Goran Ivanisevic has vowed to take revenge against Pete Sampras for ‘destroying his life’ when the pair meet at the BlackRock Masters Tennis in London, December 2-7, 2008.
Ivanisevic finished as the runner-up to Sampras in the 1994 and 1998 Wimbledon finals, and lost to the American in the 1995 semi finals, before eventually winning the title as a wild card in 2001.
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The torture of those seven years from 1994-2001 has not been forgotten by Ivanisevic, and he cannot wait to meet Sampras at the Royal Albert Hall - the American’s first trip to London since his last Wimbledon in 2002.“It’s great news that Pete is coming to London and I want to play him,” said Ivanisevic.
“This guy destroyed my life, so I at least need to play him at the BlackRock Masters, prepare properly and beat him at the Royal Albert Hall.”
Ivanisevic never reached World No.1 because Sampras was always standing in front of him. After losing the 1998 Wimbledon final to Sampras in five sets, Ivanisevic said: "It's the worst moment in my life. I've had some bad moments when I've been sick or somebody died but, for me, this is the worst thing ever. I don't know how I will get motivated to play tennis again.” Thankfully, he managed it, won Wimbledon in 2001, and tried, with a certain degree of success, not to be bitter towards Sampras.
“I can be proud that I was second behind the greatest player in the history of tennis,” said Ivanisevic, who beat Sampras six times, but only once at a Grand Slam tournament (the 1992 Wimbledon semi final).
“It is not only Pete’s fault that he destroyed my life - it is also my fault. In the 1998 Wimbledon final, I should have beaten him. When you have a couple of chances against Pete in a match as important as the Wimbledon final, you have to take them because he doesn’t give you many. Still, it was great to play in the same generation as him and to play him so many times. I beat him many times, but not when it was important.”
Sampras has not forgotten their Wimbledon encounters either.
"Goran was my rival at Wimbledon for so many years and I was someone that gave him some trouble there. He could have won a few more titles if I wasn’t around. It will be great to play him again and hopefully the result will still be the same!” he said.
Ivanisevic also hailed the addition of fellow Wimbledon champion Stefan Edberg to the BlackRock Masters Tennis field.
"Stefan is still in great shape, still playing good, and he is an unbelievably great player and a great person to have on the BlackRock Tour of Champions. More good people are coming on the Tour all the time,” said Ivanisevic.
“I will have to prepare well because it is going to be tough competition. I heard that Sampras even beat Roger Federer in an exhibition match, so I need to be ready. To beat Federer at tennis, on the Playstation, or anything else is a great achievement, so he must be feeling good.”
