The Hindu : Wimbledon may well decide Sampras' future

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 18, 2002

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Wimbledon may well decide Sampras' future

HALLE June 17. Pete Sampras is hoping the sight of Wimbledon's centre court will finally provide the turnaround he needs to take a 14th Grand Slam title.

Sampras is bidding for an eighth Wimbledon crown, but can surely never have entered southwest London, almost a second home over the past decade, so low in confidence.

``It's a very tough test, but I believe I will get through it. I believe I can turn it around very quickly. Hopefully walking through those (Wimbledon) gates will help me forget about what's happened,'' Sampras said.

The words `hope' and `hopefully' are featuring heavily in Sampras' comments of late — words normally associated with his opponents.

But the American, who broke Roy Emerson's 33-year record of 13 Grand Slam wins with his Wimbledon win in 2000, has had a poor first half of the year and a wretched couple of months after reaching the final of the U.S. clay court championships in April.

Since then he has suffered a string of first-round exits, including a four-set defeat by Italian Andrea Gaudenzi in the French Open. The $ 8,00,000 Gerry Webber Open last week marked Sampras' return to grass courts after two months on clay.

The change from London's Queen's Club, his ususal Wimbledon warm-up venue, gave Sampras his 100th win on grass on Tuesday, but little else to cheer about.

Sampras showed few signs of the form that has made him the king of lawn tennis as an out-of-form Nicolas Kiefer suddenly found his touch to bundle the American out in round two.

``After the year I've had I need confidence. I need to win matches and this was to be a big week,'' a sombre Sampras confessed after the match last Thursday.

Sampras, who topped the world rankings for a record six consecutive years, has not won a major since 2000, but he believes the scene of that triumph, Wimbledon, could restore his winning ways.

``Walking into centre court, I get a bit of a lift and I certainly need it this year. It brings back good memories,'' Sampras said.

He could be treated to those reminders sooner than expected as the absence of injured 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic is forcing All England Club organisers to look elsewhere for their opening billing.

Sampras said he would be honoured if he were given the centre court stage to open the tournament.

For the next week, he will practice in London, with no plans to try his hand at tournaments in Nottingham or Rosmalen after his early German exit.

``I need to put in a lot of court time and hopefully sharpen up my game,'' said Sampras, who believes there is no clear favourite for this year's Wimbledon.

``You'd have to look down the rankings list and say (Lleyton) Hewitt, (Andre) Agassi and (Roger) Federer and then there'd be a few dark horses like (Mark) Philippoussis and (Tim) Henman.''

A new breed of players such as Hewitt and Federer had, said Sampras, taken the game to new levels and meant practice for grass had changed.

``Preparation for Wimbledon today is different from five years ago. A lot more people are playing from the back. I need to do that a bit more,'' he added.

``Five years ago you only needed good serves and perfect volleys. The players are better today, the competition is tougher. But I'm sure I can do it and I expect to do it.''

Sampras has reached the age of 30, a milestone for most athletes, particularly as the dreaded word retirement crops up more and more in news conferences.

He added: ``I am still enjoying it, but it's discouraging when you put in the effort and don't get the results. It's deflating. I don't like losing.''

Something must surely break soon — the losing streak or the will to carry on. Wimbledon 2002 may provide a guide. — Reuters

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport