04/25/24
June 26, 2002
Sampras, Agassi and Safin all lose at Wimbledon: The #2 (Agassi), 3 (Safin) and 6 (Sampras) seeds are all gone early. It's been two years without a tournament title for Sampras, and now a second round defeat at his favorite Grand Slam. Time for Pete to retire?
posted by neuroshred to tennis at 02:26 PM - 12 comments
Well said, somethingotherthan. I was shocked at Agassi's loss and that it was in straight sets. At least Agassi's still a player to be feared. Pete is an almost guaranteed win for those who go up against him early in tournaments. There's something to be said for a great player preserving his myth of invincibility. Pete needs to get out before it gets embarrassing.
posted by neuroshred at 04:20 PM on June 26, 2002
Neuroshred: I think Pete's sense of pride is getting in his way. At Indian Wells, Yevgeny Kafelnikov said he thinks it's about time to leave, and I think that hurt Pete's feelings a little bit. He said when he starts listening to Yevgeny, that's when he'll give it up, but I think Kafel got to him a little. Kafel also told ESPN then that Pete has signed on for a renewed contract with his clothing company, so he might go out with less than a whimper. I could only hope that this loss, at Wimbledon, will make him see what the rest of us see already.
posted by somethingotherthan at 05:37 PM on June 26, 2002
And it appears I was right: "I wasn't at my best,'' [Pete] said. "But I felt like I was going to win the match, even though I was down two sets to love. "
posted by somethingotherthan at 05:48 PM on June 26, 2002
You forgot "requires registration". Sticking with my initial Henman and whichever the good Williams sister is, just wish I'd gone to the bookies as often as I did during the start of the World Cup. Knowing nothing of tennis it seems like a change of generations to me. Someone said (Fat Buddah I think) that it's the year of the underdog or something. Kinda right but class always tells, eventually.
posted by squealy at 06:36 PM on June 26, 2002
Pete might not know what else to do with his life -- he's lived and breathed tennis since forever. But given how inconsistent the men's field is and his still relatively young age, there's no reason to think that if he were to be able to refocus (and perhaps the best way for him to do that would be to take a break), he couldn't win another major or two before he's all done....
posted by ajax at 07:51 PM on June 26, 2002
Squealy: Sorry, I'm used to being about to read NYTimes because I've been on MeFi for about a year. I think the original logins for NYTimes was Metafilter/Metafilter. Ajax: "Inconsistent"? The fact that a lucky loser who couldn't even qualify for the draw beat the greatest grass court player of all time reveals just how DEEP the mens' field is. It's getting harder and harder to win matches, because everybody has brought up the level of "average". Pete is going to turn 31 during the US Open later this year. Very few players are successful enough to win majors into their 30s.
posted by somethingotherthan at 09:14 PM on June 26, 2002
Damn, being in my thirties, that last comment really made me feel old. But I've been thinking the same thing since the World Cup and Wimbledon. All the players in their prime are younger than I am and the "old horses" are my age. 30 and washed up. Honey! Hand me the liver pills, please? Hahahahahahaha.
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:40 PM on June 26, 2002
S'OK somethingotherthan I was registered anyway. That Metafilter/Metafilter login didn't work for me though. Probably just me being too stupid to be a MeFite.
posted by squealy at 02:57 AM on June 27, 2002
I think the NY Times login is mefi/mefi.
posted by salmacis at 04:24 AM on June 27, 2002
WorldCup: all of the good new players coming up are even younger than I am--the European players start the tour at 16 or 17. You could always hold onto the fact that Jimmy Conners played well into his 30's :)
posted by somethingotherthan at 09:24 AM on June 27, 2002
Many athletes in lower profile sports are successful at older ages. Of the elite players in my sport, I'm one of the younger ones at 36. Last year I won two world championship titles. It can be done, but there are lots more aches and pains. With Sampras and other aging tour players, the grind of playing year-round wears the body down. In the June 27 print edition of Tennis Week, ATP trainer Bill Norris said there were no tour players who were free of injury. Agassi had the luxury of a few mental breaks from the sport, and he's still going strong. Sampras drove himself for years, and he's lost the edge.
posted by neuroshred at 02:32 PM on June 27, 2002
This was definitely the day the seeds bled all over the courts at Wimbly. The only surprising loss, in my mind, was that of Agassi, in straight sets. Olivier Rochus has always given Marat Safin fits, and Pete Sampras didn't show up to his match until it was almost over. I've been wanting Pete to give it up even before his record 7th Wimbledon title. It's painfully obvious now that he's on the downward slope, and nothing he's done so far--change of coach and fitness routines--have helped him battle back. I say it's time for him to hang up his raquet and retire with a bit of dignity, but he probably won't do that. He says he'll play as long as he thinks he can still win a Slam--and coming into Wimbly, that thought was very strong in his mind. Agassi may be a year older, married, and a father, but he has rededicated himself 100% to the game, and still poses a threat in all the tournaments he enters. He's been down that road and back--but it's that rededication to fitness and practice that have carried Agassi over. Pete has never been one to practice before this year, and I think it might be too late. On another note, you really have to wonder if Tim Henman is being blessed this year. All of his potential final opponents have been knocked out, and though Lleyton Hewitt still lurks in his quarter, he's got to see that the draw has burst wide open and he has a GREAT chance and finally hoisting that trophy.