Pete Sampras User Feedback Page                                      1999-02-04  David Dees  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever           Ken, Amen, brother, on Sampras article. My wife and I have hated his presence for years. Before, Lendel was the bore of the game. But Sampras brings horrors to the game. You could have added his advantages in point system and crooked rankings by grand slam planners to his list. We will never watch him live or taped and cheer for him to lose whenever. Even boring Tod Martin is more of a winning personality. Get rid of Sampras, change the scoring and tennis will again take off. Waiting for Pete to disappear. Keep up your articles, David P.S. Please send your article to his web page. Interesting comments you make about the points system - especially considering the planned changes to it, which will give even more emphasis to the bigger events. The idea is to make more top players play at the Super Nine tournaments, by basically making the smaller tournaments have even less impact. It may well backfire! What do you mean by change the scoring? Are you referring to that horrible "no deuce" idea? Peter  1999-02-04  Lester Reeves  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras or Carlos Moya  Martina Hingis  John McEnroe  Gabriela Sabatini I think many of the points brought forth in this article are correct. The argument that was begun took a back seat to all that frustrated angst, however. What is to become of Pete Sampras? He has now skipped a major...the only tournaments that he truly cares about. When is his scheduled reappearance on the tour? Many tennis fans believe that this is the beginning of the end for the 27 year old. Will he come back at all and, if he does, what are the chances he will have the same desire or hunger to win another major I imagine he will make his comeback one or two weeks before Indian Wells. Peter  1999-02-03  Dean  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras  Monica Seles  Ivan Lendl  Martina Navratilova I believe that you were a little hard on Pete in your article. It may be true that other players are more apt to play Davis Cup and I am in no way defending his behavior, he's an accomplished individual and well capable of defending his actions. My point is personal feelings aside, he is without a doubt one of the best tennis players of all time. His record at the majors is beyond reproach. You mentioned Agassi, a great talent but a head case. For the past five years Pete has been constant, he has seen Agassi come and seen Agassi go and has beaten him both coming and going. The thing is, Agassi on his best day wishes his game was as complete as Pete's. Shure he has charisma, but so does Luke Jensen and what has he done lately. If you want flash, take Agassi but if you want realized talent you better put your money on Pete because day in and day out for the past five years or so he has been the best in the world period. If you want proof ask Boris Becker, Pete sent the man into retirement. He singlehandedly took Wimbeldon away from one of the great serve and volleyers of all time. Boris by his own admission said that Pete's game was bigger than his. At the end of his career the history ledger won't show Pete haning from a tree or include an article about how bland a personality he was, it will show his accomplishments and who can argue with 10 Grand Slam wins and counting. If you don't believe that his major wins will be the talk of the day, I'll refer you to golf. Arnold Palmer is/was no doubt he most charismatic personality that sport has ever seen, Jack Nicalaus, a machine in his youth,had about as much charisma as a doorknob. It wasn't until the Golden Bear turned golden did he become a more affable character. For all Arnie's charm, Jack's ecord of 20 majors stands unparalled and based on that record and sixty plus tournament victories he is widely reguarded the best ever to pick up a club. The bottom line is, in fifty years who will give a flying squirre! l about Pete's personality or a lack thereof, most people won't remember, but they will remember his name for undoubtedly it will be circulated in the same circles as the and Rod Lavers and Don Budges as one of the Greats of All Time. Agassi's byline if he even gets an honorable mention will read "One of the most troubled and inconsistent players in the history of the game, but he was a great showman." I won't argue with you about Pete's lack of personality or behavior concerning Davis Cup, or even his arrogance off the court, but to watch him play tennis, is to watch a master with an unassailable command of his craft. If you are a student of tennis and I belive that you are, you can't argue with that. Sampras actually won 11 majors so far ... and I would say that his record at the French Open is not entirely beyond reproach. I also hardly think Becker was a serve and volleyer, let alone one of the greatest of all time. He was serve ... and lunge. But I take your point.  