The writer of the article is Johnette Howard and
it's from New <br>York News Day (Long Island edition).
Main title of article is FRONT & CENTRE <br>and the
subtitle of it is "On the eve of Wimbledon, all eyes are
on Sampras." <br><br>It was his last day off before
the grand slam tournament he values most, <br>the
event that's gilded his career, and Pete Sampras
couldn't resist. Soon he <br>was driving down Church Road
and through the iron gates at the All England
<br>Tennis Club at Wimbledon, even though there was still a
week to wait before <br>this year's tournament began.
Ostensibly, Sampras went to the club Monday for <br>a routine
workout. But once done, Sampras said, he took a
contemplative walk <br>around the grounds and made a 'special'
trip to Centre Court.<br><br> "This place brings out
the best in me," Sampras said.<br><br> Sampras will
be 29 in seven weeks, and he seems to have a sense
of how his <br>life and his career and tennis
history are unfurling behind him. After his <br>usual
early-round loss at the French Open a few weeks ago -- for
all his <br>greatness, Sampras still struggles
mightily just to win a few matches on the <br>clay at
Roland Garros -- Sampras quietly became engaged to
actress Bridgette <br>Wilson, then teasingly told the
gossip-mongering British press, "You didn't <br>do your homework,"
when the news stayed secret for two weeks. <br><br> He
has spoken recently about wanting his parents, Sam
and Georgia, to break <br>custom for the first time
and travel to Wimbledon this year in case he makes
<br>it to his eighth straight Wimbledon final and breaks
Roy Emerson's career <br>record of 12 major titles.
Tomorrow, the top-seeded Sampras opens the <br>tournament
against unseeded Czech Jiri Vanek, the sort of
first-round fodder <br>who's more likely to ask Sampras for
an autograph than bump him off.<br><br>Like last
year, Sampras rolls into this year's Wimbledon having a
humdrum <br>year by his standards. He owns just one
title. But it didn't matter then. And <br>it didn't
matter to Sampras on Monday as he stood there, alone at
Centre <br>Court, soaking in the silence. <br><br>"You
just stand there," Sampras said, "and you look around.
You look at the <br>stadium; you look at the plush
grass and how green it is. There are no <br>sponsors,
not a lot of horns and whistles like you see in other
stadiums. You <br>walk on Centre Court and it's like a
cathedral. You just -- you don't feel <br>that at many other
places. You don't feel that, really anywhere, except for
<br>Wimbledon. It's our biggest event. It's like our Super
Bowl."<br><br>But unlike the Super Bowl's tradition of serving up
flops, something magical <br>happens to Sampras when he
gets to Wimbledon.<br> "Something just takes over,"
Sampras agreed.<br><br> That Sampras could still be moved
by his annual return to Wimbledon speaks <br>well
for the man. No one has to tell Sampras that Bjorn
Borg's career didn't <br>last this long or that Stefan
Edberg, another gentleman serve-and-volleyer, <br>had
already begun to fade when he reached Sampras' age. Last
year, Sampras <br>played a limited schedule because of
injuries, and he's hardly run himself <br>ragged this
season, skipping the U.S. Davis Cup team's harrowing win
over <br>Zimbabwe, despite heavy criticism, and
playing only 30 tour matches overall <br>(20 to 30 fewer
than the top four players in the world rankings;
Sampras is <br>ranked 10th).<br><br>Fellow American Andre
Agassi, the rival Sampras still fears most, has
<br>publicly wondered how long Sampras' desire can keep
raging. If age doesn't <br>diminish Sampras' game first,
Agassi has said, moving from Florida back to <br>Los
Angeles and all of its temptations just might. Agassi
should know. The <br>Las Vegas native has had more
career comebacks than Tony Bennett, more <br>makeovers
than Roseanne. His roller-coaster career has
epitomized how <br>dangerous it is when an athlete's
maniacal zeal to be his sport's king is <br>overtaken by
t