Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Very Nice Sampras Interview

222 views
Skip to first unread message

Patrick Kehoe

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 6:54:34 PM6/30/15
to
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/wimb/2015/06/30/pete-sampras-roger-federer-wimbledon-record/29505207/

Scott

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 7:25:54 PM6/30/15
to
He usually interviews well. Nice to see he and Agassi can still play exo without killing each other.

Patrick Kehoe

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 7:38:16 PM6/30/15
to
On Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 4:25:54 PM UTC-7, Scott wrote:
> He usually interviews well. Nice to see he and Agassi can still play exo without killing each other.

Ya... not sure about how they manage all these exo's... because they certainly have a 'strained'/complicated relationship...

P

kaennorsing

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 8:00:21 PM6/30/15
to
Op woensdag 1 juli 2015 00:54:34 UTC+2 schreef Patrick Kehoe:
> http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/wimb/2015/06/30/pete-sampras-roger-federer-wimbledon-record/29505207/

Still a hero of mine. Nice read and good to hear he's a fan of his successor. No sour grapes from the man himself... Sounds like a good father as well.

Guypers

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 8:10:19 PM6/30/15
to
Pete was always real! What you saw was what he was! Lot more real than Agassian, surely?

Court_1

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 8:36:38 PM6/30/15
to
Nah, I think Agassi and Sampras are ok with each other at this point. Read this article where Sampras writes a letter of advice to his younger self and what he says about Agassi and his career/life. Interesting read:

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/pete-sampras-letter-to-my-younger-self/

Ulysses

unread,
Jun 30, 2015, 9:06:32 PM6/30/15
to
Patrick, thanks for posting that, great read.

Shakes

unread,
Jul 1, 2015, 12:01:55 AM7/1/15
to
Yes, I read this the other day. Good one.

Shakes

unread,
Jul 1, 2015, 12:02:44 AM7/1/15
to
Some regrets, post retirement, but it's to be expected I think. Overall, I think he gave some good advice.

Shakes

unread,
Jul 1, 2015, 12:25:39 AM7/1/15
to
On Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 5:10:19 PM UTC-7, Guypers wrote:
Yeah. In another "letter to himself" posted by Court_1 above, it seems he was thinking that he should've got some media training like the top players today seem to have got. He sure had some issues with the media back then.

jdeluise

unread,
Jul 1, 2015, 12:28:20 AM7/1/15
to
Shakes <kvcs...@gmail.com> writes:

>
> Yeah. In another "letter to himself" posted by Court_1 above, it seems
> he was thinking that he should've got some media training like the top
> players today seem to have got. He sure had some issues with the media
> back then.

Glad he didn't, I thought it was a positive that he let the racket do
the talking.

Manuel aka Xax

unread,
Jul 1, 2015, 6:59:58 PM7/1/15
to
+10

PeteWasLucky

unread,
Jul 1, 2015, 9:57:06 PM7/1/15
to
wtf, bad one, it's like crying baby, if he changed racquet and string he would have won the FO, if he didn't serve wide, Aggassi would have never beaten him in slam final, if he ate pizza, he would would have won more slams,..

Rodjk #613

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 12:41:38 AM7/2/15
to
On Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 4:57:06 AM UTC+3, PeteWasLucky wrote:
> wtf, bad one, it's like crying baby, if he changed racquet and string he would have won the FO

"Be open to new technology"

> , if he didn't serve wide, Aggassi would have never beaten him in slam final,

"In the 1995 Australian Open Final, you'll be be tied at one set apiece. You'll be up 6-4 in a tiebreaker, serving for the set, which would put you up two sets to one and in pretty good shape. Don't serve out wide. Go up the middle. If you go out wide, he'll pass you on the forehand, and he'll go on to win the set, the tiebreaker and the match. It'll be the only Grand Slam final he beats you in. This adjustment won't guarantee you the win but it will put you in a much better position."

> if he ate pizza, he would would have won more slams,..

"Be aware of what you're eating. There will be times when you wake up in the middle of the night before a match craving crazy things like hamburgers and pizza. It's because your body is missing something. If you ignore those cravings and don't figure out what your body needs (and it's definitely not burgers or pizza), you'll get on the court the next day and fall flat."

I don't see anything that he says that is a problem.
It is a hypothetical letter to his younger self, and obviously things like not winning the FO - or, making changes that may have helped his chances, are still things that he thinks about.

I thought it was a very nice and insightful letter, not to mention very open - from a guy who does not open up a lot.

Rodjk #613

Shakes

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 1:13:01 AM7/2/15
to
+1. And I don't see why he cannot think about a few things he could have done differently.

Whisper

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 4:38:52 AM7/2/15
to
On 2/07/2015 11:57 AM, PeteWasLucky wrote:
> wtf, bad one, it's like crying baby, if he changed racquet and string he would have won the FO, if he didn't serve wide, Aggassi would have never beaten him in slam final, if he ate pizza, he would would have won more slams,..
>


But it's all true. Sampras called the shots when he played, so the
result was always on his racket.


