Sampras a Re-Bjorn Champion

The obstacle on the path to join Bjorn Borg in modern tennis history was familiar, but this time Pete Sampras felt like he was a passenger on a wild roller-coaster ride, hanging on until the brooding, long-haired Croatian relinquished control.

That moment did not come until the fifth set on Sunday. Fourteenth-seeded Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia wobbled, and top-seeded Sampras quickly assumed the upper hand, winning his fifth Wimbledon singles title, 6-7 (7-2), 7-6 (11-9), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

“Compared to all the finals, this by far was the toughest,” Sampras said. “I didn’t think I was quite in control of the match.”

He matched Borg’s modern record of five Wimbledon championships, and is now tied with Rod Laver and Borg with 11 Grand Slam singles titles, one behind all-time leader Roy Emerson.

It was the first time in 13 career Grand Slam finals Sampras was extended to five sets. He is 11-2, a winning percentage of .846. Emerson was 12-3 and Borg 11-5 in Grand Slam finals.

And to think the 26-year-old Sampras had been in something of a Grand Slam slump, or what amounted to one for him. This was his first Grand Slam title since winning Wimbledon last year.

“It’s overwhelming to think of myself in those terms,” said Sampras, who also won in 1993, ‘94, ’95 and ’97. “I’ve always tried to stay humble through all my accomplishments. It’s just hard to believe. Borg’s five [Wimbledons], I thought would never be broken. I think I’ve got some years left in me, that I can hopefully do this again.”

There is evidence supporting that contention. A year ago, he was so dominating, holding serve 116 of 118 times, that losing finalist Cedric Pioline said that Sampras does not allow you to “breathe against him.” This time, Sampras won although he did not play his very best tennis, a fact that left Ivanisevic a weary and wounded finalist. Ivanisevic now has lost three Wimbledon finals, twice to Sampras.

“It feels bad, I cannot describe it,” said Ivanisevic, who had 32 aces but double-faulted 20 times. “It is the worst moment in my life. I know I’ve had some bad moments when you are sick or somebody dies. Nobody died yet, but it’s tough.”

His despair showed. As Sampras celebrated, holding the trophy high in the air for the crowd and his supporters, among them, his girlfriend, actress Kimberly Williams, a distraught Ivanisevic sat in his chair, head buried in a towel.

He posed halfheartedly for the usual pictures and retreated.

“They told me to go one lap with the plate and I couldn’t,” Ivanisevic said. “ . . . It hurt the most because this time I had the chance, he didn’t play well.”

This was his best opportunity to win Wimbledon. He took the first-set tiebreaker, 7-2, clinching it with a service winner. The two played a tense second set, knowing the slightest miscue on grass would be costly. Sampras was seeing a different, determined Ivanisevic, as they exchanged early service breaks in the second.

Sampras broke first, but Ivanisevic broke back in the next game. They stayed on serve until the tiebreaker, which essentially decided the match. Ivanisevic had two set points, one at 6-5, and another at 8-7, with Sampras serving. Sampras missed his first serve on both, and Ivanisevic netted backhand returns. “I knew those two set points are going to my backhand,” Ivanisevic said. “I missed them both, which is ridiculous.”

Sampras won the tiebreaker, 11-9, when Ivanisevic knocked a forehand volley long and Sampras hit a service winner on his third set point. “A huge weight [lifted],” Sampras said. “I felt the match slipping away in the breaker, ‘I thought, ‘God, this could be Goran’s year.’ I managed to break him in the third, but I knew the match was far from being over. It’s a roller coaster out there.

“Playing Goran, you get no rhythm, you don’t know what’s coming.”

Ivanisevic found enough for one last stirring charge in the fourth set, breaking Sampras in the sixth game at 15, firing a cross-court passing shot on the run. He took the set, 6-3, and found himself running on empty in the fifth.

He said the 15-13 fifth set against Richard Krajicek in the semifinals cost him the match against Sampras, leaving him exhausted and spent. In the sixth game of the fifth set, Sampras broke him at 15 when Ivanisevic knocked a forehand half volley in the net. And that was the match.

