Diane Pucin, LA Times
September 3, 2003
NEW YORK -- The sound came from deep within Pete Sampras. It was a
howling, yowling bellow of fear, of excitement, of desperate need, of
astounding conviction.
Sampras had seen the tennis ball as it used to be, as larger than life,
approaching slowly, so slowly. Sampras was able to line up his old
friend, the one-handed backhand, plot a course for a return of Greg
Rusedski's second serve, make the ball curve and spin under Rusedski's
racket and then drop safely inside the line, a resounding winner on a
crucial point in the third-set tiebreaker of a five-set, third-round
victory Monday night at the U.S. Open.
Before the ball landed, Sampras shook the tin walls of the main stage
here, Louis Armstrong Stadium, with a scream we've never heard from the
stoic champion.
Sampras has vomited on this court, has wept in victory and in exhausted
defeat, has held up trophies and stood stone-faced as the runner-up but
never had he screamed like this, as if this single shot validated him,
validated his refusal to retire as a 31-year-old winner of 13 Grand
Slam titles, validated his inability to accept that the whispers he
hears are true, that he is slower, weaker, less intimidating.
A little later the beaten opponent, Rusedski, said: "He's not playing
great. I'd be surprised if he wins his next match against [Tommy] Haas.
To be honest with you, I'd be very surprised."
But Sampras played great enough to beat Rusedski, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6
(3), 3-6, 6-4, and advance to the fourth round. He played well enough
to bring the wet, shivering fans to the point of chanting his name.
All around the grounds there were astounding matches, night matches
everywhere after nearly two days of rain. But on every changeover, the
Armstrong aisles would be crowded with fans scrambling up the wet
steps. They'd heard the screams, the rumble of an epic percolating, and
they wanted to see. Would Sampras, the great champion, walk away with
his head buried in a towel, or his fists pumping in triumph?
For all his adult life, Sampras has defined himself by what he did with
a racket and a ball at this court, at Wimbledon's Centre Court and at
the big, covered stadium in Melbourne, Australia. For a decade, Sampras
ruled with supreme confidence and a game both elegant and elemental.
"He's a step-and-a-half slow coming to the net," Rusedski said. "You
can get the ball down. He's just not the same player. I mean, he's a
great player from the past."
Sports are cruel and so are sportsmen, and that's what they say when a
man such as Sampras hasn't won a title in more than two years.
Rusedski, once a U.S. Open finalist, tried to present his own resume as
something special—"It's not like I haven't been to a U.S. Open finals,
it's not like I haven't won 12 titles, it's not like I haven't beaten
[Andre] Agassi, Sampras, [Andy] Roddick, players of that stature, it's
not that I haven't been able to do it."
But Rusedski hasn't been able to do it when it matters, when the
pressure is the greatest. Nobody has done it as often as Sampras, 13
times a winner in the finals of Grand Slams, and because of that
Sampras has seemed puzzled that so many seem so eager to have him walk
away from the game on someone else's terms, rather than his own.
Why is Sampras demeaning himself? That's what other players wonder
quietly in the locker room. Why is he diminishing the memories, leaving
us with the fresh impression of a balding, hunched-over, sad-eyed loser
instead of the greatest player ever?
This is why:
"Let's go Pete. Let's go Pete. Let's go Pete."
It is what the people want. Pete winning one more Slam title.
It was that backhand service return winner, the one where Sampras just
let go, just swung with his heart and the ball whipped by Rusedski. And
it was the slam-dunk overheads, three of them, which made the crowd
roar.
"The people and the atmosphere out on Louis was something I was
enjoying," Sampras said. "Those are moments that as you get a little
bit older, you kind of cherish a little bit more. The people were
really, really pulling for me."
Sampras is slower. Rusedski is correct. Sampras arrives at the net too
late sometimes to crack the angular, unhittable volleys that made him
the king of Wimbledon. Rusedski also said Sampras offers up too many
second serves, and that someone young and strong such as Haas will
feast on those easy balls.
Those second serves still huddle in the corners of the service box or
kick cruelly into the body of the receiver. They are not easy to
return, and when Sampras finds his rhythm, and he can, then the rest of
his game becomes smoother.
Haas, seeded No. 3, has beaten Sampras three consecutive times. It has
been four years since Sampras beat the German. If Sampras loses today,
what happened Monday will be forgotten by everyone except Sampras. He
will hear, again, how he should quit, how he shouldn't return to this
stage.
Yet Sampras will remember the cheers. He will still feel the passion
from the stands, and his hand will still tingle from the feel of the
two sparkling passing shots he hit in the final game Monday. And that's
still enough for Sampras. For now.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
PETE TURNS BACK OPEN CLOCK
By MARK HALE, New York Post
September 3, 2002
They had been with him all match. And now, as Pete Sampras shuffled his feet, gathering himself to receive for match point deep into the fifth set, the roar at Louis Armstrong Stadium reached a crescendo.
Oh, part of it was because of the situation - Sampras hadn't broken England's Greg Rusedski since midway through the second set. But most of it was a tribute simply to Sampras himself, almost a toast to what the fans hoped was one more inspired Grand Slam run.
Moments later, Rusedski's forehand flew wide and both Sampras and the crowd had their wish. Sampras thrust both hands skyward, screaming "Thank you" before flashing an enormous grin on his face as he basked in the cheers.
"There are moments when you get older that you kind of cherish a little more," Sampras said after his 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4 third-round win. "The people were kind of pulling for me, and it was nice to carry it out."
Coming into the Open, many doubted the 17th-seeded Sampras' chances for a possible 14th Grand Slam. In fact, many were urging him to retire altogether after what they expected to be an early-round loss.
But in case you had doubts, the man is not going to be vanquished easily, nor is he about to fade quietly into the night. It would be hyperbolic to call last night's encounter with the 33rd-seeded Rusedski an instant classic, but a three-hour-and-15-minute heavyweight fight? Go right ahead.
Rusedski, the hard-hitting Brit, gave Sampras all he could handle. His booming serve - which reached breakneck speeds of 132 mph - gave Sampras fits, its power and pace jamming him into repeated mis-hits and errant shots off his frame. Play was even throughout and Rusedski, in fact, actually captured more games than Sampras, 28-27.
But on big points, Sampras showed more poise, especially in the tiebreakers when Rusedski struggled with double faults and erratic play.
"I lost the match. He didn't win," Rusedski said. "When it counted, I gave him a little too much respect."
It's true that Sampras committed an unsightly 42 unforced errors, one of the reasons why he admitted that he played "solid, not great." Still, he had plenty of umph on his serve, racking up 17 aces, and he recorded a remarkable 81 winners.
"I enjoy playing," Sampras said. "That's why I'm still here, because I look forward to the challenge."
How far Sampras can go in the Open? It's anyone's guess. He is, after all, seeded 17th, meaning his draw the rest of the way could be a murderer's row that includes Tommy Haas (his fourth-round opponent), Andy Roddick, Gustavo Kuerten and Lleyton Hewitt.
"I'll be surprised if he wins his next match against Haas," Rusedski said. "He's just not the same player."
Maybe not. But he's still playing.