Sampras still the man to beat at Wimbledon

Ossian Shine

His ranking has slipped, the titles are drying up and he has willingly tossed aside his crown as world number one, but when Wimbledon gets under way in seven days' time, Pete Sampras will be the man to beat.

The seven-times champion has not won a Grand Slam title off grass since 1997, but at 29 he still believes he has what it takes to beat anyone on the slick, green surface.

"When I am playing well there's nobody I can't beat," says Sampras, who lost to eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals of the traditional warm-up event at Queen's Club on Sunday.

That defeat leaves the American, who set a record in 1998 by ending six consecutive years as world number one, without a title this year.

But that statistic will count for nothing when the gates of the All England Club open for business on June 25.

"There's a lot of good young players but no one who really scares me. Andre Agassi is the one guy who can beat me when I'm playing well.

"With (Marat) Safin and (world number one Gustavo) Kuerten? even though they've beaten me, I feel like the match is on my racket.

"The majority of guys now are baseliners. It's not like I'm a huge guy with just a huge serve and nothing else. Week in and week out it does get tougher, but when I'm on, it's tough for guys to beat me."

After winning his seventh Wimbledon title and record 13th Grand Slam last summer in a dramatic four-set victory over Patrick Rafter, Sampras could retire tomorrow and be considered by many the greatest ever.

MYOPIC PURSUIT

Indeed, Sampras admits that he is tired of the grind of the tour, and marriage to Bridget Wilson has given him new priorities, caused him to waver from the myopic pursuit of world number one.

"I guess it's time for someone else to take over the reins," Sampras says. "I'm just reining in a little, as you get older you realise there are cons as well as pros to this life.

"Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the time I was on top and I guess I'd definitely love to get back there," says the player who was ranked number one from 1993-98.

"But it definitely takes its toll. I've been in that position where everything has been focused on tennis and I'm not sure I can go back there. Tennis is still important, but in a different way, a kind of much more controlled way.

"It is difficult for anybody to be number one for all those years. I felt a lot of pressure. You almost need to be a little warped to do it."

But when Wimbledon is mentioned, all those fires of ambition still burn bright.

"Last year was a storybook ending - my parents were there, how well I played, the sun going down just as I won. It was the perfect way to break the record, a perfect match," he says.

"It was as good as it ever got and maybe as good as it will ever be. Even if I win it again, it will probably never approach that.

SPECIAL FEELING

"But I want to have that special feeling again and will keep trying to see if I can get it again."

"I have said it many times, the Grand Slams are the tournaments that mean everything. That is why we get up in the morning.

"I love playing at Wimbledon. I have something of an aura there."

Sampras's coach, former tour player Paul Annacone, states Sampras's belief succinctly.

"He is supremely confident about his ability on grass. He thinks he can go on winning Wimbledon for another five years and maybe he is right," he says.

Certainly Sampras's record backs up that belief. Only William Renshaw can match him with seven Wimbledon titles, and he won the last of his in 1889.

If he wins again this year he will match Bjorn Borg's record of five straight wins, having lifted the trophy in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

For a player who has won more than $40 million in prizemoney, 2001 has been a disappointment so far. He is yet to win a title this year and in fact has won just 15 matches and lost 10.

But still there are no shortage of believers of what he can achieve at Wimbledon.

British number one Tim Henman - considered by many one of only a handful of players who could win the grass Grand Slam, said: "Yeah, of course...his record there just speaks for itself...when he is on form, he is the one to beat."