Even Ivanisevic could not find solace in the upcoming World Cup semifinal, featuring his beloved Croatia against France.

“I cannot cheer anybody now,” he said. “I can only kill myself. But now I’m not good for anybody.”

Instead of making history for Croatia, he became part of Sampras’ history. And Sampras wasn’t quite so sure how to sum it all up on Sunday, saying he needed time for it to sink in. Even more difficult was when Sampras was asked about a report in a British paper saying he would get engaged to Williams. “No,” said Sampras, shaking his head. Then he took a sip of water and started choking.

He may choke on water, but not on Centre Court. “I’m probably more comfortable on this court than any other court in the world,” Sampras said. “With the surroundings, and the ball kids and everything, it just seems like it’s comfortable. It’s like my practice court. You just get used to it.”

Just the way Borg and Laver got used to it.

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SAMPRAS’ MAJOR IMPACT

MOST GRAND SLAM TITLES

Roy Emerson, Australia: 12

Pete Sampras, United States: 11

Bjorn Borg, Sweden: 11

Rod Laver, Australia: 11

Bill Tilden, United States: 10

Four tied with 8

WIMBLEDON SINGLES TITLES

7: William Renshaw, Britain

1881-86, 1889

*

5: Pete Sampras, United States, 1993-95, 1997-98

Bjorn Borg, Sweden, 1976-80

H. Laurie Doherty, Britain, 1902-06

*

4: Reggie F. Doherty, Britain, 1897-1900

Anthony Wilding, New Zealand, 1910-13

Rod Laver, Australia, 1961-62, 1968-69

SAMPRAS’ MAJOR VICTORIES

Wimbledon (5): 1993-95, 1997-98

U.S. Open (4): 1990, 1993, 1995-96

Australian Open (2): 1994, 1997

At a Glance

MEN’S PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN

* Singles winner: Pete Sampras, $722,100

* Runner-up: Goran Ivanisevic, $361,050

* Semifinalists: Tim Henman, Richard Krajicek, $180,525

* Quarterfinalists: $93,873

* Round-of-16 losers: $50,547

* Round-of-32 losers: $29,232

* Round-of-64 losers: $17,695

* First-round losers: $10,839

*

1998 CHAMPIONS

Seeding in parentheses:

* Men’s singles: Sampras (1), Tampa, Fla.

* Women’s singles: Jana Novotna (3), Czech Republic

* Men’s doubles: Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, Netherlands (1)

* Women’s doubles: Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Jana Novotna, Czech Republic (1)

* Mixed doubles: Max Mirnyi, Belarus, and Serena Williams, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

* Men’s over 35 doubles: Gene Mayer, Woodmere, N.Y., and Tim Wilkison, Charlotte, N.C.

* Men’s over 45 doubles: Marty Riessen, Dallas, and Sherwood Stewart, The Woodlands, Texas

* Women’s over 35 doubles: Pam Shriver, Baltimore, and Elizabeth Smylie, Australia

* Boys’ singles: Roger Federer (5), Switzerland

* Girls’ singles: Katerina Srebotnik (7), Slovenia

* Boys’ doubles: Roger Federer, Switzerland, and Olivier Rochus, Belgium

* Girls’ doubles: Eva Dyrberg, Denmark, and Jelena Kostanic, Croatia

SAMPRAS’ GRAND SLAM APPEARANCES

* Wimbledon

1993--d. Jim Courier, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3

1994--d. Goran Ivanisevic, 7-6, 7-6, 6-0

1995--d. Boris Becker, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

1997--d. Cedric Pioline, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4

1998--d. Goran Ivanisevic, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

* U.S. Open

1990--d. Andre Agassi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2

1992--lost to Stefan Edberg, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2

1993--d. Cedric Pioline, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

1995--d. Andre Agassi, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

* 1996--d. Michael Chang, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6

* Australian Open

1994--d. Todd Martin, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4

1995--lost to Andre Agassi, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4

1997--d. Carlos Moya, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3