If Sampras is content with his game, so be it

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© St. Petersburg Times
published May 4, 2002

It was hot and humid in Houston that day, and Pete Sampras was dying another slow death. The shoulders were slumped and his movements were a tad slow, the result of trying vainly to keep up with an opponent more than 10 years his junior.

In the sixth game of the second set, when play was delayed briefly by the arrival of President Bush, the usually composed Sampras flung his racket at the clay court.

That's when the crowd went wild, surprised at what they saw. You see, as the sulking Sampras looked up, a toothy smile spread across his face.

He was only joking.

It might sadden you to watch the once dominant Sampras get drilled tournament after tournament these days, but he apparently is handling it rather well.

That's a good thing, because watching a deteriorating Sampras is bad enough. Watching him become frustrated and tortured would be unbearable.

But as he trudges about the tour, winning a few matches but losing far more, he does so with the look of a man who is mostly content.

In defeat as in victory, he has been gracious and accommodating, praising his opponents, even after losses, of which there have been many. The loss to Andy Roddick, 19, in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston on Sunday was Sampras' 25th straight tournament without a title.

Yet after the match, he gushed about Roddick, saying, "I just played someone who is going to win a lot of Grand Slam tournaments."

Sampras, 30, used to win them, too. He has a tour-record 13. He just isn't winning them anymore. In fact, he hasn't won one since the 2000 Wimbledon. Which, come to think of it, is the last time he won anything.

The pleasures of being ridiculously rich seem to be taking over. So are the demands of marriage and a life outside tennis. Word is, he doesn't train as intensely as before. His tennis fire simply doesn't burn as bright.

Back in the day, Sampras wouldn't have pulled that playful mock-anger stunt because he would have been too focused to even notice Bush, said his former coach, Joe Brandi.

"If he's not going to put in the effort it takes to stay in shape, he shouldn't be out there," Brandi said. "That's why he's been losing like he has."

But if Sampras isn't bothered by his deterioration, why should we be?

Let him keep playing if he wants to. So far, he hasn't embarrassed himself or the sport. He's still competitive, hanging onto 19th in the latest ATP Tour rankings.

Granted, that's down considerably from where he finished last season (10th). But there are a lot of guys who would give their last prize money check to trade places with Sampras.

Okay, he has gotten waxed by a couple of scrubs, but mostly he has lost to big-names players. Todd Martin and Marat Safin in Australia. Lleyton Hewitt in Indian Wells, Calif. Roddick in Houston.

The guy can still win matches. Just not any titles apparently.

This, of course, would be an ideal time for him to pack it in and call it a career. You know, before his skills really start to erode and he gets beaten badly by Agassi. Jaden, not Andre.

As it is, he has been taken down by some guy named Fernando Gonzalez. We have seen too many great ones stay out there a little too long. Michael Jordan, for instance, had some great games this season, but there were several nights where it hurt to see him struggle the way he did.

Sampras doesn't need that, and we don't need to see it.

"A lot of players play the game for all the wrong reasons. But Sampras has a tremendous love for the game," Brandi said. "He just loves the sound of the racket hitting the ball, you know what I mean?"

At the moment, Sampras is still holding his own. This is not a golfer no longer making any cuts. He's ranked 19th, not 119th.

The losing streak? Trust me, the tour is full of guys who haven't won a title in 25 tournaments.

So why not let him keep playing? As long as he remains reasonably competitive, he deserves to go out on his own terms, not with anybody gently shoving him from behind.

Surely, 13 Grand Slam crowns and a record six straight years at No. 1 has earned him that, right?

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