INTERVIEW: PETE SAMPRAS A Class Act With a world record 13 Grand Slams to his credit, Pete Sampras is arguably the greatest tennis player in history. MATTHEW MORSE interviewing the legend concerning Formula 1 racing, Movado watches, golf, and, of course, the game of tennis. Pete Sampras started getting noticed on the tennis circuit in 1988 as a 16-years-old qualifier. Although he played a game they called "dangerous" it took him two years to reach the top tem. His first Grand Slam title was the U.S. Open, which he won in September of 1990 with a power serve that blew the other player's hair back, including Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe. At age 19, Pete became the youngest player to ever win the U.S. Open Cup. Since then he went on to become the #1 ranked player for a record six consecutive years (1993-1998) and in 2000 he became the first man ever to win 13 Grand Slam titles. With a smooth demeanor that belies his unquestionable talent the only feather missing from his cap has been the French Open - where his full-blooded serve gets absorbed by the clay court. In the last 12 years the 31-years-old has racked up over $40 million in prize money but the truth is that he's been in it for something more than the money...or the fame. Call him bland all you want, his inspired playing - and his record - speaks for itself. The following telephone interview took place while Pete was in Rome for the Italian Open. WatchTime (WT): I read somewhere that you're a fan of Formula 1 racing. How did that come about? Sampras: For the last 14 years I've spent a lot of time on the tour in Europe. I don't know why but it seems like when you're in Italy, France or Germany that the only things on TV are the Grand Prix races, and somehow I got caught up in the rivalry between Michael Schmacher and Damon Hill. The sheer speed of the cars is pretty incredible. The sound...the color...it's addictive. WT: They do seem to go a little nuts for motor sports in Europe. Have you ever had a chance to drive a Formula 1 car? Sampras: No, but I did get to meet Damon Hill once. I actually sat in his car and watched him test it a bit. It was pretty awesome to see his car zip by so close. WT: Is Damon Hill your favorite driver, or are you more of a Schmacher fan? Sampras: I don't really have a favorite driver. I just happened to meet Damon Hill because he was in London during Wimbledon one year. WT: What kind of cars do you personally drive? Sampras: I like sports cars, so I have a Porshe Turbo S and I just got a BMW Z8. WT: How fast do you like to take these machines? Sampras: You know I live in Los Angeles and there's quite a bit of traffic, but there are a few spots I know of in Beverly Hills where I can give it a good push. WT: What do you look for in a car? The styling? The handling? Sampras: Speed. I like speed and handling. Obviously, when it comes to sports cars you usually sacrifice a bit of physical comfort...but my Z8 is very comfortable and it's a convertible, which is nice to have in LA. My Porshe Turbo is pure speed. It just gives you a really good rush. I also like the fact that they only make cars like these in limited series. It makes them a little more special, and I plan to keep them as long as they're running. WT: And when it comes to watches what do you like? Sampras: Of course Movado has sponsored me since 1990, so that's pretty much all I wear. They've been extremely loyal to me, and I've been with them longer than I've been with anyone else, including Nike, Wilson and Giorgio Armani. WT: What kind of watch did you wear before you were sponsored by Movado? Sampras: Just a Timex. WT: Of course you're in Movado's magazine advertisements, but is there any other work that you do for them? Sampras: I did a television commercial with them once, and of course I also show up at autograph sessions before the U.S. Open gets into full gear. WT: Do you wear a watch when you play tennis? Sampras: No, never...not even when I'm training. It would feel completely foreign to me. I mean most tennis players don't wear watches when they're on the court because you want your skin to fully breathe. But when I'm off the court I wear a watch practically all of the time. I'm one of these people that needs to know what time it is. WT: Which Movados do you own? Sampras: You name it, I have it. The Museum watch, the Eliro Chronograph, the Vizio, the Elliptica, the Sports Edition, the SE Chrono.... WT: Do you prefer bracelets or leather bands? Sampras: To be honest, I usually prefer leather bands. I'm a little on the hairy side and a leather band doesn't pull...but there are some bracelets that are tight enough that they don't give me any problems. WT: Do you also get watches to give to your wife and family? Sampras: Tons. My family, my wife, her family...Movado has been very generous to me. Christmas shopping is pretty easy. WT: What's your relationship with time during a tennis match? Sampras: During competitive play I'm so focused on the match that everything seems to go by pretty quickly. But sometimes I like to know how long a match lasts, because they can go anywhere from an hour and fifteen minutes to four hours. WT: I understand that when you're under a lot of stress you're actually pretty aware of having an accelerated heart rate. What do you do when you're feeling nervous and want to dial it down a bit. Sampras: You know, it's not something I really think about too much. Sometimes I take a few deep breaths. Nerves are part of the game. WT: So you don't watch sports psychology videos or listen to affirmation tapes or anything like that? Sampras: No, not at all, although quite a few athletes have a psychologist who tries to help them get into inner peace and all of that. But I never went that way. WT: I understand that you have a new coach, Jose Higueras. Are you training differently with him than you did in the