Sampras gets back in the swing

When Pete Sampras captured his first Grand Slam title at the 1990 U.S. Open, he did so in grand fashion, defeating legends Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals and John McEnroe in the semifinals. Then he defeated fellow young American Andre Agassi in the final to become the U.S. Open’s youngest male singles champion at the age of 19 years, 28 days.

Sampras, who captured 14 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven Wimbledon singles titles, concluded his career in similarly majestic fashion, defeating Agassi in the final of the 2002 U.S. Open before promptly retiring.

Sampras, who tallied a career singles record of 762-222, said he enjoyed the early months of retirement. But he has gotten antsy of late, which has led him to World Team Tennis.

Sampras lives in Palm Springs, making the Newport Beach Breakers the most geographically desirable team in the league.

He’ll make his Breakers’ debut tonight at 7 against the St. Louis Aces at the Palisades Tennis Club. It’s the only regular-season home match in which Sampras will play.

Sampras is slated to play six road matches during the regular season. He’s also scheduled to compete for the Breakers in the playoffs.

“Having Pete on the team for seven matches, plus the playoffs, is going to be a big thrill,” Breakers player Rick Leach said. “He’s arguably the best player ever.”

Sampras said he’s not looking to relive the past, which would be impossible, considering his storied history. He just wants to get back to having fun playing the game he has always loved.

“Well, I think [at the] end of last year, I was getting a little bit restless, maybe a little bored trying to figure out what was next for me,” Sampras said during a conference call with reporters Thursday. “I kind of opened myself up to playing this year, just to give me a little bit of structure in my day, a little bit of a focus.”

“Ilana [Kloss, the WTT CEO/Commissioner] and Billie [Jean King, WTT co-founder] have been asking me to play team tennis for quite a few years. I was at a place in my life where I was ready to play a little bit, and have some fun out there. I decided to play a few more dates than I originally thought. That was kind of how it all happened.”

Has Sampras trained enough lately to think he can compete at a level anywhere close to what he is accustomed to?

“I’m not killing myself out there,” Sampras said. “But, at the same time, I probably hit three, four days a week for about an hour and a half, getting to the gym for a little bit, just to get my body used to hitting some serves, moving around. Nothing like I used to be, but enough to get through some matches.”

In large part to fend off boredom, Sampras said he plans to make playing tennis more of a regular thing in his life.

“I’m actually going to play some more after World Team Tennis, a few exhibitions here and there just to give me a little bit of a focus,” Sampras said. “After my third year of retirement, I felt myself getting a little bit unfulfilled with what I was doing. I think playing tennis is something that I’m good at. I love to still play. This is something I can control with how much I can play and how much I need to practice and train. Nothing to kill myself, but something just to keep my week structured and do something I used to be pretty good at.”

Sampras said he’s not quite sure to what extent his competitive juices will flow once he steps on the court tonight against the St. Louis Aces, coached by former UC Irvine men’s coach Greg Patton.

“I’m a competitive person, especially on the tennis court,” Sampras said. “I’ll want to do well and win. But it’s not the cut-throat tennis that I used to be a part of. We’ll see what happens.”

Sampras has two sons with his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson. His oldest son, Christian Charles, was born Nov. 21, 2002. They also have a son, Ryan Nikolaos, who is less than a year old. Two of the three are slated to be in attendance tonight.

“I know my wife and older son will come up,” Sampras said. “The younger one is probably going to stay home.”

Sampras has spent much of his retirement looking after his sons and playing golf.

“There were moments when I got a little burned out and didn’t really find myself really filling my day with what I wanted to do,” he said. “I was kind of at home with my kids.

“I love being a part of that, seeing them grow up. But, at the same time, I’ve always worked. I’ve always had a structured day. When I first retired, I really enjoyed the [lack of] structure, really enjoyed the relaxation. No work, just kind of more play. After three years of that, I found myself waking up in the morning a little bit restless. I tell my wife a lot, ‘I need to find something. I need to start doing something.’

“Then I just kind of opened myself to seeing what was out there from the tennis standpoint, playing-wise.”

Sampras said he is friends with teammate Leach and knows Ramon Delgado a little bit, but hasn’t met his female teammates, Anastassia Rodionova and Tina Krizan.

He’s looking forward to the fun environment World Team Tennis provides.

“I’m just easing my way back into it,” Sampras said. “World Team Tennis is a great, fun arena that I’ve been a part of a few times playing the Elton John AIDS Foundation night. It’s a little fun to see some doubles, singles, mixed doubles, see a little bit of everything.