The Iceberg

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 4:52:26 AM7/2/15
to
On Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:41:38 UTC+1, Rodjk #613 wrote:
> On Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 4:57:06 AM UTC+3, PeteWasLucky wrote:
> > wtf, bad one, it's like crying baby, if he changed racquet and string he would have won the FO
>
> "Be open to new technology"
>
> > , if he didn't serve wide, Aggassi would have never beaten him in slam final,
>
> "In the 1995 Australian Open Final, you'll be be tied at one set apiece. You'll be up 6-4 in a tiebreaker, serving for the set, which would put you up two sets to one and in pretty good shape. Don't serve out wide. Go up the middle. If you go out wide, he'll pass you on the forehand, and he'll go on to win the set, the tiebreaker and the match. It'll be the only Grand Slam final he beats you in. This adjustment won't guarantee you the win but it will put you in a much better position."
>
> > if he ate pizza, he would would have won more slams,..
>
> "Be aware of what you're eating. There will be times when you wake up in the middle of the night before a match craving crazy things like hamburgers and pizza. It's because your body is missing something. If you ignore those cravings and don't figure out what your body needs (and it's definitely not burgers or pizza), you'll get on the court the next day and fall flat."
>
> I don't see anything that he says that is a problem.

no, it's just honesty. If he'd eaten a pizza he would've won the 1996 FO, everyone knows this on RST except a few Fedfans who are just Sampras-96FO deniers in my book.

The Iceberg

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 5:08:38 AM7/2/15
to
On Tuesday, 30 June 2015 23:54:34 UTC+1, Patrick Kehoe wrote:
> http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/wimb/2015/06/30/pete-sampras-roger-federer-wimbledon-record/29505207/

really nice interview! thanks!

PeteWasLucky

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 6:19:56 AM7/2/15
to
The letter has nothing but regrets even he tried hard to cover it up.
This confirms Aggassi criticism for Pete's personality.
You'd expect Pete to bring better things to talk about at this age specially in a time the top players are promoting the sport much better than he did.

Whisper

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 6:42:14 AM7/2/15
to
The game has never been more boring though.

PeteWasLucky

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 7:10:45 AM7/2/15
to
Sorry I liked Sampras but his personality and watching his matches were boring.

Whisper

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 7:29:57 AM7/2/15
to
On 2/07/2015 9:10 PM, PeteWasLucky wrote:
> Sorry I liked Sampras but his personality and watching his matches were boring.
>


Yes, far better to watch modern players set up weak returns with their
forehands & staying near the baseline continuing rallies. You don't
want to come in & take advantage to finish the point. That would be
boring.

undecided

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 9:17:36 AM7/2/15
to
That Pizza anecdote just says that his body was depleted of nutrients and was craving that particular food in order to replenish itself. He ignored his body and then felt drained during the match. I am sure this happened a lot. Today's athletes have a whole team of experts in their entourage to keep them in tip top form for each match.

Scott

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 12:30:22 PM7/2/15
to
Good thing Pete didn't get pinned to the baseline retrieving ultimate topspin from Nadal. Pete played in a SV friendly era.

SliceAndDice

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 12:55:59 PM7/2/15
to
Because there is no point in doing so anymore, much less sharing it with the world. Makes it look like he was making excuses for his shortcomings.

Shakes

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 1:42:48 PM7/2/15
to
Maybe someone asked him to write a column along those lines ? Many people sometimes regret about not having done things a little differently in their past. I don't see anything wrong with that.

ahonkan

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 4:11:37 PM7/2/15
to
Though it does appear he is making excuses or finding simplistic
reasons for erasing the biggest blemishes of his career, I am sure
this article is ghostwritten with 'inputs' from Pete. It is VERY well
written and contains good advice that the Tomics, Kyrgioses & Corics
of the world would do well to follow.

Thanks Courtie for posting the link!

ahonkan

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 4:15:29 PM7/2/15
to
On Thursday, 2 July 2015 04:38:52 UTC-4, Whisper wrote:

> But it's all true. Sampras called the shots when he played, so the
> result was always on his racket.

Even when he lost in straights, I suppose?

SliceAndDice

unread,
Jul 2, 2015, 7:21:05 PM7/2/15
to
Maybe 65 year old Sampras will write a letter to 45 year Sampras telling him he should not have written this column? :)

Whisper

unread,
Jul 3, 2015, 4:36:04 AM7/3/15
to
On 3/07/2015 2:30 AM, Scott wrote:
> Good thing Pete didn't get pinned to the baseline retrieving ultimate topspin from Nadal. Pete played in a SV friendly era.
>


er, looks like everyone is pinning every player to the baseline then?
Why single out Rafa?

And don't you think Rafa really appreciates everyone not attacking all
his short balls & forcing him to hit winners every single point?


0 new messages