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Interview With Luke Jensen
Aired August 25, 2003 - 15:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, with Sampras on the sidelines and the Williams sisters benched by injuries, this year's U.S. Open tennis tournament won't pack as much star power as it has in recent years.
ESPN analyst and pro-player Luke Jensen joins me now from our New York Bureau to talk about that.
Luke, first of all, what's up with the tennis racket you have there?
LUKE JENSEN, FMR. GRAND SLAM WINNER: Old school, Kyra, huh? Old school, you see the wood racket here? Ready to go. But they used the big graphite rackets now. It's not fair.
PHILLIPS: You know what scares me? My mom used to have one of those and it was orange -- bright orange.
JENSEN: Did she have the press on it, the old press so it wouldn't warp?
PHILLIPS: You know what? I'm going to have to go back and look. I think I've got my grandfather's old one, too. Is it worth money? Should I try and sell it on eBay?
JENSEN: Absolutely. They're worth 2- $300, depending on the condition. Very expensive stuff.
PHILLIPS: Do you still play with that?
JENSEN: No, I just have fun with it.
PHILLIPS: OK. It's a stress reliever.
JENSEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about Sampras and the retirement here. I guess -- what do you think? I mean, how's it going to affect tennis? There's a not a lot of recognizable names out there now.
JENSEN: Well, besides Agassi, we have some young guys coming up on the American side. To me we're going to miss him because he was such a great champion. I don't know -- you're probably to young to remember McEnroe and Connors.
PHILLIPS: Oh, you're so nice.
JENSEN: But back in the 80's, when you were in elementary school, we had some -- you know, they called it McBreath (ph), these guys used to throw their rackets and go crazy. And the media and the tennis fans wanted a graceful champion, a champion that behaved himself. And Pete Sampras came along and he developed his game as a junior and decided he wanted to win Wimbledon.
And everything was revolved around his training about winning Wimbledon, the volleys, the serve, the mental toughness. He won seven Wimbledon titles, 14 slams in all and he really didn't make any noise. And the way he went about his business, hitting those great serves, and he was so gracious to his fans and of course the rest of the media, it was really hard to appreciate him. But he is a great champion.
PHILLIPS: No, he didn't cuss everybody out like McEnroe.
JENSEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: He was the gentleman. So what's next for him? Any scoop? Do you know?
JENSEN: Well, a lot of scoop -- I know he has a baby boy, so he's up there feeding his baby boy at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, so he doesn't get much sleep. He still loves to play a lot of golf, hangs out with his buddies and really just kicking back. Remember, professional tennis players start playing when they're 4 or 5 years old, so they start this training at a young age. So even though he's only 32-years-old, he's had a very long career in the game of tennis. I think you'll probably get in maybe some coaching, maybe commentating. I'm in trouble.
PHILLIPS: Yes. You're going to have competition, Luke.
JENSEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about the Williams sisters. Wow. I mean, both of them are out. And this is why -- I mean, isn't this why it moved to primetime because these two women really brought tennis to a whole other level.
JENSEN: Sisters, both beautiful athletic women, the way they hit the ball with so much power. But there is a side where people were getting sick of watching the Williams sisters play final after final. This is a golden opportunity for the likes of Jennifer Capriati, an American, Lindsay Davenport, to really go after this title, use that New York crowd and this American crowd to put them into the final and maybe holding that trophy at the end. But the Williams sisters will be missed here in New York.
PHILLIPS: Can they withstand the tour?
JENSEN: Oh, I think so. The thing is the Williams sisters -- you know, it's a good thing that Serena has had the knee surgery because I've had four of them. If you don't take care of those knees, you're not going to be able to move. And she's still very young. She's got many years left in her career. Venus Williams has had a bad abdominal pull for a long time since the Wimbledon championships in early July. That hasn't healed. If it's not ready to go, don't play. Wait till 2004.
PHILLIPS: Yes, you've got bad knees because you've been running around with that piece of junk racket. What are you talking about?
JENSEN: Kyra, come on. Talking trash. Larry's out at the tennis, you bring me up into the city, I'm missing all the matches.
PHILLIPS: OK. I'll wrap this up quickly so you can go.
All right, so who do we watch? You know, all these injuries. Gosh, talk about a load of injuries. Who do we pay attention to, men and women, or who are you going to pay attention to, I guess I should say?
JENSEN: I love my Americans. Roger Federer is a Swiss player. No one knows about him, but he's just won Wimbledon. Young guy has all the shots. If you liked Pete Sampras, you'll like this guy. He has lots of talent.
But the amazing star -- this guy is dating Mandy Moore. This guy has got the Hollywood potential. I'm talking about Andy Roddick, a young American with a serve that goes 149 miles an hour. He's got a big forehand. He's the hottest player on tour right now. He's 30-2 since June. He's 20-1 on the hard court season. The only problem is his first-round opponent is Tim Henman, who beat him this year in Washington. It's his only loss on the hard courts this year. So it's going to be a tough first round, but I like Roddick in the men's side.
PHILLIPS: All right. Luke Jensen.
JENSEN: There he is hitting that big serve, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know, I'm going to go find that orange wooden racket of my mom's and you and I are going to knock it around a little bit.
JENSEN: Perfect.
PHILLIPS: All right, Luke. Take care.
JENSEN: Take care.
