Pinnacle Pete

By LISA DILLMAN

July 10, 2000 12 AM PT

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

WIMBLEDON, England — He was serving quickly and powerfully as it got darker and darker, trying to finish his match before some adults stepped in and told him to come back tomorrow.

It was just like kids on any court, any night--playing even after they can hardly see the ball, praying that mom and dad stay inside a few more minutes.

And so, the serve of Pete Sampras was dancing in the dark that final game Sunday. He won the game, the match and a place in history just before nightfall--defeating Patrick Rafter of Australia, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2, in the Wimbledon final--and, well, then went home to his mom and dad.

Where else would you go when you are hurting and happy, all at the same time?

The elation and relief Sampras felt at winning his seventh Wimbledon crown and record 13th Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Australian Roy Emerson, was mixed with physical pain and discomfort, an inflamed left shin that had nearly caused him to withdraw before the third round.

When Rafter hit a forehand wide on Sampras’ first match point, just before 9 p.m., the rapidly darkening Centre Court brightened one final time, hundreds of flashbulbs illuminating and saluting Sampras.

He raised his arms and then bent over with emotion and wiped the tears away.

His supporters in the friends’ box, which included coach Paul Annacone and fiancee Bridgette Wilson, started pointing at two people sitting high in the stands on the other side, his parents, Sam and Georgia.

“It was the moment I’ve dreamt about, breaking this record, my parents being there,” Sampras said. “It’s a script that I’ve always wanted to write. And it’s happened. It’s the most difficult slam I’ve won.”

He made the long climb up the stairs and found his parents and hugged them and they told him they loved him. This was the first time they had seen him win a Grand Slam title. The only other time they traveled to a major tournament was when he lost in the 1992 U.S. Open final. His parents are well-known for their fragile nerves: Sam Sampras even told a reporter he was too nervous to talk when his 13-year-old, Pete, was playing a junior event in Orange County.

Sam and Georgia could not even handle watching him play on television when he won his first Grand Slam title, the 1990 U.S. Open, instead strolling through a shopping mall in Long Beach.

They traveled from Los Angeles, arriving Saturday, answering the request of their son. Sitting down and actually watching was a different matter. Sam started to go to his seat and bailed out. He walked the grounds and found, much to his chagrin, that there were speakers everywhere at the All England Club, telling him the score. He eventually relented and watched from his Centre Court seat.

“My parents are not tennis parents,” Sampras said. “You see a lot of cases where parents get too involved. They’ve always kept their distance. When I go home, I’m the same Pete that they have always treated me as a kid. They’ve given me the strength and heart to be here. . . .

“Talking to my dad, I think he needs a little break.”

This was not the easiest Slam to break in for Sam Sampras, who declined interview requests. On Sunday, because of the weather, Lunch at Wimbledon had given way to Dinner at Wimbledon and was fast-approaching Bedtime at Wimbledon.

Rain delays, one lasting more than 2 1/2 hours, led to more uncertainty for the nervous family. And the start was delayed by an hour. Sampras, who converted only three of 14 break-point opportunities in the match, seemed in control the first set but lost the tiebreaker, 10-8, when he double-faulted on Rafter’s fourth set point, hitting his second serve long by about two feet.

The match turned in the second set when Rafter blew a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker with two of his serves to come. He missed a relatively simple forehand passing shot, and Sampras pulled to 4-4.

“After I missed that, I knew I was screwed, ‘Gee 4-4,’ ” Rafter said. “Then I just thought, ‘Oh God, this is really going downhill.’ I was really going to have to find it hard to deal with the nerves. That was sort of a mental blow more than anything.”

Said Sampras: “At 4-1, I really felt like it was slipping away. [I] somehow got through the tiebreaker. From a matter of feeling like I was going to lose the match, I felt like I was going to win the match within two minutes. That’s grass-court tennis.”

Sampras established control, but it was never going to be routine, not with his injury. At times, he would pull up and looked hampered, then he would hit a brilliant running forehand. He faced only one break point in the final two sets (and only two break points in the match), and Rafter was realistic enough not to blame his problems on the fading light.

“Well, no, I wasn’t getting his serve back anyway,” said No. 12 Rafter, the only seeded player that No. 1-seeded Sampras faced in this fortnight. “I didn’t really care if it was midnight, really. Not when you’re down 5-2 in the third, double break, mate. It’s sort of hard work being out there.”

Rafter, a two-time U.S. Open champion, was gracious in defeat. Rejuvenated by a long, difficult road back from shoulder surgery, he thought the flashbulbs flashing in the darkness at the end were dramatic, saying: “That was pretty cool actually.”

He was the final obstacle to Sampras getting past Emerson, an Australian star of old.

“It’s a great effort, no doubt about it,” Rafter said after the nearly three-hour match that took almost six hours to complete. “For Pete to be the greatest of all time--which he probably is--but to seal it, he’d have to win the French. I think he knows that as well.”

Whether he is the greatest of all, or close to it, Sampras, 28, is very aware of his vulnerability, on and off the court. Accordingly, his family has become more important.

“It was nice to share it with my parents who have never been to Wimbledon,” he said. “I wanted them to be a part of it. Win or lose today, I was going to invite them here. I’m glad they hopped on the plane and made the trip.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

RECORD HAUL

Pete Sampras’ Grand Slam championships:

U.S. OPEN (4)

1990: def. Andre Agassi

6-4, 6-3, 6-2

1993: def. Cedric Pioline

6-4, 6-4, 6-3

1995: def. Andre Agassi

6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

1996: def. Michael Chang

6-1, 6-4, 7-6

WIMBLEDON (7)

1993: def. Jim Courier

7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3

1994: def. Goran Ivanisevic

7-6, 7-6, 6-0

1995: def. Boris Becker

6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

1997: def. Cedric Pioline

6-4, 6-2, 6-4

1998: def. Goran Ivanisevic

6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

1999: def. Andre Agassi

6-3, 6-4, 7-5

2000: def. Patrick Rafter

6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2

AUSTRALIAN OPEN (2)

1994: def. Todd Martin

7-6, 6-4, 6-4

1997: def. Carlos Moya

6-2, 6-3, 6-3

RECORD IN GRAND SLAMS

Matches: 173-30 (.852)

Sets: 510-166 (.754)

Games: 4,113-2,980 (.580)

ALL-TIME GRAND SLAM TITLES

Pete Sampras 13

Roy Emerson 12

Bjorn Borg 11

Rod Laver 11

Bill Tilden 10

Jimmy Connors 8

Ivan Lendl 8

Fred Perry 8

Ken Rosewall 8

MOST WIMBLEDON TITLES

SEVEN

Willie Renshaw: 1881-86, 1889

Pete Sampras: 1993-95, 1997-00

FIVE

Laurie Doherty: 1902-06

Bjorn Borg: 1976-80

FOUR

Reggie Doherty: 1897-00

Tony Wilding: 1910-13

Rod Laver: 1961-62, 1968-69

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Box Score

Box score of No. 1 Pete Sampras’ 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 12 Patrick Rafter for the men’s singles championship:

*--*

Sampras Rafter 1st serve pct. 62 57 Aces 27 12 Double faults 12 8 Unforced errors 79 55 1st-serve winning pct. 89 75 2nd-serve winning pct. 56 50 Winners (including service) 40 29 Break points 3-14 0-2 Net approaches 28-49 39-93 Total points 160 138 Time of match 2:52

*--*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

COVERAGE

Grand Master

Pete Sampras’ record ranks with sports’ top achievements. A1

CHAMPIONS

MEN’S SINGLES

Pete Sampras,

United States

WOMEN’S SINGLES

Venus Williams,

United States