I’m not giving matches away.”There was a big change of the guard a few years ago when Andre and Pete came and Connors, McEnroe and Lendl went. Actually it’s a plus because, in a way, I’m a tougher opponent now than I was a couple of years ago Now, even when I’m down, I’m under control. but I don’t necessarily feel that old yet and I think it’s wrong to call me that It’s as if it drives me out almost. I feel I’m very important to tennis.”If you still have the hunger and the desire it doesn’t matter how old you are. “After the first set I lost power in my whole game,” he said “He sensed that and took full advantage. He hits those bombs and you pray for rain.”Becker was reminded that he was the oldest finalist since Jimmy Connors 11 years ago “You guys call me the old lion .. maybe it’s the beard … On the one hand Becker seemed to confirm this but on the backhand he came out fighting.Fed the question on a silver salver Becker agreed that, after tough quarter and semi-finals, this was a match too far.

He might have added that he’s got every shot.
The question for Becker is when is he going to tire of the racket? The German was taller, heavier and older than the American. Sampras is 23, Becker 27 and if a week is a long time in politics four years seems to be a lifetime in tennis. Sampras is proving to be even more reliable than the weather and after achieving the hat-trick the question is can he match Bjorn Borg’s nap hand? “He’s got a shot,” Boris Becker said. TIM GLOVER

One of the best bets of Wimbledon was a win double on Pete Sampras continuing to reign and the rain continuing to be a stranger for the fortnight. It looks as though he’s going to run and run, and dear Fred Perry, for one, would delight in the fact that such a worthy successor to omnipresence is carrying the baton.YESTERDAY ATWIMBLEDONSampras becomes first man since Borg to win three successive singles titlesNavratilova claims her 19th Wimbledon title after victory in the mixed doublesBritons triumph in the boys’ doublesTHE FINAL RECKONINGSampras Becker23 Aces 167 Double faults 1554% First serves in 52%86% Second serves in 78%77% Service points won 60%91% Points won on first serve 79%61% Points won on second serve 39%116 ave 129 max First serve (mph) 113 ave 123 max95 ave 106 max Second serve (mph) 100 ave 113 max56% Total points won 44%. Some of these same people loved Borg because of his unflappability in the face of the raging of Connors and McEnroe.

It is good that they are learning to admire Sampras for what he is, realising that he cannot be other than that. “Just to have him there made me feel really good on the court.”To be fair, the Centre Court rose to the champion at the end, recognising a remarkable talent. For Sampras, the shouts of “Pistol” were uncannily and reassuringly familiar “Tom sounded just like Tim,” he said. Sampras, it will be remembered, broke down in tears when reminded of Gullikson while playing Jim Courier, in a magnificent semi-final at the Australian Open in January.Gullikson’s twin brother, Tom, the United States Davis Cup captain, was among “Pistol Pete’s” supporters yesterday.

Sampras then had two break points for 4-1, but Becker managed to delay the inevitable for three more games, loath to leave the court he regards as a second home. Or at least he did until Sampras evicted him.”He owns the Centre Court,” Becker acknowledged. “It used to be mine in the Eighties, now it belongs to him.”Sampras dedicated the title to his coach, Tim Gullikson, who is back in Illinois receiving treatment for a brain tumour. The American, by contrast, did not drop a point on his serve in the set until the concluding game, when Becker saw a deuce, which became a mirage as Sampras slipped in two more aces, the first off a second delivery.Follow that! Becker did, by double-faulting three times to lose the opening game of the fourth set. He must have begun to wonder if the opening set was only a dream, that in reality he was in the process of being blown off the court in straight sets.Becker fought through six deuces before losing serve to go 1-2 down in the third set, double-faulting each time Sampras thought an opportunity had passed. After a time, he discarded it, deciding that if he was going to bow out, it would be as the crowd have known him best over the past decade, grinning broadly beneath the ginger nut.He tried his best to impersonate the bold Boris of old, but striving for something extra on a serve that boomed too infrequently had the self- defeating effect of donating 15 double-faults to Sampras’s side of the scoreboard, often at crucial moments.Joking with the crowd may have helped alleviate some depressing moments, but chipping points off Sampras’s serve was becoming a task beyond him. Once he lost his serve in the third game of the second set, netting a backhand after Sampras had returned a smash, everything became a struggle.Having played bareheaded to this point, Becker tried wearing a cap, only to discover that he was already in the shade.

But a toll had been exacted in the matches leading up to his first Grand Slam final since losing to his compatriot Michael Stich in 1991.Surviving a marathon quarter-final against the Frenchman Cedric Pioline, 9-7 in the fifth set, and recovering from a set and 4-1 down to rattle Agassi in the semi-finals had rendered Becker battle-weary rather than battle-hardened for the severest test of all.The 27-year-old German became heavy of leg on a hot day (90F-plus) against a blistering opponent. Sampras recovered to lead, 5-4, thanks to the fourth of his 23 aces, followed by a service winner. But Becker prevailed, getting his backhand to a second serve and causing his opponent to misdirect a low backhand response to the return.In other circumstances, this breakthrough, after 47 minutes, surely would have inspired Becker to pound into submission any man daring to stand between him and a fourth Wimbledon title. After double-faulting on the fifth point, Sampras went 2-4 in arrears when Becker ended a seven- shot rally with a smash. This produced an enormous roar, partly because of the unusually high ratio of shots, but chiefly because Becker had gained the initiative.