BY
MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pete Sampras' summer schedule has been thrown off a little.
The 1997 Great American Insurance ATP Championship winner had planned to play in Los Angeles this past week, then take a week off before playing in Cincinnati.
Instead, he will compete in this week's du Maurier Open in Toronto, then come straight to the ATP.
Why the change of plans? Sampras had minor foot surgery July 15 to remove a plantar wart, which he said he has had for a year.
"After Wimbledon, when I started practicing, it was giving me a lot of problems," Sampras said. "I figured it was best to get this thing removed.
"So I got it removed under the assumption it was only going to take four or five days (to recover). Unfortunately, it took nine or 10 days. It's like a deep, deep cut on the bottom of my foot, so I really couldn't do much."
Sampras, who turns 27 on Aug. 12, got a wild-card entry into Toronto because he had not originally committed to the tournament, which he usually skips.
Now he will play three straight weeks -- Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven, Conn. -- on hardcourts, which can take its toll.
The focus, of course, is on the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 31. If Sampras, who will have one week off to get ready, were to win the U.S. Open, he would tie the all-time record for Grand Slam championships with 12.
Still, he said, he has to play well in tournaments leading up to the Open. Going into Wimbledon, he had a 25-8 record during an inconsistent year that included victories in Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Just weeks after winning the ATP Championship a year ago, Sampras lost to Petr Korda in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
"The key to playing well in the Grand Slams is playing well during the year," Sampras said. "When you play well and you're winning tournaments, guys fear you. You've kind of built an aura about you. You intimidate guys if they know you're playing well, so it really helps."
He has not played since his fifth Wimbledon victory and 11th Grand Slam title -- again passing on Davis Cup competition. Sampras said his 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Goran Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon final was satisfying because he did not feel he played his best.
"I kind of fought through it and never really felt like I was in control of the match," he said. "To come through and raise my level just enough there in the fifth (set), not playing the way I wanted to, means more.
"It was definitely my toughest final by far. . . . One thing that really stands out in my mind, the ceremony after the match, looking over at Goran's face. I mean, he was very distraught. I felt bad for him."
Sampras could get knocked from his No. 1 ranking for the second time this year if he does not do well at the ATP Tennis Center in Mason and No. 2-ranked Marcelo Rios does fare well.
Rios, who was No. 1 for four weeks in the spring, could have regained the top spot if he would've reached the final of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany (July 20-26). But he did not.
The way the ATP Tour rankings work, Sampras will be defending a significant amount of points at the ATP here because he won it last year. During his run to the title, where he defeated Thomas Muster, Sampras did not drop a set.
"I played very well (in Cincinnati) last year," Sampras said. "(I) hope that happens again.
"But it is a little different to defend. You're kind of a marked man. I've just kind of gotten used to it over the years."