Visiting the Vatican and Pete does it again
Well the second most pretigious clay tournament starts today and it’s shaping up to be an exciting Masters. As the Rome Masters or in Italiano the Internazionali BNL d’Italia’s first round gets underway, it will be interesting to see what stories develop. The clay courts of Rome should definetely serve up some quality matches. Most of the top draw have the 1st round off to enjoy the sites of the city. So until the field is widdled down a bit, we’ll take a look at another developing story.
Pete Sampras.
Yep, good ole Pete. The man who made an avid fan a rabid fan after racking up 7 Wimbledon championships. Sampras is back and is once again a champion. He defeated Todd Martin in 2 sets yesterday at the Champion’s cup. Though it is a senior’s event, the competition was still stiff. And don’t think Pete at 35 is that much different than Pete at 30. Sure his lateral movement might be a bit slower. Sure his knees might not be as reliable. But he’s still Pete Sampras. Pete “14 Grand Slam titles” Sampras. He’s no pushover. And Martin knew it.
“I was thoroughly unprepared for a lot of what he had to offer,” said Martin, “The only recourse I had was to turn it into a tennis match rather than a skills test, because his skills are better than mine.”
Martin was right. Sampras’ skills were better. Sampras took down his old foe 6-3, 7-6 (11-9). This was Sampras’ first tournament trophy since 2002 and you can believe his competitive thrist isn’t quench just yet. Sorry Jim Courier and John McEnroe. You’ll just have to ice up those knees and eat your Wheaties. Sampras is back.
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