PHILLIPS: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 25, 2003 - 15:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, with Sampras on the sidelines and the Williams sisters benched by injuries, this year's U.S. Open tennis tournament won't pack as much star power as it has in recent years.
ESPN analyst and pro-player Luke Jensen joins me now from our New York Bureau to talk about that.
Luke, first of all, what's up with the tennis racket you have there?
LUKE JENSEN, FMR. GRAND SLAM WINNER: Old school, Kyra, huh? Old school, you see the wood racket here? Ready to go. But they used the big graphite rackets now. It's not fair.
PHILLIPS: You know what scares me? My mom used to have one of those and it was orange -- bright orange.
JENSEN: Did she have the press on it, the old press so it wouldn't warp?
PHILLIPS: You know what? I'm going to have to go back and look. I think I've got my grandfather's old one, too. Is it worth money? Should I try and sell it on eBay?
JENSEN: Absolutely. They're worth 2- $300, depending on the condition. Very expensive stuff.
PHILLIPS: Do you still play with that?
JENSEN: No, I just have fun with it.
PHILLIPS: OK. It's a stress reliever.
JENSEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about Sampras and the retirement here. I guess -- what do you think? I mean, how's it going to affect tennis? There's a not a lot of recognizable names out there now.
JENSEN: Well, besides Agassi, we have some young guys coming up on the American side. To me we're going to miss him because he was such a great champion. I don't know -- you're probably to young to remember McEnroe and Connors.
PHILLIPS: Oh, you're so nice.
JENSEN: But back in the 80's, when you were in elementary school, we had some -- you know, they called it McBreath (ph), these guys used to throw their rackets and go crazy. And the media and the tennis fans wanted a graceful champion, a champion that behaved himself. And Pete Sampras came along and he developed his game as a junior and decided he wanted to win Wimbledon.
And everything was revolved around his training about winning Wimbledon, the volleys, the serve, the mental toughness. He won seven Wimbledon titles, 14 slams in all and he really didn't make any noise. And the way he went about his business, hitting those great serves, and he was so gracious to his fans and of course the rest of the media, it was really hard to appreciate him. But he is a great champion.
PHILLIPS: No, he didn't cuss everybody out like McEnroe.
JENSEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: He was the gentleman. So what's next for him? Any scoop? Do you know?
JENSEN: Well, a lot of scoop -- I know he has a baby boy, so he's up there feeding his baby boy at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, so he doesn't get much sleep. He still loves to play a lot of golf, hangs out with his buddies and really just kicking back. Remember, professional tennis players start playing when they're 4 or 5 years old, so they start this training at a young age. So even though he's only 32-years-old, he's had a very long career in the game of tennis. I think you'll probably get in maybe some coaching, maybe commentating. I'm in trouble.
PHILLIPS: Yes. You're going to have competition, Luke.
JENSEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about the Williams sisters. Wow. I mean, both of them are out. And this is why -- I mean, isn't this why it moved to primetime because these two women really brought tennis to a whole other level.
JENSEN: Sisters, both beautiful athletic women, the way they hit the ball with so much power. But there is a side where people were getting sick of watching the Williams sisters play final after final. This is a golden opportunity for the likes of Jennifer Capriati, an American, Lindsay Davenport, to really go after this title, use that New York crowd and this American crowd to put them into the final and maybe holding that trophy at the end. But the Williams sisters will be missed here in New York.
PHILLIPS: Can they withstand the tour?
JENSEN: Oh, I think so. The thing is the Williams sisters -- you know, it's a good thing that Serena has had the knee surgery because I've had four of them. If you don't take care of those knees, you're not going to be able to move. And she's still very young. She's got many years left in her career. Venus Williams has had a bad abdominal pull for a long time since the Wimbledon championships in early July. That hasn't healed. If it's not ready to go, don't play. Wait till 2004.
PHILLIPS: Yes, you've got bad knees because you've been running around with that piece of junk racket. What are you talking about?
JENSEN: Kyra, come on. Talking trash. Larry's out at the tennis, you bring me up into the city, I'm missing all the matches.
PHILLIPS: OK. I'll wrap this up quickly so you can go.
All right, so who do we watch? You know, all these injuries. Gosh, talk about a load of injuries. Who do we pay attention to, men and women, or who are you going to pay attention to, I guess I should say?
JENSEN: I love my Americans. Roger Federer is a Swiss player. No one knows about him, but he's just won Wimbledon. Young guy has all the shots. If you liked Pete Sampras, you'll like this guy. He has lots of talent.
But the amazing star -- this guy is dating Mandy Moore. This guy has got the Hollywood potential. I'm talking about Andy Roddick, a young American with a serve that goes 149 miles an hour. He's got a big forehand. He's the hottest player on tour right now. He's 30-2 since June. He's 20-1 on the hard court season. The only problem is his first-round opponent is Tim Henman, who beat him this year in Washington. It's his only loss on the hard courts this year. So it's going to be a tough first round, but I like Roddick in the men's side.
PHILLIPS: All right. Luke Jensen.
JENSEN: There he is hitting that big serve, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know, I'm going to go find that orange wooden racket of my mom's and you and I are going to knock it around a little bit.
JENSEN: Perfect.
PHILLIPS: All right, Luke. Take care.
JENSEN: Take care.
PHILLIPS: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
