Gael Monfils defeats legend Pete Sampras in an exhibition match
14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras got beaten in an exhibition match against Gael Monfils on the opening night of the SAP Open on Monday. The Frenchman Monfils defeated the legend in straight sets with the final score 7-6 (4)
and 6-4. Monfils is debuting in the SAP Open and his victory over Sampras boosts his confidence to the highest levels.
The younger and more spirited Monfils was better than Sampras in all aspects of the game. His strong arm belted serves at a staggering pace of 130-plus mph including three straight aces at one occasion. He was very agile to track
down Sampras drop shots and converted plenty of what appeared to be possible winners for Sampras, into thudding returns.
“Gael is a great mover, returns well and made me work really hard on my service game,” Pete said after the game.
Sampras brought all his years’ experience to work and kept winning his serves. Eventually the opener had to be decided by a tie breaker when the scores levelled at 6-6. Monfils shifted his gears and won the tie breaker round convincingly,
taking the first set 7-6.
The French continued playing elegant strokes, stretching every bit of the aging Sampras. Monfils put the match to his name by breaking opponent’s serve and sealing the second set 6-4.
A crowd of 4,911 witnessed a great entertaining game of tennis at San Jose before the SAP Open started. After a long time, Pete Sampras sat in his chair to catch his breath whereas Monfils started doing some push-ups and sprinting
across the court. This indicated to the viewers about the 15-year age difference between the two contestants and their level of physical strength.
Monfils was very lively during the exhibition match and provide good entertainment to the crowd. The Frenchman took a camera from a photographer present and had a snapshot of Sampras. Every now and then Monfils would get his cell
phone out of his bag and ask the ball boy to take a snap of him with Sampras. It was more than just a game of tennis but was a chance for the Frenchman to pay tribute and respect to his tennis idol. Monfils expressed his thought in the post match reviews.
“To play against you, Pete, is a dream,” he said.
Though this contest was purely for the entertainment of the tennis fans, Monfils still believes that beating Pete Sampras is a big achievement for him. He thinks this victory will give him immense faith in his game and his debut
at the SAP Open will be remarkable.
Pete Sampras will also be playing another exhibition match with his long time arch rival Andre Agassi later this month at Madison Square Garden.
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