TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : Half the Money, Double the Quality

When Pete Sampras lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year, he said he was relieved, which seemed like sort of an unusual reaction because he won it the year before.

When Sampras lost to Stefan Edberg in the U.S. Open final two weeks ago, he had a much different reaction.

“A great chance I let slip away,” Sampras said. “Basically, it just slipped through my hands. You don’t really appreciate how important a (Grand Slam tournament) title is until it’s over--when you wake up Monday morning.

“It still hurts to lose, (but) it hurts a lot more when you’re not playing well and not feeling well.”

Sampras had stomach cramps in this year’s semifinal match against Jim Courier and rushed off the court as soon as it was over. Sampras had a temperature of 102 degrees and was dehydrated, so was treated intravenously to replenish fluids.

At 4 p.m. the next afternoon, he was on the court playing Edberg in the final.

“It was just basically bad luck,” Sampras said.

“The tennis wasn’t all that great. The level of tennis was very mediocre at best,” he said. “I guess that’s the way it goes at times.”

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Always Open: This is not exactly covering new ground, but the U.S. Open doesn’t always get the best men’s singles final on Sunday when the semifinals are played on Saturday.

Simply, the U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam event that does not schedule a day off between the semifinal and final. Why? Because CBS wants it that way.

Sampras said he would be willing to take a fee reduction to change the schedule. The singles champion receives $500,000.

“The result was not a well-played match,” Sampras said. “I would take a huge pay cut to play Friday and Sunday.”

Sampras said $250,000 would be an acceptable winner’s share and thought his peers would agree.

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Special events: U.S. Davis Cup players Sampras and Andre Agassi are scheduled for local exhibitions.

Sampras meets Michael Chang at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Disneyland Tennis Challenge at the Bren Center at UC Irvine.

Agassi will play Mal Washington at the Forum, Nov. 24.

In another local event, Jack Kramer will be the honorary chairman of the 1992 Casa Colina World Wheelchair Tennis Invitational, Oct. 2-4 at the South End Racquet and Health Club in Torrance.

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Hat trick: No, the hat Agassi is wearing during Davis Cup play is not the same one he wore at Wimbledon. That hat is destined for something big--Agassi is putting together a keepsake of his Wimbledon ensemble, suitable for framing. It includes his hat, shirt, shorts, shoes, racket and tennis balls.

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Lists: According to Newsday, the three least charismatic players in tennis are: 1) Ivan Lendl; 2) Stefan Edberg; 3) Jim Courier.

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Money matters: The U.S. Tennis Assn. spent $50,000 to construct two clay courts for the U.S.-Sweden Davis Cup match--one at the Target Center in Minneapolis and a practice court at a private racket club in suburban Richfield.

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Money matters II: How much is it worth to play Davis Cup? With the United States in the final, Andre Agassi can make an estimated $300,000 if he is part of the team.

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Time travel: After watching 6 hours 37 minutes of Davis Cup tennis Friday night, Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune was not impressed.

Said Reusse: “It takes longer to get to the drama than it takes to get George Bush to debate.”

Reusse also wrote that the Twin Cities don’t need any more tennis tournaments because there are too many other things to occupy Minnesotans’ time.

Like what? “Winter,” Reusse said.