soon. However, the New York crowd put a charge into him throughout the tournament.
Following his victory over Agassi, Sampras admitted that this title run could be his greatest achievement in tennis because of all the struggles he’s had the last two years. While it’s hard to argue with him, I also think it’s clear that Sampras’ triumph here puts a stamp on what has already been an amazing career.
AGASSI COMES UP SHORT
By no means did Agassi roll over for Sampras and hand him the title. The
two-time Open champion played well but he wasn’t as sharp as he was in his
semifinal performance against top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt on Saturday. Agassi
was virtually flawless in that match and it might have been a little too
much to expect him to be able to turn in the same type of performance with
only a day to rest.
Regardless, Agassi remains one of the top players in the world and he’s still a threat to win every tournament he enters. This great run at the Open proves that he has more than enough game to be a top contender in next year’s majors.