past? Sampras: In the last couple of years I've been doing a lot more stuff off-court...a lot of running and lifting. Higueras's philosophy - which I strongly agree with - is to spend a lot more hours practicing on the court. But I still workout six days a week, because as I get a bit older I need to step up my training to play against these young guys. WT: As you get older, what do you have to work on the most: strength, endurance or flexibility? Sampras: Everything. As you get older you're just not as fresh the morning after a tough match. When you're younger you don't think twice about it. Now I have to do a proper warm-up and a stretch before I go out there, whereas I used to go straight from bed to the practice court. Overall, you're just more vulnerable to injuries, and recovery of any sort takes a lot longer. WT: Of course you've won Wimbledon a record seven times, which I think must be an incredibly demanding tournament...what with all of the stopping and starting due to the rainy weather in England. Sampras: As you know, Wimbledon is physically taxing, whereas the French Open's clay court is more mentally challenging. (A lot of players also get groin pulls on clay surfaces...just because it's so slippery.) Wimbledon is grass, so most of the players get a stiff back and glutes. The U.S. Open is hard court, which can really chew your feet. WT: Would you say that your feet are your weak point...your Achilles heel, so to speak? Sampras: I'm pretty injury-free but I do get my share of jammed toes and blisters when I play on hard court. I tape my feet up when I have to. I've never had any major surgery, but a few years ago I got a herniated disc at the U.S. Open. WT: That's right, I read somewhere that if it hadn't been for your back injury you wouldn't have met your wife. Switching the topic a bit, do you play any other sports in your leisure time? Sampras: I left high school during my junior year of high school - I was 17 - and entered the professional tennis circuit. I guess I just kind of naturally fell into playing a lot of golf. The other guys on the tour were doing it and it was a nice way to unwind. It's a nice escape for me. WT: I read somewhere that you once won a celebrity golf drive, which makes sense, when you consider that your tennis serve is often over 130 miles per hour. Sampras: That's my 15-minutes of golf fame. But really I just play for fun. WT: And how did you get started with tennis? Sampras: You know, when I was seven-years-old I found an old racket in the basement and I just started whackin' balls against the basement and garage walls just like any other kid. My family moved from the Washington D.C. area to Palos Verdes, California aound the same time and that's when my sister, Stella, and I started taking tennis more seriously. My other brother and sister weren't as crazy about the game. WT: How did you mix serious tennis with schoolwork when you were growing up? Sampras: I went to a local public high school and we had an arrangement where I only attended class from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon. The school also let me do a bit of travelling. But overall, my upbringing was pretty normal. WT: And, of course, you were a fulltime pro player by the time you were 17 and went on to win your first Grand Slam - the U.S. Open - when you were 19. I read somewhere that after you won your first Grand Slam you stopped worrying about money and concentrated on the pure competition of the game. Sampras: Well, obviously when I was 17 I was a little too young to worry about money in any realistic way, but I did know that I was paying for my coach. When I won the Open at 19 it kind of financially secured me for the rest of my life. WT: How many months a year are you on tour? Sampras: There's really no off-season in tennis, so I used to play for 11 months a year. In the last couple of years I started to take four months off after the U.S. Open. It's just...it's a lot of international travel and it's incredibly taxing on both the body and the mind. So I just created my own off-season. WT: What do you do during your "off-season"? Sampras: You know, I just kind of shut it down. I play golf, train a little, enjoy restaurants and movies with my wife...maybe go on a vacation. I just lay low and keep it trim. I spend a lot of time at home and watch Lakers games and golf on TV. WT: When you were younger you were a bit miffed by journalists that were always "digging for the personal dirt", and you posed the challenge that they should learn more about the game of tennis. Sampras: The media is always looking for controversy, and that's something that I've never been into providing. It's also quite obvious that one thing that pretty helps to sell sports is a good rivalry...so whenever I played against Andre Agassi I didn't have to explain anything. But for a while there, there wasn't a rivalry to tout. There wasn't anything...I was just kind of winning. WT: I understand that you think it's important that kids learn to play tennis with a wood racket. Why is that? Sampras: The early years are when you learn proper technique, and with a wood racket you can't cheat and find power where it doesn't really exist. A kid shouldn't even pick up a synthetic racket until he's 12 or 13-years-old. WT: Where do you see tennis going in the future? Sampras: I think tennis will only get better. I also think that in the future, classic serve and volley tennis will become pretty much extinct [Sampras is a serve and volley player.] People will stay back a lot more...there will be a lot more baseline players. WT: But the best tennis is always when you have contrasting styles: The offensive power server vs. the defensive baseliner, right? Then it's a little like watching the LA Lakers play the Boston Celtics back in the 80s. Sampras: Absolutely. --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 61.64.84.223