1999-01-24  Michelle  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Gambill  NZ    NZ Great article Ken! By the way, anyone catch Pete on the Len show a week before the AO? Anyone besides myself see him at the Bob Hope golf tournament this week? Well, he's there. Want some American classy guys? Todd Martin and Jan-Michael Gambill fill those roles. There are so many people who are worthy of the title "hero" in tennis, and Pete is obviously one who is not.  1999-01-25  Ekaterina  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Goran Ivanisevic  Martina Hingis  Bjorn Borg  Billy Jean King Pete Sampras?, Yes, he has a great game. Great first serve, outstanding second serve, great forehand, even better running forehand. Very good anticipation, fast reflexes, etc, etc, etc. No, he doesn't seem to have a plan B, his A plan seems to always work, and when it is not, he just needs to play plan A a little better and that does it. Is that a sign of a heart for the game?. I would say is a sign of a will to get to HIS goals. Heart for the game of tennis?: Hmmmm. Athletic?, yes. Good shape?, no (whatever medical reasons he may have), and shouldn't complain about a season he's not even playing completely as other players do, just because he doesn't feel like playing it (or can't play it). Attractive to the press?: It is a matter or personality, not of behavior. Even he should understand that he can't fake charisma. I've heard the comment: "I used to like him and now I don't" many times (I myself make it), and I guess we used to like him because even if he kept to himself he seemed to be genuine, and now he seems to be testing behaviors just to see which makes him popular: Arrogant like Andre, or classy like Edberg, or maybe throw tantrums like Goran?. No, Pete, just be yourself. On his complaint "the US people are not interested in me": How about playing for the US with heart?, not only when Image-is-everything asks him to. Tennis fans in the US adored McEnroe and do cheer for Courier a lot, because they have seen them give it hard for the US. Even Agassi (ugh!) has gone out of his ways at DC and at the Olympics for a victory for the US. It seems to me Sampras has been spending too much of his efforts lately in trying to achieve individual gains, and I'm not criticizing him for that, but he shouldn't expect the world to follow him in his (I repeat:HIS) road to HIS goals. In his quest for being "popular" and "attractive" he has lost fans, in my opinion. Great game?, YES. Greatest of the players?, hmmmmmmmm, I guess I would say NO.  1999-01-22  Ivy  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   Rukawa, am I being defensive? Because I honestly don't think so. Like you, I'm just giving my two cents worth. I understand you were being sarcastic, that's why I was sarcastic in my response as well. However, feel free to take my responses any way you want. :-) You may have seen him brush off kids on more than one occasion, but I assume you must have seen him sign autographs for them as well on more than one occasion? I don't see him personally as often as you do but the few times I did, he has been nice about signing autographs, even have one to prove it. :-) You see, I'm not trying to defend him if he indeed said those words to those kids. If he doesn't want to sign autographs, he could have declined in a kinder manner. But being an unknown entity, except to my family and friends, I cannot even begin to fathom the pressure and hassle of being hounded day to day by other people. Hey, even Rafter recently said he doesn't want to smile all day for people. While what he said (if he did say those words) necessitates a reprimand, I don't think that makes him a monster either. Ivy since told me, just to be clear, that she was talking about a reprimand for Sampras, not Rafter. If memory serves me correctly, the only time he complained of lack of attention was this year. To be exact, in Hannover, when not a single American journalist bothered to show up. So it's not like he's been sulking about lack of media coverage his whole career. Correct me if I'm wrong about that. And don't worry, I don't revere Pete Sampras. I just admire the guy a lot. I don't think he's God either. Er, well ok, maybe a tennis god. ;-)  1999-01-21  Rukawa  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever           To Ivy, and everyone else: I just want to clarify this. I DO NOT think that Pete Sampras faked his vomiting, or paid off a doctor to tell the world that he was sick. However I do think that he, like everyone else on the tour, will exaggerate their injuries or fatigue in a match.  1999-01-21  rukawa  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Haas  Graf  Edberg  Graf To Ivy: No, I don't think that Sampras deliberately vomited all over the court. I was being sarcastic. I agree that it's a shame that most Americans don't care about Sampras and his quest to be king of tennis history. And I'm glad we agree that he could do more to promote his sport. You say, His foremost responsibility is go out there and play high-level, high-quality tennis. He does his job better than any of his contemporaries. How can you better promote a sport than playing it the highest level you're capable of?" Sure, playing excellent tennis is the best thing one can do to promote the sport. But it's not the only thing. And no, I don't think he should spit at line judges and dye his hair. He could do a lot more to get people excited about the sport though. Instead, in person he has a rather unreachable aura about him, one that gives the impression that he wants people to back off. I've seen him brush off autograph seeking kids (on more than one occasion in more than one venue) with comments like, "I signed autographs yesterday, I'm not signing a thing today. Don't bother! me." Meanwhile you have these nine, ten-year-old kids who are just crushed. What kind of thing is that to say? I guess that's my biggest problem with him. He complains about the lack of attention on him, on the sport of tennis, but what has he done for it? Of course tennis is not as popular in the US as it is in the rest of the world, but that could be changed. It seems