Record Reach

By LISA DILLMAN

June 26, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

LONDON —

The last time Pete Sampras was poised on the brink of a career achievement, a few serves away, was about a year and a half ago.

Then, as now, he was in Europe.

That was about the only similarity. Sampras was tired. He couldn’t sleep. So what if Vienna was calling?

He was probably the most miserable traveler in France in November 1998. His beloved dysfunctional Lakers weren’t even playing basketball, trapped in the midst of the NBA lockout. Shaq wasn’t even the Medium Aristotle.

The U.S. media, much to Sampras’ dismay, weren’t closely following his record chase to become the first player in ATP rankings history to finish No. 1 for six consecutive years, much less getting on the Road to Hanover.

And, of course, John McEnroe was on him about the usual things, lack of Davis Cup participation, et al. “Each week got tougher and tougher,” Sampras said.

The campaign to eclipse Jimmy Connors’ record for consecutive No. 1 years could have ended with a whisper of defeat or a scream of delight.

Or relief.

Sampras was eating a prematch plate of spaghetti in Hanover, Germany, when the quest ended in success, as the only remaining challenger for No. 1, Marcelo Rios, went out with an injury.

The difference between then and now is obvious. All you have to do is look at Sampras. He may have been happy at Hanover. But beaming is not a term often associated with him at a tournament. Yet, slightly more than a week ago, at Queen’s Club, he was nearly giddy, even though the Lakers were still days away from winning it all.

Sampras joked about Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s seemingly never-ending schedule, saying: “He plays enough to be No. 1. As long as there’s money to be made, he’ll be playing.”

He teased the British writers about their unfamiliarity with the career of Dr. J. (Of course, the only League here is the Premier League). Sampras dropped some broad hints about his recent engagement to actress Bridgette Wilson, and subtly issued a challenge to find out what was going on.

Oh, so there was news beyond Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf?

Unlike the Connors chase, Sampras’ quest to win his seventh Wimbledon and record-setting 13th Grand Slam title, moving past Australian legend Roy Emerson, is drawing attention from the international media. At Queen’s, Sampras did back-to-back interview sessions with small groups of reporters, plus a conference call with the Americans a week later.

He was relaxed and feeling appreciated. Any significant post-French Open malaise was eased by the excitement of his engagement.

As he talked at Queen’s, life seemed nearly perfect: the Lakers were poised for a championship, and McEnroe hadn’t taken any shots at him in days.

The stress level was vastly changed from the fall of ‘98, when there was an immediacy about surpassing Connors’ record.

“It was different,” the 28-year-old Sampras said. “The Grand Slam record [he shares with Emerson], I’ve got the rest of this year and the next number of years to try to do it. I’ve got more time.

“The No. 1 was now or never. I put a lot into it. I felt the pressure. I was putting it on myself, and no one else. I wasn’t going to have another opportunity to do it.”

After tying Emerson at Wimbledon last year, Sampras was unable to take a shot at No. 13 at the U.S. Open, withdrawing before his first match because of a back injury.

He fell short at the next Slam, the Australian Open in January, losing to Agassi in an epic five-set semifinal.

The French Open, the only Slam title to elude him, was over quickly, a first-round loss, also in five sets, to Mark Philippoussis of Australia ending his opportunity.

Accordingly, Sampras is not obsessed with the next fortnight, in regard to record implications, saying he thinks about it only when the issue is raised in an interview.

“I’m not consumed by the record,” he said. “Sure, if I get to the finals, the night before could be a restless night.

” . . . It would be the ultimate in my tennis, more than anything I’ve ever done. It would be a moment in history, and to be a part of. To make history is something I don’t think about much, but it is a bit overwhelming to be in a position to try to do it.”

For him, the All England Club is almost a comfort zone. Sampras is 52-5 at Wimbledon, having only lost once in the last seven years, to eventual champion Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals in 1996. He is 46-1 at Wimbledon the last seven years.

His title defense begins today at 2 p.m. (London time) on Centre Court against Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic. Sampras, who is 31-1 on Centre Court, is the top-seeded player, a nod to his six Wimbledon titles. He would play either Karol Kucera of Slovakia or Wayne Black of Zimbabwe in the second round, and, if form holds, he could meet 16th-seeded Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador in the fourth round and seventh-seeded Lleyton Hewitt of Australia or ninth-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Hewitt, 19, is the only player to defeat Sampras in his last 24 matches on grass, dating to Wimbledon in 1998. Hewitt beat Sampras, 6-4, 6-4, in this year’s final at Queen’s Club, but for Sampras, his success at Wimbledon doesn’t always depend on victory at Queen’s.

Even McEnroe mused that Sampras might have the ability to win 10 Wimbledons.

Agassi, who had the misfortune of facing a near-perfect Sampras in last year’s final, pointed out the obvious, saying: “All these guys are real good. If I’m not at my best, I lose to a lot of players. But at Wimbledon, Pete’s the guy to beat.”

Agassi talked about what it is like on the other side when Sampras is playing his best tennis.

“You’re throwing in the element of grass and you’re also throwing in the element of him being at 3-3, 0-40 and five minutes later he’s up 6-3, 1-0,” said Agassi, who lost to Sampras, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, in the ’99 final.

“When Pete gets ahead like that, he’s unstoppable.”

Sampras said it was probably the best match he has played anywhere, considering the conditions, the high stakes and Agassi’s returning ability.

“Everything was as good as it could be and to be able to do that under those circumstances is very tough to do,” Sampras said. “You have the pressure, the nerves. Every now and again you can get into the zone.”

Wimbledon knows. When Sampras locates the key and enters the zone, it soon is twilight for the rest of the field.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

SAMPRAS AT WIMBLEDON

52-5: Record after 11 years

6: Singles titles

Note: Has reached at least the quarterfinals every year since 1992

TITLE YEARS

1993: Defeated Jim Courier

1994: Defeated Goran Ivanisevic

1995: Defeated Boris Becker

1997: Defeated Cedric Pioline

1998: Defeated Goran Ivanisevic