TMS - CINCINNATI

August 9, 2000

Pete Sampras

Q. How did you handle all these rain delays and lightning and everything that was going on today?

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the same like you always do. You just go in and wait for the rain to stop and mentally just get ready to be prepared. Because once it stops, the rain, they can get the court pretty quick -- dried up pretty quick. And it's always a little bit difficult to know when to eat and when to warm up. You just got to deal with it.

PETE SAMPRAS: No. No, he just came on the court and said, "It's too close." I just said, "It's your call."

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, he's got a huge serve, a huge serve. First and second. He just came out swinging hard. Got a real big game, you know. Got a real good future with that weapon, and the fact that he'll improve in some areas. But a good all-around court game. Came out with a lot of energy and played real well. He had chances to break me in the second and -- but got a good future.

PETE SAMPRAS: Good. I feel like I serve-and-volleyed pretty well, threw in a couple doubles. Started to press a little bit, returned quite well, and got through it. I feel like I played pretty well.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, I've never played Andy, I just practiced with him. But he possesses a much different game, more of a baseline game, but also serves well. Taylor's game is more dangerous because of the serve and the fact that he puts a lot of pressure on your service games because he does serve well. You know, but you always look at someone's second serve on how good he's really going to be, and I was looking at the clock and he was serving over 100 and making them. That's a real sign to see what kind of serve he has. That's always a little bit different, you know. He didn't obviously play with a lot of pressure, so he can obviously serve his swing away. But he possesses the talent to take his game a long way.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, not necessarily. He hit a tape on one break point, a couple of them I got some good serves in. It's not really experience. You know, he could have easily won that second set. It's just reaction and trying to hit the right shot at the right time. Experience plays a little bit in it, but not a great deal.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, just, you know, going for big seconds. That's the nature of my confidence in my second serve. I feel like I can pop it in there pretty good. Doing a few doubles, so it's just a matter of rhythm a little bit, and rushing. I have a tendency to do that sometimes when I double. Just taking my time and being a little bit more deliberate is something I want to try to do tomorrow.

PETE SAMPRAS: It's getting there. I felt the game's coming around. It was a disappointment losing last week and trying to get going again, and hope I can build from this win and carry on. But, you know, I feel like I'm moving well and I'm playing well. That's all I can do, is play solid, and hopefully get through these tough matches.

PETE SAMPRAS: It's open. But if I win in the next couple days, it could be pretty closed. So it's looking more no than yes at this point.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, it's three weeks on the hard court is probably -- for me, at this point in my career, is probably a little bit too much back-to-back big tournaments, possibly playing six days in a row. You know, it's important to go to the Open fresh in my mind and in my body. And matches is what I need. I've had plenty of matches these past couple of weeks. I've always enjoyed playing Indy, it's always been a shoe-in to play there every year. But with the different schedule and playing Canada, it definitely changed my thinking on Indy.

PETE SAMPRAS: He's come very close. He's obviously playing well. Our games are so similar, we practice together all the time. And, you know, he knows what to expect from me, and I know what to get from him. It's just a matter of who does it better tomorrow. You play these guys close enough, especially someone like Tim, eventually he can break through and win here and beat me. So we'll see what happens tomorrow.

PETE SAMPRAS: He holds his own easily. He plays very well in practice.

PETE SAMPRAS: No. I've been using the racquet since I was 14. It's an old-fashioned racquet, it's not a wide body, not the high-technology titanium stuff. For me, power's not the issue, it's control. That racquet gives me the control and the power that I need to have a fine balance. And I string it very, very tight and it's a very heavy racquet. It's kind of like using a blade in golf. It's a similar type of comparison.

PETE SAMPRAS: No. Not with Wilson.

PETE SAMPRAS: It's a possibility I could look into something. But at this point, mentally, if it's not broke, you don't fix it.

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