Rejuvenated Sampras back in the groove

The writing was on the wall for Pete Sampras after he lost last year's U.S. Open to Australian whizzkid Lleyton Hewitt and the former world number one knew it.

For the second year in a row, the greatest player of his generation had been run ragged by a much younger and fitter opponent and there was little it seemed he could do about it.

With 13 grand slam titles already under his belt, Sampras has more guile and experience than any man who's ever played the game but even he knew that couldn't help him keep up with the new breed of athletic youngsters gracing the game.

Already 30 and married to a Hollywood actress, rich beyond his wildest dreams and with a reputation money couldn't buy, it must have been tempting for Sampras to hang up his racket but he didn't. Instead he decided to do something about it.

"I told myself I am going to give it one really, really hard push," Sampras said.

"So in these last three months I have been training hard, doing a lot of running and lifting and just doing whatever I can to get in the best shape possible.

"When you're 30, you have to work twice as hard as you did when you were 20 so that's what I've been doing."

But improving his body was just half the battle for Sampras. He also needed to get his mind right.

NEW MOTIVATION

After 14 years on the professional circuit, it's no surprise that Sampras had lost his enthusiasm for the grind of touring and needed a new motivation to help him prepare for the grand slams.

With 63 titles and more than US$42 million in prizemoney, Sampras knew he wasn't going to find that playing week-in week-out so he decided to go back to Davis Cup, where's there's no prizemoney but plenty of passionate tennis.

"I need to go out there and feel inspiration and motivation and Davis Cup has always done it for me," Sampras said.

"I think it will be a good thing for me at this stage of my career.

"I need to feel inspired out there because in the last couple of years there have been moments where, playing certain events, I felt I had a hard time getting going."

Already a two-time winner of the Australian Open, Sampras is hoping his new approach will bear fruit at this year's first grand slam event.

FEELING GOOD

While so many of his rivals, including triple champion Andre Agassi, have succumbed to injury, Sampras says he's feeling as good as ever.

He won a lead-up event in Melbourne last week, which included three of the world's top-10 ranked players, and opened his campaign with a straightforward 6-3 6-3 6-4 victory over Finn Jarkko Nieminen.

Sampras, seeded eighth, wasn't getting too far ahead of himself even though his quarter of the draw has opened up since Agassi's withdrawal but said he was feeling like old.

"I still feel that when I get my game going I'm one of the tough guys to beat," he said.