A few precious moments before nightfall, as the sun disappeared over the western edge of Centre Court at Wimbledon last July, Pete Sampras cracked a 130-mph serve and flashbulbs sparkled like 100 flickering candles.

	After his win, Sampras climbed into the stands to give his parents, including father Sam, a hug.

Patrick Rafter struggled to get his racquet on the ball. And in the magic twilight of the 2000 Wimbledon finals, Sampras made history, capturing his 13th Grand Slam singles title, breaking Roy Emerson's 30-year-old record of 12.

There were tears of joy from the champion, who climbed into the crowd to hug his parents, Sam and Georgia. Despite their son's record-setting performances in England, they had never been to Wimbledon before.

A year later, he's married and he's trying to work through one of the toughest stretches of his 13-year career, but he feels like the same man who helped create one of the most dramatic moments in tennis history.

"It all happened the way I've always dreamt about breaking the record, at Wimbledon, having my fiancée there, having my parents there -- I just realized it's as good as it's ever going to get," Sampras said Thursday from London.

"As an athlete, that moment, it's getting dark, a surreal atmosphere, it's still firmly in my mind," said Sampras, who begins his 13th appearance at the All-England Club on Monday. "It's the way I've always wanted to break the record one day, to have my parents there, who don't come around much, to share that with me was very special."

Yet, who would have thought then, during that powerful display of tennis and joyous celebration, that Sampras would go an entire year without winning another title? Not Pistol Pete, that's for sure. And he insists that reports of his imminent disappearance from the world of tennis are very premature.

"Obviously, people are thinking that I'm hitting 30, I've done a lot in the game, is it time for me to go?" Sampras said. "I can just say that I plan on being around for quite a while."

Sampras turns 30 in August. No titles in 12 months -- the longest drought of his professional career -- is tough to swallow sometimes. Age, injuries and major changes in his life seem to be taking their toll. In what passes for the short offseason in tennis, Sampras got married to actress Bridgette Wilson and moved to California, where he's got some new business ventures.

"I don't think you can separate his game right now from where his head has been," said Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe, who is also a tennis analyst for ESPN. "Plus, where's the motivation? He's had tunnel vision for so long to break the record and now he's done it."

But, on Monday, Sampras will be back on what for him has been home turf. He's won Wimbledon seven times, including four consecutive titles. I have been covering Wimbledon for four years and I've never seen him lose a match there.

Think about it. He's only lost once at Wimbledon -- the 1996 quarterfinal against Richard Krajicek -- in the past eight years. But can he keep up the intensity level for another run at the title?

"Just kind of walking into the club, being on center court, like I've been the last couple of days doing interviews, there's no problem getting the motivation and passion back for the game," Sampras said. "That court is special to me. Wimbledon is so important to the sport of tennis. I know deep down that I have the ability to really turn my year around very shortly."

If you just break it down to the hallowed ground of Centre Court -- the Fenway Park of tennis -- Sampras is 38-1 on that well-worn grass, creating an aura of invincibility that often intimidates the opposition.

"That's a factor, no doubt about it," McEnroe said. A bigger factor is Sampras' serve. Perfectly suited for grass -- heavy, hard and deadly accurate. And the second serve -- clocking on average near 125 mph -- doesn't given an opponent any time to come up for air.

Remarkably, Sampras said he doesn't train on grass during the year until he gets to England and begins the two-week tuneup for Wimbledon. But once he arrives in London, he psyches himself up with a personal tour of Centre Court.

"I always make a point to go to the court before the tournament starts because it is quiet and peaceful," he said. "You just take a seat and look around. You just look at the court and you kind of flash back on a lot of great moments that I've had, a lot of tough finals that I've won."

A look at this year's men's field suggests Sampras is a heavy favorite again. Richard Krajicek has withdrawn due to injury. So has three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten. Another longtime nemesis, Mark Philippoussis, whose serve has given Sampras trouble on grass, has knee problems. He's also out.

"There are probably only four guys who can win it -- Sampras, Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, and maybe Tim Henman, if things break right for him," McEnroe said.

"There seems to be fewer grass court players than there were five years ago," Sampras said. If he wins Wimbledon this year, Sampras would be the first eight-time champion and the first men's tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament in nine consecutive years.

But besides Wimbledon, Sampras has not won another major title since 1997. This year, he's had really one good week of tennis -- at Indian Wells, Calif., where he lost in straight sets to Agassi in the final.

Indeed, his play in the majors has been lackluster after his loss in the final of last year's U.S. Open to Marat Safin, which seemed to catch the entire tennis world by surprise.

And getting bounced out of the French Open in the second round was another major disappointment at Roland Garros, where he has been shut out for his career. But he said a solid fortnight at the All-England would revive his year.

"If anything, I'll enjoy Wimbledon a lot more this year than last year," he said. "I felt so much pressure -- pretty much self-inflicted because of the record. ... This year, I feel a lot more relaxed going into Wimbledon, which hopefully I can play a bit better than last year. Last year, I didn't feel like I was quite at my best."

Now, that's got to be a daunting concept to the rest of the men's field.