If this wasn't Wimbledon I wouldn't have played -- Sampras

If this wasn't Wimbledon I wouldn't have played -- Sampras
KADAMBARI MURALI

WIMBLEDON, JULY 10: Throughout the two weeks of The Championships here, PeteSampras has had to deal with the pressures of the record books beckoning;the tendinitis in his left shin and foot; wondering all the time whether hisleg would hold up; and with never-ending locker room murmurs about him`faking' the extent of his injury to psyche opponents.

He had stated in the course of the week and even after it was all over, that``If this wasn't Wimbledon, I might not have stayed and played.'' But atthree minutes to nine Sunday night, all was forgotten as he created historyby becoming the first person to lift a 13th Grand Slam crown, but accordingto him, it hasn't been easy. ``You know, over time I'm sure I'll appreciateit much more than I am right now. I'm sure as the months and years go by,I'll look back at these two weeks as the most difficult, the mostsatisfying. The fact that my parents were here, it was a great script thatjust really worked out well for me.''

After the win, he burst into tears and held his head, kneeling and almostkissing the grass. He then dedicated the victory to his parents by saying``If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been where I was.'' And delightedthe Centre Court crowd by looking at his fiancee and saying ``Bridgette, Ilove you,'' into the microphone. Sampras later spoke on what it meant to himto have his parents, Sam and Georgia, present. ``They've always been verysupportive, very loving. They weren't the typical parents, in the sense,when they're with me, I'm my own man. They always give me my independence.They've supported me through my highs and lows and seen me at my best andworst. I wanted them to be part of this.

``As much as I'd like to say I'm going to be back here every year, there'sno guarantees.''

Talking about the match itself, Sampras said the tide changed when Rafterlost his nerve at the second set tie-breaker, despite being up 4-1.``Obviously there were a lot of nerves out there. We were both feeling it. Ilost my nerve in the first set and he lost his in the second breaker. From amatter of feeling I was going to lose the match, I felt like I was going towin in less than two minutes. That's grass court tennis for you.''

Rafter agreed that the second set was the turning point of the match, whenhe lost two points on serve, up 4-1. ``After I missed those, I knew I wasscrewed. Then I just thought, `Oh God, this is all going to be reallydownhill. I was really going to find it hard to deal with the nerves, Ithink, more than anything.''

Rafter, paying tribute to Sampras, said he was ``probably the greatest ofall time, but to seal it, he would need to win the French Open.'' Explainingwhat he felt, he added: ``I think that's probably Pete's last challenge. Weall know he can play well on clay. He's a potential winner, but has to gethimself very, very fit to win it, though. I think that's his setback. Allgreat champions have to win on all surfaces in majors.

``In my eyes, Pete still goes down as the greatest player ever. It wouldjust be something that would really concrete it.''

Sampras, asked what he thought he had left to achieve, said he wasn't goinganywhere, though ``from an achievement standpoint,'' he had done everythinghe wanted to do. ``I've been No. 1 for a while, won Slams, obviously, theFrench is the one that's missing. But I still love competing and I loveplaying. I love being in situations like today, where you feel nervousbefore you go out there, you have anxiety, find a way to get through it anda way to win.''

Asked if he thought the record would be broken in the future, he said:``Only time would tell. But given the nature of the modern game, it could bedifficult. It's a lot of commitment, a lot of good playing in the big times.It's hard to see one guy or three guys that I see maybe doing it. It'spossible. I mean the next person might be eight years old hitting at a parksomewhere in the world.