like he spends more time feeling sorry for having no attention paid upon him, when he could doing _something_ offcourt to promote it. There, that's my two cents for the day. I hope we can have a debate, discussion, whatever you want to call it, without either of us getting defensive. After all, he's just a tennis player, not God.  1999-01-20  Christine  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   Wow, it's good to see the support for Pete! I'm glad I'm not alone. Well, Peter, if you wanted a response, you certainly got one, eh? :) First of all, I worry about Pete's conditioning physically sometimes, so I won't dispute that. What I disagreed with was what you said about Pete lacking the heart. I don't think anyone can stay on top for six straight years and win so many slams with talent alone. It seems to me that a player would also need the will to be committed to the game, and it seems to me that the fact Pete has done so indicates he has more heart than you say he does. I'm also not sure about what you mean by all of Pete's incredible comebacks in matches (ie '96 quarters) as not being genuine. Do you mean to say that Pete was somehow faking being physically sick, and then was full of himself for coming back? I'm not totally clear on that and I'm sure that's not what you meant, so I wonder if you could clarify that. Ah. No, the point I made, about the comeback against Courier in particular, was that there was no plan B. No change of game. He kept hitting that weak high heavily spun backhand into Courier's backhand corner. There was no change to, say, serve and volley, something Hingis has been known to do (although not recently, and look: she's number two). I think Rukawa agreed, and suggested that if there was a change in tactics, it was a change to faking an injury, or fatigue. And I'm not sure what's wrong with Pete taking pride in those types of matches. In 1996, for instance, Pete was glad to "win one for Gully" at the U.S. Open quarters. As for Pete's relationship with the press, by my "many enemies in the press" statement, I didn't mean to imply that all tennis journalists sit in a dark little room, scheming about how to make Pete Sampras look as bad as possible. I think that Pete does have a lot of people against him, though, at least from the newspapers that I've read here in the United States. He's had to put up with the "why are you so boring" drivel for years. It's true that the press is apathetic towards tennis overall, but that doesn't mean that that has stopped them from pounding on Pete. I expect every athlete in the public eye to have some critics, but I think that Pete's list of critics is exceptionally long. You should see Rios's list! As for the new issue that's come up with the Australian Open, I think it's that Pete wants to get off to a better start for the season than he did last year, and that he wants to preserve his body, not that he lacks the motivation. Not playing at all ... not the best start! It seems to me that whenever Pete does anything, you're willing to assume the worst. Overall, though, I'm not sure how much headway we're going to make in this little debate. Perfectly reasonable people can interpret the same events and comments in a variety of ways, so we'll have to agree to disagree on a lot of things about Pete. Well, that's my soapbox for now and sure, I'll definitely keep coming back if I have something to say. Please do!  1999-01-19  Ivy  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   I remember Pete Sampras saying that the criticisms he's been receiving made him a cynical person. But Rukawa's message and his implication that Sampras DELIBERATELY threw up on court would make Sampras re-analyze how cynical he is. Because compared to that comment, I would think Sampras is a very sensitive guy! I guess Sampras paid the physician who attended him after the match to tell the press that he received two liters of IV treatment, huh? I always thought that Sampras is a smart guy, but never did it occur to me that he could have planned such a brilliant strategy to win a match! Gasp, this man is not smart, he's a genius! (Hey, Peter can I add this in my argument on why Pete has the mind?) I'm afraid that I am going to have to disallow that. See, Rukawa was being cynical. I think he did not at all intend to seriously suggest that vomiting is Sampras's plan B. I suspect he was a little more serious about the pained look, and the clutching at bodyparts. Those are tactics that have been used by many players, of course, but perhaps never with the same verve and enthusiasm. Rukawa, you say he's merely a good player? While I will not say he is the best player EVER, I do believe he is one of the best players of all time. If he is just another of so many good players, I don't think that arguments of him being the best ever would even be discussed by tennis fans, journalists and the players themselves. He complains about not getting press, yes. He could do a lot more in promoting his sport in the US, yes. I agree. But like you said, playing tennis is his job. His foremost responisibility is go out there and play high-level, high-quality tennis. He does his job better than any of his contemporaries. How can you better promote a sport than playing it the highest level you're capable of? Steffi Graf wrote an article for a German magazine during the Hannover event. She mentioned how unfortunate it is that Sampras is trying to achieve a great record but no one in America seems interested. The people in Germany appreciated Sampras' effort but it seems too much to ask from his countrymen to do the same. Was Sampras whining about lack of attention? Yes, you can call it that. Was what he was complaining about valid? Definitely. When a great record is being established and people are more interested in what color Dennis Rodman dyed his hair this time, then you're right Rukawa, it is indeed "poor sport of tennis".  