No.1 is not a priority anymore: Sampras

PETE SAMPRAS has had an up- and-down year so far this season with injuries keeping him out of the game now and then. Although he won the critical fifth rubber for the United States in the Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic recently, Sampras is not yet ready for the clay court season.

Recently, in a teleconference with tennis writers, arranged by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Sampras answered a wide range of questions about his physical condition and his career.

Following are excerpts from the teleconference:

Question: Pete, please give us an update on your current condition?

Answer: Well, unfortunately, I am not going to be able to play the Italian Open. My quad is still giving me some problems and it is not 100 per cent. So my first event back will probably be at the German Open in Hamburg and I will play Dusseldorf all the way through Wimbledon. It has just taken a little while to get over this injury and it is something that seems like has been my situation over the past six months with some of these injuries, but I will hopefully be back 100 per cent by the German Open.

Q: Are you actually on a court and hitting balls yet or is that still to come?

A: Well, I am trying and I am on the court - I am on the court hitting, but I am not doing a lot of explosive movement and there's still a little bit tenderness and obviously I am trying to stay in shape somehow, but I am not able to really play any sets. And if you can't do that at this point, you are not going to be ready to play. Still a bit of a process that I am going through, I should be hopefully 100 per cent within a week's time.

Q: Was it a temptation to just skip the clay this year and wait for the grass where you obviously have got a better chance?

A: No, it was - no, it was never a consideration. I just always figured I was going to play on the dirt and hopefully get through and play well at the French. It never crossed my mind.

Q: Could you tell us, please, which is for you the biggest surprise this year? Which result - which tournament result was the biggest surprise for you and why?

A: Well, I don't think there were any major surprises. I think the year Lleyton Hewitt has had has been a pleasant surprise, he has had a great year; he has won a lot of matches, but I think the year has been pretty, pretty smooth and predictable.

Q: Compared to the last year what will you change in your game to play good tennis on clay in the French Open?

A: Well, hopefully I can just play well. Last couple of years I haven't played too well at the French for a number of reasons, but this year I am going to get over to the clay in a couple of week's time and hopefully get into a good groove over there and hopefully by the French I will be playing my best tennis. But I just need to play well and the courts at Paris can be quick, the conditions can be quick, and I just got to let go over the pressure I put on myself and just play like I would be playing the other Grand Slams.

Q: At Monte Carlo, Alex Corretja was saying that while it is a great idea to have these Masters Series tournaments something really would have to be done now to make sure there is some rest between the tournaments rather than having back-to-back ones which is happening a lot. Otherwise the top players are just not going to be able to cope with it all with Grand Slams and Davis Cup in between. He knows it is a difficult problem, but it is not an impossible one.

A: Well, it is a tough schedule. Especially when you throw Davis Cup in there and you have back-to-back; Rome, Hamburg you have back-to-back, basically you are playing six matches in a week in seven days, 64 draws. It is definitely going to take its toll. Alex has a good point. It is not an easy schedule, but it is a schedule that we have in place. That is why you might not have all the guys playing all the tournaments, so I think that is what you have seen has happened. But I think they just need to kind of space out these tournaments and try to figure out a better schedule.

Q: Is it not strange that we cannot say anymore that this or that player is the No.1 now. Now it is a race for the No. 1 ranking rather than a 52-week cycle.

A: I am not sure necessarily that is the best system to have a different No. 1 each week. I mean, we need some sort of continuity in the game and something a little bit easier to understand. I could give you examples over the years why is this person No. 1 and he hasn't won a match in three months.

Q: We know that is partly because of the 14 - the best 14 system. I don't want to monopolise that conversation, but that is kind of the situation. It is not - because the women are certainly doing okay with the ranking from week-to-week, without having the kind of things that the men had.

A: I understand. Certainly the system we have in place, we will see how it works out and it sounds like what you are saying is you are not happy with it. We will see how the rest of the year goes and as the year goes on and the ranking gets closer and the race gets closer to the end, it would be more exciting. As of right now we are all starting off and feeling each other out as far as where everyone is placed, but hopefully we will end the last three, four months of the year in a great way so.....

Q: When we look ahead into the summer with the Davis Cup, do you feel the first two rounds were tough enough, but the Spain tie is going to be even tougher because it is going to be on clay?

A: Yeah, and the timing of the tie is not going to be easy because obviously we are all going to be playing on the grass for a month and go home for a little bit and then come back for the clay. Probably the toughest tie and the toughest timing of a tie we need to play.

Q: Can you take us through how you felt after the Ericsson and when you got hurt in Davis Cup and then the three weeks since then maybe false alarms thinking you were better and why it has dragged on this long?

A: Obviously the Ericsson was a tough win. The final was a pretty physically demanding match. I came to L.A. a little bit tired and had one day off and started practicing on a Tuesday and didn't give myself a chance to really recover from a tough week and trying to grind it on Tuesday all the way through the weekend and on - my legs were a little bit stiff over - after the tournament, so I started to play the match and felt my quad go a little bit. I continued to play on it which made it worse and worse and took an MRI the next day and had a tear and trying to get back on it and I think I came back a little bit too soon and kind of redid it a little bit as I am trying to get ready for the clay court season. But at this point I am trying to be a little bit more conservative, trying to get myself, okay, what is my goal here. My goal is to try to win the French and to make sure I am 100 per cent. If I am 100 per cent physically ready to go and I start playing well, then I like my chances.

Q: Pete, you have had this succession of injuries now dating back to the U.S. Open and Australian Open and the back against Corretja; now the quad. Is this a run of just bad luck or are you coming to the realization that you have had years of playing and not just playing, but going deep into tournaments where you have to play almost every day, it is a realization that you need to change your training programme or in terms of the time you put in on your training programme or the intensity and one other question with that, who is training you right now?

