| | MELBOURNE, Australia -- Roy Emerson played in Australian
Opens where he brought his own soap and towel, and had a nail for a
hanger in the dressing room.
He won six of them, accounting for half his record total of 12
Grand Slam tennis titles.
|  | | Pete Sampras begins his quest to claim a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. |
On Sunday, the 63-year-old Emerson went out to hit in the
tournament's modern, 15,000-seat stadium with Pete Sampras, the
28-year-old who stands on the verge of breaking that record. He'll
begins his quest for a 13th when play starts Monday.
"He hit one backhand slice to me that was pretty firm, and I
was saying I wouldn't want to play him in his prime," said
Sampras, who grew up admiring the Australian players of a former
era. "It was definitely an honor today."
Emerson figures his record soon will be history, and told
Sampras as much.
"You're only just beginning with your game. ... and my record
of 12 Grand Slams, if you show good form and play well and keep in
good shape, I think you'll leave that well behind," Emerson said.
Emerson reached his 12th at the 1967 French championships.
Sampras caught up with him by winning Wimbledon last year before
being forced out of the U.S. Open with a back injury.
"It would be fitting" to break the record in Australia,
Sampras said. "But I must admit I was looking forward to the
opportunity to do it at the U.S. Open last year, in my home
country, but that wasn't meant to be.
"So maybe it will happen here ... but probably at Wimbledon.
You never know."
Sampras has won six of his 12 at Wimbledon, four at the U.S.
Open and two in Australia.
In any case, he said, to spend time with Emerson is "truly
overwhelming."
Emerson was impressed that Sampras had watched him on film.
"I didn't think they had any film when I was playing," he
said. | |
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