Gael Monfils Leaves Pete Sampras a Legend in San Jose

Pete Sampras won the San Jose's SAP Open titles back in 1996 and 1997.

However, in his return in Monday's exhibition match against Gael Monfils, the same results did not occur when he lost 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Monfils is the acrobatic speedster of tennis and proved to be a hard contender for the former world No. 1. The first set was 40 minutes long and quite a fight and Sampras was able to break Monfils for a lead in the second.

The two-setter ended up being an hour and 19 minutes.

Then in his defeat, Sampras had to admit:

"Gael’s a great mover. He returns well and made me work pretty hard on my service game, but all in all, I’m very happy with the way I played. I had a few chances in the first set I let slip away, but he’s the real deal. I’ve played a lot of good movers in my day, but not only does he move well, but he slides, which helps really cover the court that much better."

In the end, no one could deny he played well against the 12th-ranked Frenchman and Sampras said, "I was holding my own out there, though. That was the most I've served and volleyed lately. I'm happy the way I played."

The 39 year old Sampras has 14 Grand Slam titles and 66 career finals in all. Monfils has never won a major but has potential and time, according to Sampras.

Sampras said that Monfils is not at the levels of the world top three yet but, "he has the talent, it’s just a matter of putting it all together, but he has the game.

"He serves big, he can come in when he has to, and returns quite well, but to win these majors you’ve got to be very, very special. He has the talent, it’s just going to take some time. He’s still very young. He’s 24. He still has a lot of time to get it.”

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