London, England -It was a match between champions on Wednesday when Pete Sampras faced John McEnroe on the courts of the Royal Albert Hall for the Blackrock Masters Tennis, the first time that Sampras has played since 2002. Sampras, wearing a dark blue shirt and white shorts instead of his trademark all-white tennis attire, gave the crowd a glimpse of his lighter side by showing his opponent where the shots landed when the seven-time Grand Slam champion, in true fashion, questioned the line calls. Sampras brought the house down at the end with a final score of 6-3, 6-4, saying, “I really enjoyed it. To be retired for six years and still be able to play in front of a crowd like that is an honor.”
McEnroe was equally impressed with his fellow American’s play. Twelve years older than Sampras, McEnroe got off to a slow start when he wasted four break points in the opening game of the match, holding on until Sampras broke serve to lead with a 5-3 in the first set. He again misjudged a forehand return on the second set, giving Sampras the score and the final service winner a few minutes later. “That serve is just scary,” McEnroe said. McEnroe had a made a comment a year earlier about Sampras’ chances at Wimbledon if he ever played again, saying that he would seed Sampras in the top five if he ever returned.
Sampras is slated to face Jeremy Bates on Friday before capping the A group play with Cedric Pioline in a match scheduled for Saturday.