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CNN Sunday Morning
Pete Sampras to Announce Retirement
Aired August 24, 2003 - 09:44 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.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A little tennis news now, Pete Sampras, one of the greatest tennis players of this, or some say any other era, is set to put his racket down and pick up an old rocking chair. His good-bye will come, fittingly, at the site of his first and last great victories. Larry Smith reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pete Sampras chose a fitting place to announce the end of his tennis career. After all, it was at Flushing Meadows 13 years ago that it really began. 19-year-old Sampras blazed onto the world tennis scene at the 1990 U.S. Open, beating John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, and career-long rival, Andre Agassi on the way to becoming the youngest U.S. Open men's champion ever.
Sampras' next grand slam title came in 1993 at Wimbledon, where he would become as much a part of the tradition as the strawberries and cream. Sampras won a record-tying seven Wimbledon titles during an eight-year stretch when the all-England club belonged to an American.
PETE SAMPRAS, TENNIS PLAYER: You walk on that court, you feel the chills, you feel like this is a court that I love playing on. I mean, it's definitely a setting that is beautiful for tennis, you know, it's nice to get out and feel the atmosphere, feel the people. And it's a court that over the years I've grown to love.
SMITH: All told, "Pistol Pete" used his overpowering serve and volley style to win a record 14 grand slam singles titles, with the French Open being the only one that eluded him. Sampras made history in 1998 when he finished the year ranked as the number one player in the world for the sixth straight year.
For all of his greatness, it appeared Sampras was finally slowing down in 2001, when he failed to win an ATP tour title for the first time since 1989. Sampras had married actress Bridget Wilson in September of 2000, and many believed his priorities had shifted off the tennis court. But the unassuming champion would have one last turn on center court.
Sampras arrived at last year's U.S. Open as the 17th seed and had not won a tournament in more than two years. But looking like the 19- year-old who blew through New York a dozen years earlier, Sampras outplayed the game's young stars, and eventually beat his old friend Agassi in the final. SAMPRAS: To beat a rival like Andre in a major tournament, at the U.S. Open, and a storybook ending, it might be nice to stop, but I still -- but I still want to compete.
SMITH: As it turns out, that U.S. Open final was the last competitive match Sampras would ever play. A fitting end to the career of a man many call the greatest tennis player who has ever lived.
I'm Larry Smith.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 24, 2003 - 09:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: A little tennis news now, Pete Sampras, one of the greatest tennis players of this, or some say any other era, is set to put his racket down and pick up an old rocking chair. His good-bye will come, fittingly, at the site of his first and last great victories. Larry Smith reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pete Sampras chose a fitting place to announce the end of his tennis career. After all, it was at Flushing Meadows 13 years ago that it really began. 19-year-old Sampras blazed onto the world tennis scene at the 1990 U.S. Open, beating John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, and career-long rival, Andre Agassi on the way to becoming the youngest U.S. Open men's champion ever.
Sampras' next grand slam title came in 1993 at Wimbledon, where he would become as much a part of the tradition as the strawberries and cream. Sampras won a record-tying seven Wimbledon titles during an eight-year stretch when the all-England club belonged to an American.
PETE SAMPRAS, TENNIS PLAYER: You walk on that court, you feel the chills, you feel like this is a court that I love playing on. I mean, it's definitely a setting that is beautiful for tennis, you know, it's nice to get out and feel the atmosphere, feel the people. And it's a court that over the years I've grown to love.
SMITH: All told, "Pistol Pete" used his overpowering serve and volley style to win a record 14 grand slam singles titles, with the French Open being the only one that eluded him. Sampras made history in 1998 when he finished the year ranked as the number one player in the world for the sixth straight year.
For all of his greatness, it appeared Sampras was finally slowing down in 2001, when he failed to win an ATP tour title for the first time since 1989. Sampras had married actress Bridget Wilson in September of 2000, and many believed his priorities had shifted off the tennis court. But the unassuming champion would have one last turn on center court.
Sampras arrived at last year's U.S. Open as the 17th seed and had not won a tournament in more than two years. But looking like the 19- year-old who blew through New York a dozen years earlier, Sampras outplayed the game's young stars, and eventually beat his old friend Agassi in the final. SAMPRAS: To beat a rival like Andre in a major tournament, at the U.S. Open, and a storybook ending, it might be nice to stop, but I still -- but I still want to compete.
SMITH: As it turns out, that U.S. Open final was the last competitive match Sampras would ever play. A fitting end to the career of a man many call the greatest tennis player who has ever lived.
I'm Larry Smith.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
