GULLIKSON'S DEATH IS LESSON IN LIFE FOR SHELTERED SAMPRAS FINAL Edition

Fresh from taking his daily pounding on the table of his personal masseuse, Pete Sampras, who is attempting to win a historic fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, was swilling his ritual post-workout Gatorades and thinking deep thoughts, which is a new ritual. But last month, Sampras placed his 1993...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSun-sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Main Author ROBIN FINN The New York Times
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Fort Lauderdale Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 23.06.1996
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LONDON
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Summary:Fresh from taking his daily pounding on the table of his personal masseuse, Pete Sampras, who is attempting to win a historic fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, was swilling his ritual post-workout Gatorades and thinking deep thoughts, which is a new ritual. But last month, Sampras placed his 1993 Wimbledon trophy beside the casket of his coach and mentor, Tim Gullikson, a final gift and memento of a four-year partnership that yielded six of the player's seven Grand Slam singles crowns and, most important, launched him here at Wimbledon. On grass, Gullikson zeroed in on Sampras' non-existent return of serve, the stroke that makes or breaks Wimbledon champions, and honed his innate improvisational skills, an absolute necessity for making the split-second decisions the fickle surface demands. On clay, Gullikson influenced Sampras to construct points with the patience of a chess master, not an innate Sampras skill, and inspired him to take some delight in grinding out matches.