Pete Sampras vs. Alex Correjta US Open 1996 QF

[Moose Malloy]

I don't think Courier was being genuinely concerned when he said that, it was early in the 5th set of a GS QF, he had just blown a 2 set lead, he was ****ed. Sampras has said many times in interviews since that he thought Courier was being sarcastic when he said "we can do this tomorrow" and it fired him up. I doubt Courier would ever admit to why he said it, he's probably not proud of it(& feels foolish that he inadvertenly made Pete play better)

In Courier's defense, I'm not sure he knew what to think, it was so bizare, nothing like it had ever happened to anyone before. Players get POed all the time when "injured" players are running like nothing is wrong, so Courier was sort of getting annoyed by someone acing him with tears running down his face.

He is a very intense guy(the laidback commentator/senior tennis Courier of today is nothing like the Courier of back then, even he admits he was a jerk, only cared about himself when he played, hated the media, his responsibilities to the game/fans/etc.)
Also I've read interviews from around '93, when sampras & courier were battling for #1, when both said they weren't really close friends anymore, because they thought it was impossible to be friends at the top of the game. Courier mentioned in commentary at matches in '01/'02 that his friendship w/Sampras improved after he retired. Sampras was an isolated champion, he didn't want to be friends with his rivals(he even stayed in a separate area of the stadium before big matches, not wanting to be in the same lockeroom with his opponent) Even Federer says that he doesn't have many memories of Sampras when they were both on tour, since "Pete was never around."

Also, I recently watched the '96 FO QF, in which sampras(again) came back from 2-0 to beat Courier, Courier was not happy & barely looked at Sampras at the handshake. In the 5th set, the mics picked up some less than friendly comments from Courier, he said, "just like f'ng Wimbledon, guy looks like he's falling over & he's still serving bullets" I think a lot of players thought sampras was a drama queen/faker, its hard to get beat so many times by someone who looks like they are dying on the court.

BTW, regardless of the "crying" drama, I think the '95 AO match is one of the highest quality matches ever played(still holds up today, both guys are absolutely unloading on the ball with very little errors)
Corretja-Sampras had drama, but the quality wasn't nearly as high as Australia.
Its amazing that Sampras could come back after losing the 1st 2 sets in tiebreakers! Most would get very discouraged at not winning at least one of those very close 2 sets, esp since sampras was playing well in those sets, not getting blown out. Courier played possibly the best tennis he ever played in that match & still came up short.

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

I don't think Courier was being genuinely concerned when he said that, it was early in the 5th set of a GS QF, he had just blown a 2 set lead, he was ****ed. Sampras has said many times in interviews since that he thought Courier was being sarcastic when he said "we can do this tomorrow" and it fired him up. I doubt Courier would ever admit to why he said it, he's probably not proud of it(& feels foolish that he inadvertenly made Pete play better)

In Courier's defense, I'm not sure he knew what to think, it was so bizare, nothing like it had ever happened to anyone before. Players get POed all the time when "injured" players are running like nothing is wrong, so Courier was sort of getting annoyed by someone acing him with tears running down his face.

He is a very intense guy(the laidback commentator/senior tennis Courier of today is nothing like the Courier of back then, even he admits he was a jerk, only cared about himself when he played, hated the media, his responsibilities to the game/fans/etc.)
Also I've read interviews from around '93, when sampras & courier were battling for #1, when both said they weren't really close friends anymore, because they thought it was impossible to be friends at the top of the game. Courier mentioned in commentary at matches in '01/'02 that his friendship w/Sampras improved after he retired. Sampras was an isolated champion, he didn't want to be friends with his rivals(he even stayed in a separate area of the stadium before big matches, not wanting to be in the same lockeroom with his opponent) Even Federer says that he doesn't have many memories of Sampras when they were both on tour, since "Pete was never around."