1999-01-19  Ivy  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   Thank you for sharing that Pete Sampras used to be your favorite. But then that doesn't change the fact that you're being too hard on the guy with your criticisms NOW. If you think Sampras does not have the right to complain about the long season because he plays less tournaments than the other players, then fine. But I ask you the same question I asked in my previous message -- how does criticizing the number of tournaments reflect lack of heart for the game? An excellent question. I suppose a better way to put it would have been that it's not necessarily the criticism that looks bad, but the fact that he criticises when he hardly plays a match. Excuse the slight exaggeration. A bit of interesting statistics on this point: IRON MAN: Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov could teach Pete Sampras a thing or two about hard work. The world's No. 1 player has skipped the Australian Open, citing fatigue suffered last year. But the ATP Tour has released statistics that show Kafelnikov was the true iron man in 1998, playing 150 matches, or 27 more than the second-hardest worker, Pat Rafter. Sampras placed 10th with 82. Of the top 10, nine players also competed in the Davis Cup. American Sampras was the odd man out. Doesn't that just say it all? I like the point that was made that Sampras says he wants to catch Emerson's record. Emerson was involved in winning no less than 8 Davis Cup titles. I agree, part of having the heart for the game means getting yourself physically fit. Doesn't Sampras? Sure, I'd be the first to admit that he doesn't work as hard in his training as Rafter or Courier or Chang. But neither does he have an unorthodox training regimen as say, Karsten Braasch. You yourself said it, athletes get injured. As Rafter proved, you get injured no matter how superior an athlete you are. You criticize Sampras for not participating in the AO. Then you give praises to a guy like Rafter whom you seem to conveniently forget withdrew from the ATP Tour World Championships. I just don't get the logic behind that. Unless you really dislik the guy so much that everything he does, you cast in a bad light. Pat Rafter pulled out because of an injury, not because of fatigue. And he pulled out at the end of the season, not at the start of it, following a five or six week rest. Big difference! Do you really think that the only reason Sampras stayed on top for so long is because he has the game? I wonder then how the likes of Kafelnikov and Korda never reached no.1 if game is all that is needed to be no.1. For you, Sampras has the game but no heart (because he complains too much and is not in the best physical shape) and no mind (because he doesn't have a business degree and didn't get motivated enough to play in this year's AO). We'll never agree. So I guess the best thing is for you to continue in your belief that Sampras' records and achievements came from solely from him having the game. And I'll continue in my belief that talent, by itself, couldn't have made him achieve so much, that hard work, determination and mental strength all played a role as well. Done! Peter  1999-01-19   rukawa  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Tommy Haas  Steffi Graf  Stefan Edberg  Steffi Graf Ivy says: "He was talking about tennis, wasn't he? He was talking about being able to think on the court, being able to plan a strategy, being able to figure out what to do when your game isn't working, being able to go to plan B when plan A simply isn't enough. He was talking about mental toughness. Being able to handle the pressure of being on top. Being able to go on when you've been unchallenged on top so long it's hard to get motivated." Oh, so I suppose this means that Sampras's version of a "plan B" is to either vomit or clutch at various body parts and look pained. Please. He's a good player, but certainly not the best. He whines about having a "'tough' schedule" when the rest of the tour has to deal with the exact same thing! I didn't hear Yevgeny Kafelnikov complaining about his 130+ match schedule. Once upon a time, Sampras was a nice guy. A classy guy. But the nice, classy guy turned into someone just flat out full of himself. Yes, it was so big of him to grace the fall European tournaments with his presence. Oh, how grand of him to spend six weeks of his time to play tennis, which, if I remember correctly, is his job. He complains about not getting any press, but what has he done to promote his sport, or himself to the world? Nothing. His attitude is just of "poor me." No, not "poor me." It should be "poor sport of tennis." There's nothing I need to add to this! Peter  1999-01-19  Csilla  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   Peter - Ivy said it so well about your treatment of Pete Sampras that there's not much to add. So instead let me quote from your own reply: "I, Peter, admit that I should probably have given comeback of the year to Agassi. But I don't like the guy, do not like his "image is everything" view on tennis, do not like his conduct on court, the swearing and the spitting. No way was he getting an award from me." There you said it. Like Ivy said, the real comeback