CAMELOT FANTASIES

Thanks for reminding us, Emma, of the Great Pete Sampras. I loved his demeanor and uncompromising personality. He never changed who he was for anybody. He remained true to himself. Very cool.

My favorite memory, well one of my favorites was the light bulbs going off when he won Wimbledon, the vindication at the USO, the quarterfinal against Andre with four 7-6 sets, and the Krajicek tiebreaker where he was down 6-1, I think, and came back to win the set.

Pete was a beast.

Pete was a beast on court no doubt but he was also physically very artistic since his movement was that of a cheetah and he would never grunt. So he was more of a beast on the mental aspects of things as he really hated to lose. The only criticism he had ever received during his time was that some found him boring, since he really didn't have the flamboyant character like Agassi's or McEnroe's or some of today's players. He was even told to change his character for the limelight purpose but he found the suggestion utterly ridiculous.

Here's a beautiful documentary on him. It covers most of the important things that happened during his career. If there's one child out there who's got big dreams but doesn't know how to go on about it, this is the right video for him. He's not only a great human being and an amazing player, but he's also a great role model for all the kids out there who are trying to break into tennis. No wonder so many of today's players see him as their idol and try to model at least some aspect of his game. I always call him the quiet champion.