Also, I recently watched the '96 FO QF, in which sampras(again) came back from 2-0 to beat Courier, Courier was not happy & barely looked at Sampras at the handshake. In the 5th set, the mics picked up some less than friendly comments from Courier, he said, "just like f'ng Wimbledon, guy looks like he's falling over & he's still serving bullets" I think a lot of players thought sampras was a drama queen/faker, its hard to get beat so many times by someone who looks like they are dying on the court.

BTW, regardless of the "crying" drama, I think the '95 AO match is one of the highest quality matches ever played(still holds up today, both guys are absolutely unloading on the ball with very little errors)
Corretja-Sampras had drama, but the quality wasn't nearly as high as Australia.
Its amazing that Sampras could come back after losing the 1st 2 sets in tiebreakers! Most would get very discouraged at not winning at least one of those very close 2 sets, esp since sampras was playing well in those sets, not getting blown out. Courier played possibly the best tennis he ever played in that match & still came up short.

I'm amazed how hard they hit the ball that 4 hrs - bludgeoned the ball even.

Similar to today, slower surface, have to hit the ball harder to create openings.

[Azzurri]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

I don't think Courier was being genuinely concerned when he said that, it was early in the 5th set of a GS QF, he had just blown a 2 set lead, he was ****ed. Sampras has said many times in interviews since that he thought Courier was being sarcastic when he said "we can do this tomorrow" and it fired him up. I doubt Courier would ever admit to why he said it, he's probably not proud of it(& feels foolish that he inadvertenly made Pete play better)

In Courier's defense, I'm not sure he knew what to think, it was so bizare, nothing like it had ever happened to anyone before. Players get POed all the time when "injured" players are running like nothing is wrong, so Courier was sort of getting annoyed by someone acing him with tears running down his face.

He is a very intense guy(the laidback commentator/senior tennis Courier of today is nothing like the Courier of back then, even he admits he was a jerk, only cared about himself when he played, hated the media, his responsibilities to the game/fans/etc.)
Also I've read interviews from around '93, when sampras & courier were battling for #1, when both said they weren't really close friends anymore, because they thought it was impossible to be friends at the top of the game. Courier mentioned in commentary at matches in '01/'02 that his friendship w/Sampras improved after he retired. Sampras was an isolated champion, he didn't want to be friends with his rivals(he even stayed in a separate area of the stadium before big matches, not wanting to be in the same lockeroom with his opponent) Even Federer says that he doesn't have many memories of Sampras when they were both on tour, since "Pete was never around."

Also, I recently watched the '96 FO QF, in which sampras(again) came back from 2-0 to beat Courier, Courier was not happy & barely looked at Sampras at the handshake. In the 5th set, the mics picked up some less than friendly comments from Courier, he said, "just like f'ng Wimbledon, guy looks like he's falling over & he's still serving bullets" I think a lot of players thought sampras was a drama queen/faker, its hard to get beat so many times by someone who looks like they are dying on the court.

BTW, regardless of the "crying" drama, I think the '95 AO match is one of the highest quality matches ever played(still holds up today, both guys are absolutely unloading on the ball with very little errors)
Corretja-Sampras had drama, but the quality wasn't nearly as high as Australia.
Its amazing that Sampras could come back after losing the 1st 2 sets in tiebreakers! Most would get very discouraged at not winning at least one of those very close 2 sets, esp since sampras was playing well in those sets, not getting blown out. Courier played possibly the best tennis he ever played in that match & still came up short.

To confirm....Courier thought Pete was "faking" it on the court or being dramatic?

[Moose Malloy]

To confirm....Courier thought Pete was "faking" it on the court or being dramatic?