player of the year WAS Agassi, like or not the man, his ascend was impressive. But since you DO NOT LIKE the guy, you were not ready to consider his record and chose instead such a bogus comeback like Patrick Rafter ("lack of inspiration" - maybe he was the one lacking "the heart?") rather lack of ability to play well on any other surface than hardcourt - amply proven by his miserable indoor record. There goes objectivity. Rafter did not get down on himself because of a lack of abaility to play other surfaces. Keep in mind, would you, that he got so down on himself following the clay court and American hard court season. Since he reached the semis of Roland Garros in 1987, and the final at St Poelten, surely he is able to play on clay. As for hard courts, no need to even go into that. As for Agassi, I do not just dislike the guy. I do not approve of his conduct, I think he is often a disgrace. That means he does not get an award, indeed. Should I suspect that you do not like Pete Sampras and that's the sole reason why he received all these comments from you? You should not, no. "Heart for your sport, to me, means not complaining that the schedule is too full, when everyone else has that same schedule. Heart for your sport means not skipping one of its four major events!" Heart for your sport means not speaking up for your game and the improvement of its conditions even if you have a valid point (which has been further underscored by the recent injury-withdrawals); it also means playing a grueling tournament when you are not ready, then probably lose early and disappoint the fans. It means uncritical acceptance of everything. Yeah, right. It means making sure you are ready! PS. If there was a not-so-nice moment of the year that was rather the ball-toss incident of Andre Agassi and not Pete's justified, although maybe too vocal protest against a bad line call. But I guess you just dislike the guy too much. That was a bad moment too. It had already been mentioned, and I did not witness it myself. Hence my pick of an equally disturning moment. Surely there is room for more than one moment! Peter  1999-01-19  Ivy  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   The reasons you gave for not giving the comeback award to Agassi, well, I'm not going to defend Agassi and argue for the guy because I don't really care about him. But that kind of attitude/reasoning is exactly what prompted me to send a feedback - you obviously don't like Sampras and thus criticize him no end and refuse to give him credit. I couldn't care less if you give all your awards to Rafter. Afterall, they're your awards to give out. I just felt I had to say my piece after all the criticis you've dished out on Sampras. Fair enough. I would like to point out, though, that for several years (about three of them) Sampras was in fct my favourite player. I just got very fed up with him. I am not saying that Pete Sampras has the game ALL THE TIME. What I am saying is Pete Sampras has the game, period. I reacted to this because of the impression your words had on me. You seem to be having a hard time giving Sampras even the tiniest bit of credit. It seemed like since you had no way out of saying Sampras has the game, you had to add that "sometimes" just so you wouldn't give him an outright compliment. But anyway, having you change your claim of Sampras having the game "sometimes" to "most of the time" is good enough for me. :-) Pete Sampras does not have heart for his sport because he claims the schedule is too full? I don't get how that reflects lack of passion for your sport. Does that mean you have heart for the game if you accept blindly your sport and think it's perfect as it is? Does having a heart mean you can't point out what you think are areas in your sport that can be improved? And he's not even alone in this. Becker, Agassi, Rafter, Rios, Rusedski, to name a few are those who said the same thing -- that the season is too long, and it would be nice if tennis has a longer off-season. Do they lack heart too? And even if he alone said that, wouldn't the injuries to top players every time the season comes to a close somehow gives validity to that statement? And even the most fit athletes (like Pat Rafter) withdraw from tournaments because of injuries and because of physical fatigue. Athletes get injured in any and all sports - even billiards. The thing is that Pete Sampras plays maybe half as many matches as some people do. Yes, to me that takes away his right to complain a lot. Skipping one of the biggest tournaments in your sport would reflect lack of heart IF he did it for no reason. If he had been like Jana Novotna who had skipped the AO because she doesn't like the surface, then criticize him. I'd even join you in your criticisms. But don't you think physical exhaustion is a good enough reason? Would his heart for his sport be more evident for you if he played just for the sake of playing and showing up then promptly lose in the first round? Did Lendl lacked heart for his sport because he skipped the French Open in order to prepare better for Wimbledon? Even though your dislike for Pete Sampras is so obvious, can you honestly say this is a guy who'd pass up the opportunity of playing in a Grand Slam if he doesn't have a good reason? You're saying Sampras is not motivated enough to play the Australian Open? Again, can I ask you to give the guy the remotest benefit of the doubt? Because I seriously doubt that lack of motivation is what prevented him from playing in the AO. If at all, the only thing left in his career to achieve is the grand