No Five-Pete

Venus Williams was asked Monday whether she ever thinks about becoming the women’s version of Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, where some day they just give her the keys to the gate.

“Yeah, it would be a dream come true just never to have to lose here,” she said. “Never to have to walk home a loser. That would be great.”

That would be great for a player, but it never happens. You can rent Wimbledon for a while. But no one has owned it, especially on the men’s side.

Not Willie Renshaw, who won Wimbledon seven times in the late 1800s, lost one year to William J. Hamilton and never won it again. Not Fred Perry. Not Rod Laver. Not Bjorn Borg, who won five years in a row, lost in the final the next year to John McEnroe and never won it again.

Not even Sampras. He won Wimbledon three consecutive years, lost to Richard Kraijeck in the 1996 quarterfinals, then won it four years in a row. Now he has lost again, to a Swiss teenager named Roger Federer in Monday’s fourth round, 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5. It was Sampras’ quickest exit from Wimbledon since he lost in the second round 10 years ago when he was 19, Federer’s age now.

Afterward, the news conference took on a funeral tone. Perhaps the questions were inspired by Sampras’ answer about his emotions as he walked off Center Court.

After graciously declaring that it was Federer’s moment, not his, Sampras said, “Just disappointed. It’s rare that I’ve lost a close match here at Wimbledon. But you know something so great isn’t going to last forever.”

So his reign over the All England Club is finished?

“Well, let’s not get carried away,” he said. “I mean, I just lost. I plan on being back for many years. This is why I play, for these tournaments. . . . There’s no reason to panic and think that I can’t come back here and win here again. I feel like I can always win here.

“You know, if not next year, then maybe the year after it. I’ve got the game. There’s no reason to feel like I can’t do it anymore. Today, I didn’t quite get the breaks that I needed.”

Was that defiance?

Or denial?

The last time Sampras lost at Wimbledon, he was 24. Sure, he was still young and strong enough to come back and win it again. He was in his prime. The next time he plays here, though, he will be 30. He’s right. He could come back again and win. But there’s nothing sure about it.

Some players doing well this year are as old or older. Andre Agassi and Todd Martin are already 30. Goran Ivanisevic will be 30 in September. Pat Rafter is 28.

But, as Federer showed Monday, there’s a new wave of outstanding young players who no longer will be denied. Marat Safin, who beat Sampras in straight sets to win last year’s U.S. Open, is 21. Lleyton Hewitt, who reached the fourth round this week, is 20. Andy Roddick, who reached the third, is 18.

Sampras insists that he still has the game to beat all of them. Maybe. Maybe not. One thing certain is that his aura is gone. He seldom wins anymore merely because he is Pete Sampras. The other players still respect him. They don’t fear him.

He hasn’t won a tournament since last year’s Wimbledon. This year, with a record of 15-10 upon arriving at Wimbledon, he has lost in the second round at Memphis to Chris Woodruff, in the first round at Scottsdale to Andrew Ilie, in the first round at Rome to Harel Levy, in the first round at Hamburg to Alex Calatrava and in the second round at Paris to Galo Blanco. Sampras has lost to Martin and Agassi, but also to Roddick and Hewitt. And now Federer.

Barry Cowan, ranked 265th, extended Sampras to a fifth set in last week’s second round.

Sampras talked afterward about being able to raise his game “a touch” when necessary. He did it against Cowan. But when he did it Monday, Federer raised back.

Sampras, who has virtually always been able to count on his serve to save him, lost this match while serving in the fifth set at 5-6. Federer hit three terrific returns in the game, two, including the one on match point, against first serves.

So do I believe Sampras when he says he’ll be back at Wimbledon as a champion? Or my lying eyes that say he won’t?

I suppose we should give him the benefit of the doubt. He has earned that, with his seven Wimbledon and 13 Grand Slam titles. If not the greatest player of all time--many believe he can’t claim that without winning the French Open--he is the greatest grass-court player of all time.

He told friend and former competitor Jim Courier in a TNT interview before the tournament that he would like to go out with a title like Michael Jordan, winning Wimbledon, bowing to the royals and waving good-bye to tennis as he leaves Center Court.

In retrospect, perhaps last year should have been his Jordan moment. Injured from the second round on, he fought through the pain and beat Rafter in a four-set final, then climbed to the friends’ box to tearfully embrace his parents, who had never before seen him play in person at Wimbledon.

That would have been a great way for Wimbledon to remember him.

But maybe he will have another moment here.

In any case, he will never have to walk home a loser.

*

Randy Harvey can be reached at randy.harvey@latimes.com