A: Working with Brett Stevens who - has been on the Tour for years and he has been in L.A. and we have been working together for the past year or so. After the back injury that was one thing I couldn't control and not bad luck, but these injuries since then, I don't have an explanation. I just - I feel like it could be the wear and tear of playing a lot of years; could be bad preparation; bad warming up before I play, going into Davis Cup playing a lot the week before, you know, it is probably a situation where it gets a little bit - cumulative over the years, but knock on wood going to stay healthy obviously over the next couple of months.

Q: Are you changing the intensity of your training; for example, the duration of it?

A: Well, pretty much doing the same things I have done over the past 10 years, doing a lot of running and lifting and biking and spending more time in the pool to give the legs rest. And I am doing it with the same intensity; that is why living in L.A., I have hired Moose. He is actually going to probably move here and changed my diet, eat healthier, and try to do whatever I can. These injuries, if anything, are very frustrating because I am putting in the time. My body, I have got high twitch fibres that if they are not completely ready and warmed up I am going to have little pulls and that is kind of what has been happening.

Q: You talked a lot about how disappointing the injury was after Davis Cup. I just wondered being in L.A., being around fans, if you got any kind of reaction from people just in terms of pulling out the match?

A: Yeah, it was a great moment for me and my family and to share it with them and next morning to get on the cover of the L.A. times is quite a thrill. Just going to some Laker games and just walking around the city, people really saw it and really got into it. It was obviously the reason - what makes Davis Cup quite special and playing in my hometown made it even that much more special. So I felt a good buzz and tennis in L.A. and how - what a big sport it is. So it was fun to be a part of it.

Q: How much time were you actually off the court between your last Davis Cup match and when you started hitting again?

A: Well, I was off for about three weeks. I just couldn't do much and I just recently got on the court to keep the arm and my hand kind of tough so it doesn't get too sore, but I am still not able to run 100 per cent and sprint the way I like to obviously do that. I could maybe go to Rome, but I am probably going to be risking it and would obviously much rather be 100 per cent than '95 per cent, so that is where I am at. Just going to take it slow and be conservative about when I come back.

Q: Is this the first time in recent memory where you just had to the two clay court events before the French or other years that you can remember that it was just two?

A: Yeah, a lot of years I have done that and I had a schedule where they had Rome, World Team Cup, I did that for about four straight years and actually did pretty well at the French those years and last couple of years I mixed it up. But I don't think - the French is still a little bit ways away and hopefully I am going to have enough time to get ready.

Q: Going back to the doubles at Davis Cup. Mac has said that he would like to see you and Andre play that. Now we know Andre has never played a doubles match in Davis Cup. Your thoughts on that combination and is there someone you would prefer to play with?

A: Well, playing with Andre would be special. It would be pretty intimidating to play anyone in the world, to have the best returner in the world and possibly the best server in the world. I know he doesn't play much, but we can figure it out how he can hold serve and so I think - it certainly would have been exciting in L.A. to have done that, but it didn't happen. I am open to playing with anybody. Obviously I am comfortable playing with Todd. We played well in Moscow and that was on clay and he - we compliment each other with our games. So I am open to real playing with anybody.

Q: Regarding the points race this year, it's mandatory now that you play each of the Masters Series events or else you will receive a zero and I guess you are going to get a couple of zeroes because of the injury. Do you think that is going to be a fair system? Do you think that might cause some of the problems that occurred last year, you may do well in the Majors, but because of these zeroes may have a difficult time finishing No. 1.

A: I knew that going into this year if I wasn't going to play all of them that I would have to win a Slam or two to be No. 1 or whatever, but I can honestly say I am to the point now where I have done it for so long and it's not as much a priority in my tennis, the ranking, and you know, I have done it for six years and I don't need to - I'd love to get back up there, but I am not, say, willing to play all these tournaments including Davis Cup now and so I was in a bit of dilemma with my schedule and what to do and having these injuries just kind of forced me not being able to play, but I am to the point where I am going to do well at the Majors and try to break the record this year and the ranking is just kind of the ranking and it is not really the best indication of the best player in the world at times.

Q: Obviously one of the biggest highlights was having your parents there at the Davis Cup watching you and going through the emotional roller-coaster with you. Do you think it is more likely or less likely that they will go to Wimbledon now?

A: I would love for them to come and I don't know if they will come for the two weeks or maybe if I make the final, but I definitely have expressed that I want them there and just to be a part of that tournament which has been a big part of my career. And I think Davis Cup was a pretty nerve-wracking situation and they sat through the whole thing and at least I can tell them at Wimbledon I have won there a few times so it is not the end of the world if I don't win there. I'd love for them to hop on a plane and come on over and check it out and be a part of it. We are going to see what happens this year, but my dad has already made reservations to go to Spain for the Davis Cup but Wimbledon is a little bit up in the air.

Q: In Davis Cup, a couple of the complaints were about captaincy and also where you played, et cetera.

A: Well, I never complained about the captaincy. I have always complained about Davis Cup was the schedule and isn't going to change and the venues that we picked were not - we played in venues that only sold five, six thousand tickets and so I have never been happy with that. But certainly John brings a lot of attention to Davis Cup and his presence there is - a lot of the media is more interested and that is good for Davis Cup. It gets Davis Cup more on the map in the U.S. People are following it more, especially being in L.A. and me living here, people saw it and it is definitely going to get maybe to that Ryder Cup stage match which will be tough.

I think it has all been very positive for the most part and this next tie is not going to be easy, but at least people in this country will know what is going on which is the main thing.

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