slam record so I don't think he'd have to look very far to find motivation in playing at the AO. Keep in mind that this is not the guy who lost in the early rounds of his first two tournaments of the year then gave as an excuse lack of motivation when he hasn't even reached no.1 yet! Wouldn't heart for the game mean: "make sure you're in enough shape to play at least the Grand Slams"? I like the point you make about Novotna, though. Does it not strike you as odd that Sampras is the first number one player in almost 20 years to skip the first grand slam of the year (since Borg did it, when the Australian Open was all but defunct, and it was the last grand slam of the year when he did it). I am not saying Sampras comes close to Martina Hingis when it comes to thinking out there on the court. I merely pointed that out to make a point that just because Sampras does not have a business degree like Paul Haarhuis, it doesn't mean he does not have the mind for the game. Now please do me a favor and answer this question for me. If, like what you say, Sampras has the game (sometimes) but no heart and mind, how did he manage to stay on top for six consecutive years? Could it be on the basis of his serve alone? I can hear Krajicek, Philippoussis, Rusedski and Ivanisevic exclaiming "surely not!" This must mean he has a lot of the game, then. That should make you well pleased! Because, no, he does not have the heart. And no, he does not have the mind. Peter  1999-01-19  krambear  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Tommy Haas  Patty Schnyder  Stefan Edberg  Steffi Graf >>Oh come on, you're obviously twisting the facts and distorting the meaning of what was said (just like you did with the "Comeback Player of the Year" -- if you really wanted to give the award to someone who reached his "absolute low" then getting himself up again, you should have given it to Agassi)<< The awards are given by the editors of "On The Line," based on what they think. If Peter feels that Rafter deserved the Comeback Player of the Year award, then that's his decision! He shouldn't have to worry about his choice being slammed. If you want so badly to give Agassi a Comeback Player of the Year award, then why don't you start a magazine and make up your own awards? It's a matter of opinion. You feel that since Agassi crawled out of his hole and played like player of his caliber should, he deserves the award. Peter feels that since Rafter overcame a slump (though not nearly as horrendous as Andre's) and managed to dominate the summer circuit, he made the best comeback. I fail to see where he twisted facts. Thank you. Peter  1999-01-19  BagTag  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Todd Martin  Monica Seles     Hi Meghann Thanks for sharing with all of us. I have enjoyed reading your diary. Good Luck in your 1st round match. Maybe you will meet up with Steffi in the 2cd round and we may actually get to watch some of your match.  1999-01-16  Chris  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Henman  Zvereva  Ashe  Zvereva Thank you so much for the time you are spending!! It is great to see you work so hard for a goal and strive for the best. I hope you do well at OZ!! Good Luck...and keep up the good work!  1999-01-16  tom rice  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    agassi  marina hingis  bobby riggs  chris evert for the first time i have a feel for the work and devotion that pros have for the game. and, the importance of the mental game. riggs was a master of the mental game.  1999-01-15  Ivy Sta.Maria  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   I was trying not to say anything, guess I failed. :-)I've been wanting to offer my input on this "Mr. Game, Heart, Mind" thing for a long time that I decided to do just so. Be forewarned though that now that I've decided to say my piece, this will be a long one. Telling the truth -- that you need the game, heart, mind to stay on top for so long, and that his six-years-at-no. 1 might never be broken -- does not make him a monster who looks down at everyone else. Okay, so I'd rather he did not say that out loud if only to cut out the backlash against him. He should've have known better than to say something so "quotable" that the press would obviously lap it up and use it as an excuse to give him the "flop of the year award" and criticize him as a person (something they've been attacking since there's not much to attack about his game). You said he has the game, SOMETIMES. Are you kidding? Does it really hurt that much to give this guy some praise? Let me quote Stefan Edberg then: "I think that Pete is the most complete player ever. There have been a lot of great players, but they didn't master all the shots as perfectly as Pete." I hope you don't mind, but I think I'd take Edberg's analysis of Pete's game over yours. I would take Edberg's analysis over mine any time as well. But, is it not obvious that no-one has the game all the time? How else can you explain Sampras having a losing record, not just a single loss, to someone like Haarhuis? Obviously, we all have our bad days. But sure, he has the game most of the time. I'm sure Stefan would agree with me! About having a heart. Yes, he does. I'm not going to point out the DC finals in Moscow in 95 or the US Open 96 quarterfinals or those matches against Larsson or Courier at Australian Open 95 (oooops, guess I just did. :-) ) to stress my point. Because for me, you don't necessarily have to be losing then win in a dramatic fashion at the end to show you have heart (that is so obvious and such a