Sampras Tops McEnroe For Cup Crown

NESN.com | February 15, 2009



Sampras Tops McEnroe For Cup Crown

Pete Sampras will certainly be able to afford a nice gift for tennis great John McEnroe’s 50th birthday.

Sampras topped McEnroe 7-6 (10), 6-4 in the singles title game at the Champions Cup Boston at Agannis Arena on the campus of Boston University, the opening event on the 2009 Outback Champions Series.

It was a bit of a payback victory for Sampras, as McEnroe defeated him at the 2008 Champions Cup Boston en route to the title -- his first career title on the Outback Champions Series, which is now in its fourth year.

McEnroe, who will be turning 50 a day after the title match, led 3-0 in the first set and held four set points in the first-set tie-breaker, but was unable to stay on top of the 37-year-old Sampras.

“I gave it everything I had,” said McEnroe. “(Sampras) knows a little about winning when the going gets tough. That's why he won 14 Grand Slams which is unbelievable.”

Sampras raked in $60,000 while McEnroe earned a runner-up check which pays $40,000.

"It was a good match,” said Sampras. “I got off to a slow start getting broken. He was playing well, mixing up with his serve. I got back to even in the first, made it to the tiebreaker. My serve wasn't great. I had a couple of double faults, but I got through that. It was good tennis and the crowd enjoyed it. I give him a lot of credit. He played great against me. He was hard to put away today."