Pete Sampras showed the courage of a true champion on Saturday, ignoring a painful leg injury to tough out a 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 win over fellow American Justin Gimelstob in the third round at Wimbledon. As Sampras sat slumped in his chair after losing the first set 6-2, it seemed possible the defending champion would withdraw and all but impossible that he could keep alive his bid to win a seventh Wimbledon title in eight years.
Sampras had served four double faults in his first service game. He appeared unable to gain much height on his delivery due to his injured shin and lost the set with a double fault. Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said: "If this was any other tournament he would have pulled out."
But top seed Sampras, plagued by injury over the past three years, decided to tough it out and suddenly the magic returned. By the end of the two-hour match the crowd, including former greats Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, was hollering its appreciation - and relief - as Sampras served and volleyed his way to one of his bravest victories.
‘Today I was really out of sorts at the beginning, I just didn't play very well. It was a real struggle. I felt the racquet was a foreign object. I had no rhythm on my serve in the first set - it was one of the worst sets I've played out there,’ said a relieved Sampras after the match.
In other Wimbledon news, fourth seed Gustavo Kuerten, suffering from a heavy cold, succumbed to big-hitting German Alexander Popp 7-6 6-2 6-1 but said he did not really mind after winning the French Open.
Reuters
