Sampras' Next Stand
Pete Sampras has agreed to officially dust off the tennis rackets and compete in several tournaments on the Outback Champions Tour beginning in May at Tour stops in Boston and Athens. The tournament in Boston this week will be Sampras' first real matches since he won the 2002 U.S. Open title. This is another one of those win-win situations for both Sampras and for the sport of tennis (and of course the Outback Champions Tour!). For Sampras, it's a chance to get out, play some tennis and reconnect with both his fans and former peers. For tennis fans, the current crop of "seniors" can still compete at a very high level and these senior events
bring the sport to cities without a major Tour stop. It's sometimes a hard adjustment after walking away from the Tour and therefore it's great to see so many top players staying involved with the sport as senior competitors, commentators, coaches, Davis Cup captains, etc. As they say, tennis is a sport for life! Now what about the women... can we convince Steffi, Gaby, Chris and Martina to return to the courts a few times a year?!
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