【Tennis】7月號特集：Sampras Speaks (四)
Q: What do you see when you look in Christian’s eyes?
A: I see he’s looking at me like he needs me, needs me for comfort, for
when he’s hungry, when he needs to be changed. He looks up like he
needs you. I see innocence.
Q: How do you want your child to grow up?
A: I’ve talked about that with Bridgette. We’re in this area of Beverly
Hills, which means private school. It’s like 20 grand to get into a
private school and there’s a year’s wait. I didn’t grow up that way;
I went to public school. I didn’t have a cell phone until I was 28.
Christian will grow up very comfortable, but I also want to instill
some humility. That’s my worry, being in this area of L.A. I mean,
there are very good people here, but it’s just a concern. I want him
to grow up the way I grew up, not getting too consumed with money,
because he’s going to have that.
This private school here, it’s at the top of a building. It’s nice,
but I want my kid when he has recess to be able to run around in the
grass. It’s a different mentality from how we grew up. My wife is
from Gold Beach [Ore.], a town of 2,000 with one high school. We want
to be hands-on parents. You see that a lot around here, kids get shipped
out to a nanny or school for eight hours a day. I love seeing my kid
grow up, want to be part of that.
Q: What are your concerns about the future and the kind of world Christian
grows up in?
A: Well, I hope this is a much safer place. How we’re getting there, it
isn’t for me to say. It’s an interesting time, with the emotion of
9/11 and all that. You want to set the record straight and hope you
have the right leadership doing that. How we’re doing that now, I’m
not sure it’s working. I feel we’re on our way, but it’s a tricky
time.
This stuff is always tricky. I always thought those were the two things
you don’t talk about, religion and politics. It’s not my place to
make political stands or religious stands. I do think about it. My
parents raised me in a pretty conservative way. That’s kind of my
direction.
Q: Do you vote?
A: I don’t vote. I haven’t voted. I don’t think I’m even registered
to vote. I just haven’t really made it a priority.
Q: Do you talk to Andre?
A: I talked to him a few times last year after Wimbledon. There was the
possibility that we would play [Jimmy] Connors and Mac [McEnroe] in
Vegas. He called to ask if I was training—he didn’t want to lose to
those guys!
We haven’t spoken since then, but it’s pretty remarkable what he’s
been doing. He has so much on his side, so much experience, and that’s
priceless. After 15 years, he knows what to do out there. He’s still
in good shape, and he has his life in an area where he can have that
single-minded focus. I think Steffi [Graf, Andre’s wife] has had a
pretty good influence that way. He probably sees how she did it, how
focused she was, and maybe that rubbed off on him. He’s not so much
about the other things, the way he was earlier in his career. We need
him to kind of last a while.
By the same token, it’s tougher. He has a couple of kids now, and as
you get older you have to work harder just to stay at the same level as
a 21-year old. I still think he can win another major. I think there’s
still some destiny left. It does get tougher. Things have to fall into
place a little more, but it can happen.
I hold him in great regard. He was my rival over the years, and he
brought out the best in me.
Q: Federer’s young, but he’s being touted by some as the “next”
Pete Sampras. Is the comparison valid?
A: I was impressed by Federer in Australia. It’s nice to see somebody
with a complete game, but he stayed back more than I thought. Did you
see that? It was interesting. I was like, Wow, he doesn’t serve and
volley. I think he has everything. He’s clearly the best player in
the world, I think. It becomes a question of how much he’s willing
to sacrifice to win those majors. You know, you get to a point where
it’s about different levels—winning majors, defending majors, then
being really great, it being your life. That’s kind of what happened
to me.
He’s got all the tools, no question he’s got a great game. It’s nice
to watch him, he’s a smooth player, pleasant to watch, easy on the eyes.
It seems like he wants it, kind of like I did. One of the misconceptions
was that I wasn’t competitive, I wasn’t “mean.” But I just showed
it in a different way, and I think he has some of that in him, too.
Roger’s got that mentality, that even keel. He doesn’t get too high
or too low. That helps when you want to be the best player in the world,
no doubt.
Q: Have you ever talked tennis with him?
A: No, I didn’t really know him that well, and I haven’t talked with
anyone about him. It’s interesting, I was talking to McGwire. I asked
him, “Anyone you talk to in baseball anymore?” And he goes, “Nope.”
He asked me the same question about tennis. The only guy I’ve seen is
[Tim] Henman, who was over in Palm Springs during Indian Wells for
a few days. It’s funny, you do tend to move on—oh, James Blake is
someone I stay in touch with, he sent me a nice email after Wimbledon
and we’ve kind of stayed in touch.
Q: Is getting through the day—or night—easier now?
A: Absolutely. I sleep like a rock compared to when I was on the road,
having to take a sleeping pill to fall asleep because I was jet-lagged.
I’m more relaxed, I’m not worried about things or looking over my
shoulder, afraid somebody is going to knock me off, or dealing with
injuries.
My career all changed in one match, that Open-final loss [to Edberg in
1992]. It changed my attitude toward wanting to be No. 1, to breaking
the Grand Slam record.
I just turned a corner and held myself to things I wanted to do. No
matter what it took, I would do it—deal with an ulcer, play through
everything. I did everything I wanted except win the French. The 2002
Open was the last thing I really wanted to do- and when I did it,
that’s when I knew for sure I was gone.
Q: What things do you miss the least about your playing days?
A: The international travel, going from L.A. or Florida to Europe and
having to play in three or four days. The jet lag, you know that first
morning, you’re in an absolute coma.
I don’t miss the focus, the stress, I don’t miss waking up in the
morning and feeling the soreness and pain and stiffness, and playing
through it. I’m on a roll here, want me to go on? I don’t miss the
pressure, the pressure I put on myself.
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