WIMBLEDON

July 1, 2000

Pete Sampras

MODERATOR: Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Pete Sampras.

PETE SAMPRAS: I don't want to hear the rest.

PETE SAMPRAS: No, I haven't.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah.

PETE SAMPRAS: Sore.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the two days off definitely helped. Yesterday I was praying for some rain and got it, which was nice. But it's sore, and it will probably continue to be sore. I just need, you know, to find a way to play, and play on it. Then the Kucera match, when it was quite severe at the end, two days definitely helped the inflammation. Just been icing it all day, taking the antiinflammatory, doing the stim, doing everything I can to play. The adrenaline definitely kicks in. Today I really was out of sorts in the beginning. First time I picked up my racquet in two and a half days. You know, I didn't play very well. But, you know, got through it. Definitely a struggle.

PETE SAMPRAS: It's a bit stressful, you know, doing tests, then the next couple days, you know, coming here twice a day, getting treatment on it pretty much with my foot up, icing it every couple hours for 20 minutes. I just did that all day the last couple days. It was nice not to play yesterday and have an extra day of rest. You know, this is what I'm dealt. Just got to make the best of it and do the best I can.

PETE SAMPRAS: No.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah. My racquet felt like a foreign object, which doesn't happen that often. You know, it's not an easy surface to play on when you haven't picked up a racquet for two and a half days.

PETE SAMPRAS: I would have loved to have been part of it. For the hour before I played, I was doing whatever I could to play. Today, we're actually going to do something after the Venus Williams match. It would have been an honor to be out there with all the legends of the game.

PETE SAMPRAS: Oh, yeah, you know, getting treatment, warming it up, taping it, do whatever I can, making sure I'm as comfortable as possible out there.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, not necessarily. Justin has a big serve. It's not easy to return when you're a bit sore. But, yeah, quick points. Kucera is probably the toughest guy out there to play when you're not feeling great because he makes a lot of returns. Justin is more hit-and-miss. But still it's not easy, no matter who you play.

PETE SAMPRAS: I felt a little uncomfortable in this area when I was warming up, couldn't figure out how I did it. You know, a little concerned. Played the Kucera match. Obviously it was very, very sore. Got the tests done. I have what I have. I have some fluid in a tendon. It's uncomfortable. It is what it is. Just make the best of it. It was a freaky injury that I don't know how it came on.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, the first set I was so rusty, you know, really had no rhythm on my serve. Normally you don't pick up a racquet for a couple days, you're not going to go out and play well, at least initially. Once I got that break in the second and I started feeling a little bit better about my timing, my rhythm, my serve started to come on a little bit, just start playing better. But the first set, I was completely out of sorts, you know, with my rhythm, my timing. It was probably one of the worst sets I played out there.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, obviously a couple points here and there, he could be serving for the set, down two sets to love. You know, I've been in this position before. You just try to hang in there, hopefully get a break. I got it.

PETE SAMPRAS: What do you mean "could go"?

PETE SAMPRAS: No.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, it's sore. It's a little bit painful. There's not a risk of tearing my tendon. It's just I have some fluid in an area that unfortunately I have at the moment. This is not the best of timing.

PETE SAMPRAS: When I serve-and-volley, when I put a lot of weight on it, when I lift my foot up, I feel it a little bit.

PETE SAMPRAS: No. It's sore.

PETE SAMPRAS: I'm on some antiinflammatory.

PETE SAMPRAS: No timetable. I'm not going to hit any tomorrow.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, I'm sure.

PETE SAMPRAS: I don't know. I haven't thought much about Davis Cup.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, playing hurt is something I've learned to deal with over the years. You just deal with it, you know. Everyone at times through their career, if it's Kobe Bryant in the NBA finals, I use him as my inspiration. Playing hurt, this is Wimbledon, this is what I play for all year. I'm going to do whatever I can to play. You know, I'm not playing and risking my career by playing this tournament. But it's something that isn't a hundred percent, but that's just what I've been dealt here.

PETE SAMPRAS: When I hurt my back, that's when it hit a little bit. You know, my body beat me that time. It definitely was a step back for me. I've had some niggling injuries here and there that I've gotten through, but the back definitely woke me up.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah. I mean, I'm on a treatment program for my back, keeping it strong and stretching it out. The older you get, your body changes. I have to be a little bit more aware of being warmed up when I play. My body has been a little fragile the last year or so. You know, it's an indication of playing a lot of tennis for a lot of years. But it's also preparation and doing the stretching, being a little bit more disciplined, which is something that I'm not always that great at. It's definitely been a wake-up call.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, it's not helping. I'm still in the tournament. I have a day off tomorrow. I play Bjorkman, who is going to make me work very hard. But I'm here to, you know, complete the tournament, win or lose. Guys are going to know that I'm a little bit hurt. I'm sure they're going to feel a little bit of pressure, whatever, for whatever reason. But it is what it is. There's no really sense of talking about it all day. It's an injury and I just have to play through it, do the best I can.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah. I looked up and saw Borg and the Rocket. When I was playing the first set, I wasn't too proud that they were watching (laughter). But, yeah, definitely my idols I looked up to for years. So you know who's there. It was definitely a moment I would have loved to have been on that court with them during the ceremony. But, you know, 2:00 start, I had to get ready.

PETE SAMPRAS: No, no (laughter). At one point I wanted to throw my racquet up there; they could play for me.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, my movement is one of my best advantages out there. I'm not moving at a hundred percent, but even still when I'm 80%, I think I still move better than maybe a lot of guys on grass. You know, it's the way it is. There's no sense talking about it all day.

PETE SAMPRAS: I think guys knew I was going to play. How effective I was going to be, no one really knew. You know, still got a dangerous player on the top side of the draw. Getting through some of these matches, over the next day or two, with some rest and more treatment, I can get to the point where I'm a hundred percent. It's really hard to say at this point.

PETE SAMPRAS: Huh-uh.

PETE SAMPRAS: I don't know. I'm hoping so. I'm not at the moment, but Lord willing, do my praying tonight, I can maybe get to the point where it's comfortable.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah.

PETE SAMPRAS: Well, as each match gets tougher and tougher, I'm going to give it whatever I have, do the best I can. I don't know if that's going to be good enough.

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