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 Sampras finds French Open a challenge
Posted: Wednesday May 19, 1999 11:02 PM
DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) -- Pete Sampras has achieved so much that he sometimes finds it difficult to set goals for himself -- until the French Open comes around. "It's the biggest challenge in my career," said Sampras, hoping to win the only grand slam title which has eluded him. "I need challenges and winning the French would be the ultimate one." It has been a difficult year for the 27-year-old American, who has been hampered by injury, played little and last month yielded the world's top spot to Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov. "Physically and mentally, I feel fresh," he said. "But as far as the tennis is concerned my game has been up and down and that's because I haven't played many matches." The world No. 2, whose best performance in Paris was to reach the semifinals in 1996, boosted his confidence for the French Open with a convincing three-set win over the elegant Karol Kucera of Slovakia at the World Team Cup Wednesday. "I'm finding my range," he said after beating world No. 12 Kucera, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2. "The tennis I played in the third set is the kind of tennis I need to play." Sampras, who had outclassed France's Cedric Pioline in his first match here Sunday, improved dramatically on his poor performance at last week's Italian Open in which he was beaten by Brazilian qualifier Fernando Meligeni in the second round. "Winning matches like the ones I have won here is exactly what I need to get my confidence back," he said. "Once the confidence is there, the rest will follow." Sampras ended 1998 as world No. 1 for a record sixth consecutive year but was physically and mentally exhausted. He took a break and missed the Australian Open. He was slowly recapturing his best form when a lower back injury formed him out of the Barcelona event last month. "I'm fine now," he said. "I wouldn't consider myself as a strong favorite to win the French but I'm in contention. There are 15 guys who can win it and I'm one of them. That's the way I see it." Having been through hard times could turn out to be an advantage, he added. "Sometimes I entered grand slams feeling great and I lost then. Other times I was feeling awful and I ended up winning. You want to struggle a bit and peak at the right time." Sampras promised his fans he would not stay back like the average baseliner but would rely on his fluid, attacking game on the Paris clay. "One thing I've understood over the year is if I win in Paris I'll do it by playing my game. I need to be aggressive. I need to come in and pick my spots. "I'm not going to be obsessed with the French. I want to enjoy it. I've got three or four years left and I want to have fun playing. "But it would be nice to win in Paris."
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