cliché!). Having the heart for the game means being passionate about your sport, loving what you do and continually trying to improve your game. Having a heart means to show your determination in reaching your goals. It doesn't have to be dramatic. Just be there day after day, compete, do your best. For me, that's heart. And Pete Sampras certainly does that. Heart for your sport, to me, means not complaining that the schedule is too full, when everyone else has that same schedule. Heart for your sport means not skipping one of its four major events! As for that 1996 quarter final, I may be getting back to that. The mind. Oh come on, you're obviously twisting the facts and distorting the meaning of what was said (just like you did with the "Comeback Player of the Year" -- if you really wanted to give the award to someone who reached his "absolute low" then getting himself up again, you should have given it to Agassi) just so you could criticize Sampras. Do you really honestly think that the mind Sampras referred to is a college degree? That he was talking about how high your IQ is? I believe that Martina Hingis has the best mind in the game. And I don't think she has finished high school as well. He was talking about tennis, wasn't he? He was talking about being able to think on the court, being able to plan a strategy, being able to figure out what to do when your game isn't working, being able to go to plan B when plan A simply isn't enough. He was talking about mental toughness. Being able to handle the pressure of being on top. Being able to go on when you've been unchallenged on top so long it's hard to get motivated. I, Peter, admit that I should probably have given comeback of the year to Agassi. But I don't like the guy, do not like his "image is everything" view on tennis, do not like his conduct on court, the swearing and the spitting. No way was he getting an award from me. Actually, Rafter came back from a lack of inspiration. Agassi, all he did was come back from a lack of commitment. I agree that Martina Hingis has probably the best tennis brain out there. I do not think Sampras's is even close. He does not need it - he has that serve. I don't think I have seen him come up with a plan B, either. Perhaps you can point out a match to me where he seemed to be losing, and then managed to turn it around by changing his tactics. The comeback against Courier in the 1995 Australian Open, that was about playing the same game, but playing it better (and I think Courier let him off the hook). No change in game plan. Would you be referring to being able to get motivated enough to play one of the four major events of the year? Surely not. Peter van Mierlo So yes, "Mr. Game, Heart, Mind". That's Pete Sampras. And I admire him for it. :-) Christine also had something to say!  1999:01:14  François Donny  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Korda  Seles  Becker  Seles Hi Meghann, it is still very interesting to read your diary, to have a different kind of information about how tennis players live... Best regards for the upcoming tournaments Dear Francois, I'm glad you're enjoying my diary. Thanks for your support. Meghann  1999:01:14  Christine  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pete Sampras    Pete Sampras   Well, it's me again. :) Believe it or not, I enjoy reading the articles here. Otherwise, I wouldn't keep coming back. For the most part, the year end awards were on the money. I have to disagree, however, with what Peter said about Pete flopping as a human being. I will concede that Pete didn't have his best year in 1998. I will also concede that there seems to be a contradiction in Pete's comments about physical and mental durability. I don't, however, agree with all of your attacks on Pete's character. If you want to talk about heart and mind, I don't see how anyone can stay #1 for six years and have the second highest number of Grand Slams in all of history without them. To me, a true champion is someone who can win even when the physical resources aren't there, who has the will to pull through. To me, Pete being able to win even when the end is near is something to be praised, not condemned. As for the question of humility, it seems to be a lose-lose situation for Pete. When he is humble, he gets attacked as "boring" or lacking "charisma". When he takes the time to appreciate what he's done, he's "arrogant". Pete's many enemies in the press will hate Pete no matter WHAT he does or says, so he might as well say what he really feels. Going back to the heart and mind issue for just a moment, I think Pete must have a great deal of it for this game if he's willing to keep on going, even with these attacks coming left and right. When he says his six year streak won't be reproduced, I didn't find it offensive at all. Among the current group of players, I don't see anyone who I think can be #1 for six years. They might seize it temporarily, but not as long as Pete has. Rather than resorting to fake modesty, I was glad to hear Pete savor his achievement. As far as I'm concerned, Pete shouldn't sell himself short, since there are plenty of people willing to do that for him. I hope none of this sounds unreasonable, but I really did disagree with some of what you said and I always speak my mind. Even as a Pete fan, I'm interested in other perspectives and I'd be interested in your response. Click here to see what Christine said earlier Hey, we will gladly believe you like reading our articles, and we very much appreciate that you keep coming back. Spread the word, tell other people to