"It’s kind of like the monkey is off my back" - When Pete Sampras felt relieved after losing his 1991 US Open quarterfinal
Pete Sampras had an unusual reaction to his quarterfinal exit at the 1991 US Open, as he was relieved after being eliminated during his title defense at the New York Major.
Sampras was a precocious talent who broke out in 1990 by winning the US Open that year, beating Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in the final. The American was seeded sixth at the Grand Slam next year and reached the quarterfinals with wins over Christo van Rensburg, Wayne Ferreira, Stephane Simian, and David Wheaton. His run ended in the last eight as he was beaten 6-2, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) by Jim Courier.
Pete Sampras said in his post-match press conference that he felt relieved after losing the match. He also likened his situation to that of Michael Chang after his title defense at the 1990 French Open ended in the quarterfinals. Chang said he felt like a bag of bricks was lifted off his shoulders.
"Maybe things will calm down a little bit, you know; I am not the reigning U.S. Open champion anymore. And, you know, it’s kind of like the monkey is off my back a little bit. It is kind of like how (Michael) Chang felt after he lost in the French (Open), all the bag of bricks just came off his shoulders. That is the way I kind of feel. Maybe I can go back to my normal lifestyle," Pete Sampras said.
"I knew it was going to be tough to try to defend here. I thought I played pretty good tennis, got to the quarters, but you know, unfortunately, I didn’t play a good match today," he added.
I am surprised at how bitter and defensive that sounded: Pete Sampras on his comments at the 1991 US Open
Pete Sampras wrote about his comments at the 1991 US Open in his 2008 book "A Champion's Mind," and said that they sounded bitter and defensive. He also stated that him admitting a ton of bricks was lifted from his shoulders would haunt him for a while.
"Even I am surprised today at how bitter and defensive that sounded. What’s worse, another sentence I uttered during the press conference would haunt me for a long time to come. At one point, I admitted, 'I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted off my shoulders.' Jim followed me into the interview room, and when my comment was related to him, he carefully replied in that low-key way of his: 'There are a lot of guys out there wishing they had that load of bricks on their shoulders,'" Sampras wrote.