Hi Pete

Am I glad old Pistol Pete is back firing aces with his racquet even if it happens to be not on the lawns of SW 19 in London, but the senior tour.

On Thursday, the Greek-American, symbol of supremacy in men’s tennis till
Roger Federer took over, finally decided to step on court. After his famous win at the US Open in 2002, his last Grand Slam title, he had thrown his racquet bag into the attic.

Dusting the bag again and rewiring his racquets, Sampras came ready for none other than Petr Korda at Boston. Sampras won with ease, but that just was not the talking point. I have been lucky enough to see Sampras in action at Wimbledon from 1998 till he bid adieu. Believe me, as long as he could stand on one leg and serve, there was none like him and there will be none like him.

As I tried to visualise Sampras serving to Korda in Boston, it was hard not to rewind to Big W. Sampras was the master when he came to Wimbledon. And for a man who never touched his racquet after retirement, returning to the senior Tour must have been after a lot of consideration(s).

Having settled down with famous model Bridgette Wilson, Sampras, a very, very private man knows what it is like to be back in the limelight. Heck, you may wonder what is the big deal about a seniors’ tour. But I know that an ultimate professional like Sampras will never step on court unless he knows he can win.

I have seen Boris Becker in Chennai at the Gold Flake Open a few years back trying to play from memory. But Pistol Pete will never do anything like that unless he knows he can win a match. Past greats like John McEnroe – the biggest fan of Sampras and now Federer – said after Thursday’s match Sampras can go and again play Wimbledon!

Aww, cm’on, you think Pete’s going to play in Wimbledon again? No way. The Zen Master has seen it all and will never again attempt something he gave up. And if you are going to ask me whether he will play the seniors event at Big W, I will still say it is premature.

If you happen to walk from the Southfield tube station south west of London to the hallowed turf at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Pistol Pete is still fresh in the minds of the hard core fans.

They don’t want to see him a senior as yet….