|
1990
ALL OVER AGAIN
Hello
Pete! Good-bye Pat?
By
Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net
 |
|
Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
|
FLUSHING
MEADOWS, N.Y., SEPT. 4 – Welcome
back Pete and don’t stay away too long Pat.
On
Monday afternoon at the U.S. Open, the real Pete Sampras returned
to action and for the better part of two hours, 31 minutes, upstaged
old rival Patrick Rafter to secure a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
fourth-round victory.
It
was the Sampras we all remember fondly that took to the courts
– the guy who owns a record 13 Grand Slam trophies dating
back to his first that came here in 1990 as a 19-year-old and
some odd days – an age that made him the youngest men’s
champion to grace this event.
Sampras
smacked in 20 aces, never lost his serve although he offered Rafter
two chances to break, racked in 60 winners and only posted 14
unforced errors in the fourth round match. Now that’s the
guy who won seven Wimbledon titles, four U.S. Open trophies and
two Australian Open trinkets.
Recent
times have been lean since that last Grand Slam trophy came at
Wimbledon in 2000. And in 17 tournaments played since that victory,
there’s been no new trophies acquired to add to the Sampras
family collection.
Now
the real test will come for Sampras when he faces career nemesis
Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The first time
they played on the circuit – we’re discounting their
junior days – was back in 1989 and Agassi took the win. Since
that time, Sampras has gathered a 17-14-career edge over Agassi,
but Agassi has won four of their last five meetings dating back
to the 1999 ATP finals.
Agassi won their latest outing in the Los Angeles final this summer,
but the Sampras who showed up for that match was not quite the
Sampras who arrived at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
Sampras
admits that Agassi is “the best player I’ve ever played
over the years in my career” and knows he will have to be
at the top of his game to line up a stint in the semifinals. Whether
Sampras is successful against Agassi or not, the good news is
that the 30-year-old could be back to his winning ways.
People
were starting to chuckle when Sampras kept constantly insisted
that his title drought was temporary and he would be back. But
if he keeps playing like he did against Rafter, he’ll make
those who were shipping him off to retirement regret their sneers.
OFF
ON HOLIDAY
 |
|
Susan
Mullane
Camerawork USA, Inc.
|
Now
that Rafter’s U.S. Open has ended on the racket of Sampras,
the Australian was forced into giving one more of his many press
conferences about taking six months off next year, maybe to never
play again – Yada! Yada! Yada!
When
asked whether the loss to Sampras marked his final foray at a
Grand Slam, Rafter offered a very uninformative, if honest “I
don’t know.” But does he really not know – that
is the question?
As
tennisreporters.net said so boldly a few weeks ago, we
expect to see Pat back in the thick of things by the time the
grass court tournaments roll around next June. Rafter is a champion
and he might claim he wants out and maybe wants out permanently,
but he is not yet willing to walk away from the game when a chance
at winning Wimbledon is in the offing.
Despite
playing a mediocre match against Sampras on Monday, the 28-year-old
is still a top contender in the game. The fact that he didn’t
score a Wimbledon title in his two final appearances – lost
to Sampras in 2000 and then as the favorite, fell to Goran Ivanisevic
earlier this summer – isn’t sitting too well.
“The
unfinished business for me is Wimbledon, for sure,” Rafter
said. “But there’s no guarantee I’ll be there.”
Do
you want to take bets, Pat? We're willing to make a wager.
So
go and take your six months off, enjoy the beach and Bermuda,
and we’ll see you in June at the All England Club as you
seek that elusive Wimbledon chalice.
|
