By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
In advance of playing on the 2015 PowerShares Series champions tennis circuit where he will debut in Los Angeles at the Galen Center at USC on March 25, Pete Sampras has been doing the rounds promoting his upcoming appearances. Inevitably, Sampras is asked by media about Roger Federer, the man who replaced him as the all-time men’s leader in Grand Slam singles titles won.
“I think he was the most complete player we’ve seen,” Sampras said recently of Federer to CBC Radio in Vancouver, Canada where he will play May 2. “He’s won on all surfaces. He’s tough. He moves well. He’s got a big game. He’s got a huge forehand. He just has the whole package. I think he dominated the game a lot more than I ever did. You look at the numbers of what he’s been able to do, you have to say he’s the greatest we’ve seen. The statistics of doing all-around court play, he can do a lot of different things. He can come in, can stay back, and he can do everything. He would be a tough match-up to beat. He’s a great competitive. He’s been ambassador to the sport. He’s done it the right way.”
The recent talk with Federer has been more on if he will win another major title, not on when. Now at age 33, his last major singles title – his 17th – was at the 2013 Australian Open when he was 31, the age that Sampras was when he won his 14th and final major at the 2002 US Open. Sampras never hit another ball in his career after beating Andre Agassi that year, struggling to keep up his lofty form that earned him rightful talk at the time as the greatest player of all time. Federer has also not held on to his top form where he routinely won two or three major titles a year – which is inevitable with age and something that Sampras can relate to being the top gun in men’s tennis whose main rivals also included Father Time.
“As you get older it gets tougher” Sampras said. “You’re seeing that now. Roger is 33. He’s been out there a number of years and you can have a bad day a little more often and that’s what happened against (Andreas) Seppi (at the Australian Open.) It gets tougher. I know. I experienced it. It’s just traveling and jet lag and it will wear you down. I just think you’re seeing that happening with Roger.”
“Most guys in early 30s, they’re retired,” Sampras continued. “I retired at 31. Connors was really the only guy that really played passed his 30s. McEnroe and myself, we all retired about 30, 31. He still wants to do it. Still wants to play and he loves it and he deserves the right to do whatever he wants.”
Was it hard for Sampras to retire? It took him almost a full year to come to the conclusion that he did not want to play again after his 2002 US Open win. He withdrew from tournament after tournament at the end of 2002 and into 2003 and it wasn’t until he withdrew from Wimbledon, his beloved tournament where he won seven titles, when observers knew he really was going to hang it up for good. He officially announced his retirement on the opening night of the 2003 US Open.
“It was emotional in a lot of ways,” Sampras said to the CBC of his choice to end his career. “It’s tough letting something go that you’ve been doing since you were seven years old. At the same time I knew I was done. I knew I was emotionally cooked. That I had nothing left in the tank. I won my last major. I nothing else to prove to myself and in that aspect it was easy to retire but something I’ve been doing for a lot of years and it’s not easy to say good-bye. It was a tricky time but at the end of the day I’m glad I did what I did and it was time to move on.”
Sampras first started playing professionally when he was just 17 years old and won his first ever ATP singles match against Ramesh Krishnan of India at Indian Wells in 1988. Despite being 12 years into retirement, he does still love the game and still competing in special events, such as the PowerShares Series champions tour.
“I just enjoy hitting the ball, just the feel of the ball and the racket,” he said. “It’s good exercise. It’s frustrating at times because I’m not as good. I’m not as sharp, but I still enjoy just hitting, and it’s still fun for me. It’s a luxury now, but then when I get tired the luxury now is that when I get tired or sore or I want to stop I can stop. Whereas 20 or 15 years ago I could keep on going. I had to keep on going. It’s still a fun sport to play. It does get tougher as you get older but I still enjoy it.”
In 2015, Sampras will play two PowerShares Series events – on March 25 at the Galen Center on the campus of USC in Los Angeles and again on May 2 in Vancouver. Sampras said he enjoys the renewed camaraderie with the rivals of his generation – Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick – and likes the one-night format of the PowerShares Series events.
“It’s a great night of tennis,” he said. “You’ll see four great players in the span of a couple of hours. I hope the people come out and support it. It’s a fun night. It’s serious, but at the same time, it’s not too serious. We like to have a little fun out there.”
For more information on players, tournament and tickets on the PowerShares Series, go to www.PowerSharesSeries.com
To read daily anecdotes and match summaries and anniversaries of Roger Federer’s career, get the book “The Days of Roger Federer” book here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559378/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_NzBbvb03CC8KZ or to read of the famous Federer – Sampras match at Wimbledon in 2001 and the life and career of Federer, get the book “Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection” by Rene Stauffer here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942257723/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_cBBbvb130HRA5