Well I think laurie said Courier said "Pete is a good actor" on multiple occasions, so yeah. They are good friends now, so bygones are bygones.
As far as the AO match, who knows why Courier said that. It was the heat of the moment, I'm not sure he thought about it. Sampras was taking a lot of time in between serves, & Courier probably thought it wouldn't be wise to complain to the umpire(crowd would have gotten on him), so maybe he thought saying something to Pete would cause him to play at an acceptable pace(& it worked)

As far as the FO match, Pete's anemia is a real affliction that often affected him in long matches under hot conditions, but there have been many opponents who weren't exactly happy to lose to someone who looked like they were on their death bed, like Courier that day. I remember shortly after the Corretja match, many fans accused sampras of being a drama queen/faker(tennis magazine published quite a few of them in their letters to the editor section)

Also, when Sampras sprained his ankle in 2000 Wimbledon(the tournament that brought him his record 13th slam) in an early round match, there was speculation that he would withdraw or be ousted (since he couldn't practice at all & had to undergoe some pretty extreme measures just to be able to take the court) in his next match. He beat Bjorkman in straight sets, & Jonas didn't look at Sampras at all at the handshake. When asked about it in the press conference, Sampras said something to the effect that Bjorkman probably thought his injury wasn't real.

[krosero]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

I remember shortly after the Corretja match, many fans accused sampras of being a drama queen/faker(tennis magazine published quite a few of them in their letters to the editor section)

This seems so unfair. How do fake vomiting?

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

Well I think laurie said Courier said "Pete is a good actor" on multiple occasions, so yeah. They are good friends now, so bygones are bygones.
As far as the AO match, who knows why Courier said that. It was the heat of the moment, I'm not sure he thought about it. Sampras was taking a lot of time in between serves, & Courier probably thought it wouldn't be wise to complain to the umpire(crowd would have gotten on him), so maybe he thought saying something to Pete would cause him to play at an acceptable pace(& it worked)

As far as the FO match, Pete's anemia is a real affliction that often affected him in long matches under hot conditions, but there have been many opponents who weren't exactly happy to lose to someone who looked like they were on their death bed, like Courier that day. I remember shortly after the Corretja match, many fans accused sampras of being a drama queen/faker(tennis magazine published quite a few of them in their letters to the editor section)

Also, when Sampras sprained his ankle in 2000 Wimbledon(the tournament that brought him his record 13th slam) in an early round match, there was speculation that he would withdraw or be ousted (since he couldn't practice at all & had to undergoe some pretty extreme measures just to be able to take the court) in his next match. He beat Bjorkman in straight sets, & Jonas didn't look at Sampras at all at the handshake. When asked about it in the press conference, Sampras said something to the effect that Bjorkman probably thought his injury wasn't real.

What ****ed Bjorkman off was Pete played some brilliant Tennis in that match. In fact, against Kucera in the 2nd rd, Sampras was actually struggling, turns his ankle in the 3rd set or late in the 2nd, gets treatment then goes on to dismiss Kucera really quickly after that.

The man is a legend.

[Azzurri]

Originally Posted by Moose Malloy

Well I think laurie said Courier said "Pete is a good actor" on multiple occasions, so yeah. They are good friends now, so bygones are bygones.
As far as the AO match, who knows why Courier said that. It was the heat of the moment, I'm not sure he thought about it. Sampras was taking a lot of time in between serves, & Courier probably thought it wouldn't be wise to complain to the umpire(crowd would have gotten on him), so maybe he thought saying something to Pete would cause him to play at an acceptable pace(& it worked)

As far as the FO match, Pete's anemia is a real affliction that often affected him in long matches under hot conditions, but there have been many opponents who weren't exactly happy to lose to someone who looked like they were on their death bed, like Courier that day. I remember shortly after the Corretja match, many fans accused sampras of being a drama queen/faker(tennis magazine published quite a few of them in their letters to the editor section)

Also, when Sampras sprained his ankle in 2000 Wimbledon(the tournament that brought him his record 13th slam) in an early round match, there was speculation that he would withdraw or be ousted (since he couldn't practice at all & had to undergoe some pretty extreme measures just to be able to take the court) in his next match. He beat Bjorkman in straight sets, & Jonas didn't look at Sampras at all at the handshake. When asked about it in the press conference, Sampras said something to the effect that Bjorkman probably thought his injury wasn't real.

Thanks Moose. I remember Pete getting some flak. Considering the fact he threw up and has a blood disorder, I never thought he was faking.