Look out, Pete's back
Sampras to play Sybase Open after a couple months off
Posted: Sunday February 07, 1999 04:57 PM
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Exhausted after a grueling series of tournaments, Sampras passed up the Australian Open in January. Clive Brunskill/Allsport |
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- He played a little golf and watched some TV. And, for the first time since he was a high school junior, Pete Sampras didn't play in a tennis tournament for a couple of months.
Now he returns to the game he dominates, starting with this week's Sybase Open. Sampras gets his first chance to show whether he's refreshed or rusty on Tuesday night against 84th-ranked Galo Blanco of Spain.
"I definitely felt like I needed this break to start the year off mentally, physically as fresh as possible," Sampras said. "So I am definitely champing at the bit."
Exhausted after a grueling series of tournaments in late 1998 to protect his No. 1 ranking, Sampras passed up the Australian Open in January -- the first Grand Slam tournament he has skipped since 1992.
He is just one short of tying Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles, and Sampras has said his main motivation is to win more Grand Slams.
But he also focused on finishing last year as the No. 1 player in the world, giving him a record six straight years at the top. To protect that ranking, he had to play seven straight weeks in October and November -- a process that left him weary.
"I would have loved to have gone down to Australia. I just wish it started in February," he said. "I wanted to give myself a good offseason this year."
Though gone, Sampras certainly was not forgotten at the Australian Open. When Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the title, he immediately pointed out that his job was made much easier by the absence of the world's top player.
"Pete, it's really a great, wonderful feeling," Kafelnikov said after raising the silver trophy. "Thanks for letting me do that."
Sampras is beginning his 258th week at No. 1, a dozen short of the record held by Ivan Lendl. Opponents wonder whether he'll be as sharp as usual at the start of the $350,000 Sybase tournament.
"I think there's definitely a shot that he'll be rusty," said sixth-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill, who would face Sampras in the semifinals. "Pete definitely plays better when he has a few events under his belt."
Gambill has been on the tennis circuit only two years, and he understands the exhaustion that forced Sampras to the sidelines for the past 10 weeks. Yet he thinks Sampras' relentless pursuit of the year-end No. 1 ranking was worth the toll.
"To me, that's his most impressive accomplishment," Gambill said. "He's been head and shoulders above everyone else for six straight years, and that's really impressive."
Sampras, a two-time Sybase champion, has a relatively easy draw into the semifinals. But, once there, the top seed may have to face Gambill or No. 3 seed Mark Philippoussis, a U.S. Open finalist last year.
Andre Agassi, coming off an uninspired fourth-round loss at the Australian Open, is the defending champion of the Sybase Open and the No. 2 seed this year. He opens against Todd Woodbridge on Monday night and could face No. 4 seed Michael Chang in the semifinals.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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