visit as well! I agree that winning in spite of adversity is something to be praised. I also am not convinced that it is all always genuine. I do not doubt for a moment that he physically in trouble at times, but he seems to be there a little too often, seems to revel in it a little too much. This was not really the point I was trying to make, anyway. Thing is, I would sooner admit that Sampras has so much talent that he was able to be #1 for six years in spite of not having a lot of heart than I would admit that he really has that much heart. The whole mental and physical durability discussion has gotten even more interesting with Sampras's withdrawal from the Australian Open. Still trying to physically recover from that end of season effort that saw him play, what, 1 match in Lyon, 5 in Vienna, 2 or 3 in Stuttgart, 3 or 4 in Paris, 1 in Stockholm, and 4 in Hannover. I think that averages out to between 2 and 3 matches per week. And it's been six weeks since then. If you're still trying to recover, you have no claim of being much of an athlete. I think, on the subject of humility, that Sampras was never said to be boring because of being humble. He was said to be boring because he did not misbehave. I never did agree that players ought to misbehave. I'm a bit disturbed by the phrase "Pete's many enemies in the press". I never have had any impression at all that he has enemies in the press. The press simply does not care about tennis, not in the US, anyway. We really appreciate your feedback, and we certainly aim to be as openminded as you are! Thank you, Peter van Mierlo  1999:01:13  jeff  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Jimmy Connors  Chris Evert  Jimmy Connors  Chris Evert Thanks to Meghann Shaughnessy for sharing her wonderful diary with us. It makes me appreciate how tough a life these young women lead. My only hope is despite all the trials, losses and wins, Meghann will have the time to enjoy herself and take t! he time to smell the roses so to speak. I wish her all the best in her upcoming tournaments, and hopefully I'll get to see her play one of these days. Jeff Dear Jeff, Thanks a lot for your feedback. You are right, the most important thing is to enjoy yourself. Sometimes I lose perspective of things but the older and more experienced I become the more I'm starting to enjoy every day. Thank you, Meghann  1999:01:11  Paul  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pat Rafter    Pat Rafter   Meg, please do not be so hard on yourself! I've seen many top players unable to convert on game points, getting percentages in the single figure range. Those things happen. Also, Panova did go on a little run, making it through to the main field, so it's not like you lost to some useless player. As for wanting to get away from it all, not being around tennis for a while, there's nothing wrong with that. You do want to pick up that cheque, though :-) Dear Paul, Thank you very much for your positive feedback. I really appreciate your kindness in taking the time to cheer me up. I hope you continue to follow my diary!! Sincerely, Meghann  1999:01:08  Michelle  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Jan-Michael Gambill  NZ  ?  NZ I think it's really cool that you are sharing your experiences on and off the tennis court with us. Thanks for taking the time to do this for us, the fans, and choosing On The Line magazine as your "publishers." Good luck and best wishes for a great! 1999 year. :-)  1999:01:07  Chris  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Tim Henman  Natasha Zvereva  Arthur Ashe  Natasha Zvereva Sorry to hear about your loss Meghann. I was pulling for you back here in the States. Silvia is a very tough competitor, and she was trying to redo her excellent results that she had there last year. I wish you the best of luck in the future and at! AO!!! GO USA!!!!  1999:01:07  Joe  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Pat Rafter  Jana Novotna  Bjorn Borg   To Meghann Shuaghnessy: Just wanted to say I think your diary entries are very well written. I'm a writer by profession and could never keep a daily journal. Good luck in Sidney! Dear Joe, Thank you for your support. I can't play in the mixed doubles because I don't have a ranking yet. You need to have played in three tournaments and I only have two. One of my goals this year is to get a decent doubles ranking. It will always be on the back burner for me but I think it can help improve my singles game. I probably will be going to Toronto this year! Thanks again, Meghann  1999:01:07  Mom  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever      Meghann Shaughnessy     Meghann, I love reading your diary. The details about your daily activities make it very interesting. It sounds like this first tournament is very comfortable for you and that you are able to find some beautiful spots to "escape" to, to gain composure. I think you constantly and thank you for the diary because it answers so many questions! I love you! MOM  1999:01:07  Bill shaughnessy  Favourite  male player  female player  male ever  female ever    Chang  Graf  Conners  Evert Meghann, what a great way to follow your progress when your so far away. your constantly improving your game. good luck in your next match, it's a huge one for you. who's ever idea this diary was, tell them i am passing this on for many others to ! review and follow. meghann,your the best and this will be your year. Cheers, Dad Thanks, I thought it was a good idea too. Peter Click here to see feedback from 1998. Return to the On The Line home page.