COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

December 10, 1993

Pete Sampras

PETE SAMPRAS: I am thrilled. I am obviously happy. I beat Michael for the second straight time. He has given me a lot of problems in the past. The tennis, I felt, wasn't really all that great today. But I managed to get through it and served pretty well when I had to. But, you know, I am kind of surprised I went through this far because I really didn't know what to expect, because I didn't practice at all the last couple of weeks after Frankfurt. I played more golf than I did tennis. So it feels good to get through it.

PETE SAMPRAS: I mean, I really didn't feel that comfortable today. I really felt I didn't hit the ball that well. Maybe, you know, playing Michael for so many years has something to do with that. I don't think really any of us really felt that great because the court is so quick. It is really tough to get a good rhythm out there. Obviously, it is great for my serve and volley, and I managed to serve really well on the breakpoints, but I don't know what it looked like, but I felt like I didn't really hit the ball that great. Hopefully, it will get better tomorrow.

PETE SAMPRAS: You have to give him a lot of credit because he has really changed his game for the surfaces. He has gotten better on the grass and on indoor supreme; you have to give him a lot of credit. He has changed his game. Obviously, he is still a counter-puncher, but he is coming in more and mixing it up more and serving better, so you just have to give him a lot of credit. He realized in order to stay somewhere in the top 10, you have to be a bit more aggressive and he has done that. With the help of his brother Carl, I think he is going to be a player that is going to be around for a long time.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, exactly the same boat, basically. It is just a little extra Christmas money. But I definitely wanted to play well here, you know; try to end this, the third year, on a very positive note. Regardless of what happened here, obviously it has been a great year, didn't quite prepare really that well; didn't practice too much last couple of weeks, and, you know, I just, you know, here I am in the semis.

PETE SAMPRAS: That is a good question. Couple of different things I am looking at, but maybe a couple of jetskis, Wave Runner, something like that; that should be a good Christmas for me.

PETE SAMPRAS: Absolutely, I definitely needed to put the racket up and let my mind have a rest. Five straight weeks in Europe, playing pretty well, you know; I just needed to just get away. And I didn't hit a ball for about seven, eight days; maybe hit a couple of hours before I came here, which is great; which is something I definitely need. Just some down time to put the racket up and relax and just enjoy life, because obviously this tour is pretty tough sometimes and you know, I flew in here the day before it started, and, you know, you get a little lucky sometimes.

PETE SAMPRAS: A political question. I am not too good at these questions. Really, you were the first person that has mentioned that to me. I haven't heard about points being given here. I really would have to think about it. So I really can't answer it. Sorry.

PETE SAMPRAS: I don't have that much.

PETE SAMPRAS: Yeah, I gave a quarter of a million to Cerebral Palsy, which they ended up building a house in the Los Angeles area for people with Cerebral Palsy? I basically did that for my father, whose sister had it, and we have talked about if there was a moment that I can do something really nice for him, so it was a great opportunity three years ago to donate some money. And, as it turned out, I had a decision to either -- had a decision to either give it to a lab and do some science work, and maybe build a home, and that is what they have done. Basically they named it kind of a Pete Sampras home in the L.A. area for people with Cerebral Palsy.

PETE SAMPRAS: I haven't really thought about it too much. But I think Boris definitely has a lot of other things going on in his life, and Nick - who I know pretty well - is a great motivator, and maybe that is something that Boris needs is somebody to get him excited about playing the game and enjoying it. Again that is obviously a question you have to ask Boris. I have thought about it for two minutes since you asked the question.

PETE SAMPRAS: If I am playing the way I am playing?

PETE SAMPRAS: Am I unreachable? Thank you, that is a good compliment. Obviously, to duplicate what I did this year is going to be a pretty tough task. I definitely did get the breaks this year, especially with my Wimbledon victory. But I think one thing that I am doing well, I am still enjoying it. You can still have fun being No. 1, and I think a lot of guys in the past, I don't know if they can't handle the pressure or they think they can't handle it, but I seem to enjoy it. It is something that it is a a great achievement. I hope to stay No. 1 for as long as I can. The main thing is I am not putting too much extra pressure on myself. I am just going out there and playing the game I have always been playing for the last three, four years. That is really it. So I just -- just keep on enjoying it; have fun.