For the last 12 years, Pete Sampras,
widely recognized as one of the world's greatest tennis
players, has made an annual pilgrimage from his gated home
high in Beverly Hills to the sea-level tennis courts of
Miami.
He comes to compete in the Ericsson Open, a tournament that
attracts pros from around the globe. Pete Sampras' Miami, however,
is far from the bright neon and trendy nightspots of South Beach.
His Miami is a serene place where he can soak up the sun and
solitude, so that when it's time for him to deliver one of his
famous serves, he's prepared to win. Born in Washington, D.C., and
raised in Palos Verdes, California, Sampras began playing tennis at
age 7 and turned pro at 16 in 1988. Two years later, Sampras
stunned the tennis world by becoming the youngest U.S. Open winner
in history, defeating Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, and Andre Agassi.
From 1993 to 1998, he was ranked number-one in the world. He's been
Wimbledon champ a record seven times, has 13 Grand Slam titles, and
has earned 63 over-all titles. The 30-year-old Sampras has been
criticized for not being brasher, louder, or more exciting
off-court. But clearly, focus and solitude are what suit him and
his game. Here's a weekend with Pete Sampras on the quiet side of
Miami.
FRIDAY
LODGING
"I've been going to Miami since I was 17 or 18, and just starting
out. Now, every year for the last 12 years, I've played the
Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. I usually stay at the Inn at Fisher
Island. It's an exclusive island, [established] in the '20s by the
Vanderbilts as their winter estate. You can only get there by ferry
- or, of course, yacht, helicopter, or seaplane. There are 500
large and expensive houses and condominiums owned by people from
around the world, including many famous stars. But what I like best
is the hotel. The views are phenomenal. You're looking right across
to Miami Beach or Key Biscayne. Once you're on Fisher Island you
just get in a golf cart, which they give to all of the hotel
guests, and drive around the island. You can go to the beach or
tennis center, where I practice. Andre Agassi stays at Fisher
Island as well, and we end up practicing right next to each other.
There's also a great gym and spa, a grocery store with a deli, a
couple of really good restaurants, and a nice little nine-hole golf
course. It's everything that you need, totally self-contained. It's
really the cream of the crop."
DINNER
"When I'm playing, I usually eat Italian. Packing the carbs.
There's an excellent Italian place on Fisher Island called the Café
Porto Cervo. It's modeled after a famous Italian restaurant in
Sardinia, and they serve great Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.
You can sit outside on the patio, overlooking the marina, which is
always filled with big yachts. There's also a little pizza and
pasta place on the island called La Trattoria. It's a little more
low-key. I like to pick up food from there and take it back to my
room. If you want something fancy, there's the Vanderbilt Mansion,
a formal restaurant in the original Vanderbilt home."
NIGHTLIFE
"I'll occasionally go to Coconut Grove at night. It's a nice area,
with restaurants and a movie theater. I like to go to Coconut Grove
rather than South Beach, which is a little too crazy for someone
like me. Although, the Art Deco District on South Beach, with its
'20s and '30s architecture, is always interesting. I like to get a
bite to eat early and then take a stroll through CocoWalk, an
outdoor shopping center with lots of stores, restaurants, and
nightclubs. There are always a lot of people there."
SATURDAY
SIGHTS
"I love Key Biscayne, a tropical island village six miles off the
coast of Miami. The Rickenbacker Causeway takes you from Miami to
Key Biscayne over the water. It's a great drive. On the left you
can see the cruise ships; on the right are all of the beautiful,
large homes. It's peaceful, and you've got the water on both sides
of you. In Key Biscayne, you have tennis, golf, nice restaurants,
the Miami Seaquarium; everything a vacation is all about."
BEACHES
"Crandon Park Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in
America, and the best party beach in Key Biscayne. It's miles of
wide, flat beach, right along the drive, and it's always packed and
everyone's barbecuing. There are outdoor grills everywhere. Crandon
Park also has an amusement park, gardens, and a nature center.
Fisher Island has a great beach with a nice eating area and a huge
dock. The beach is very quiet, very nice, and not big. If you're
staying at the Inn at Fisher Island, you can go to a mile-long
private beach with sand imported from the Bahamas."
TENNIS
"The Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne is where they play
the Ericsson Open, the fifth biggest tennis tournament in the
world. I love that tournament. It's really one of the best. Crandon
Park is a public tennis center, and it's one of the best tennis
sites in the country. It seats about 14,000, has good lighting at
night, and a good atmosphere for tennis. At the Ericsson Open,
you've got Andre Agassi, Gustavo Kuerten, Patrick Rafter, all the
top guys. If you win, you play six matches in 10 days. A lot of
guys like playing Crandon Park."
GOLF
"Crandon Park Golf Course is one of the best public courses in the
country, and the only golf course on Biscayne Bay. It faces the
ocean and is nicely manicured, but it's also tough, with a lot of
character and history, and it hosts an annual PGA tournament. The
golf course is right next to the tennis center. Sometimes when I'm
finished playing or practicing, I'll go and play a quick nine
holes. There's also The Links at Fisher Island, a nine-hole course
designed by P.B. Dye. It's between the ocean and Biscayne Bay."
LUNCH
"Coconut Grove is a nice area for lunch. I love Mezzanotte, which
is, once again, great Italian with a very hip, stylish crowd. After
11 on the weekends, a DJ spins music and customers dance on the
tables. I love the lobster ravioli or the veal chop with rosemary
wine sauce at Capriccio. It's a pretty good-sized restaurant with
an outdoor terrace, which is the perfect place to sit, especially
in winter, when the temperatures are in the 60s and 70s."
SPA
"The Spa Internazionale at Fisher Island is housed in the
Vanderbilt family's huge old seaplane hangar. I've gotten massages
there, and they have all types of beauty stuff: mud baths with
black Hungarian mud, herbal wraps, and things like that. It's one
of the best spas I've ever been to. The gym overlooks the water and
there's a private VIP suite that guests can book. It has
everything: steam bath, sauna, Jacuzzi, shower, and more."
DINNER
"Joe's Stone Crab probably has the best stone crabs in the country.
This is such seriously great crab that people will wait in line for
up to three hours, because Joe's doesn't take reservations. Don
Shula, former coach of the Miami Dolphins, has Shula's Steak House.
It's very good. Good meat. They have something called the 48-Ounce
Club, with more than 16,000 members. To join, you've got to eat a
48-ounce steak in one sitting. The ambience is like a club: dark
wood, soft lighting. It overlooks the golf course. It's definitely
very popular. Don Shula's a legend in that area, so everybody
goes."
SPORTS
"I've gone to a lot of Miami Heat games. It's convenient to Fisher
Island. Once you get off the ferry, the team's stadium, the
American Airlines Arena, is about 15 minutes away. I'm a big NBA
nut, so I've gone to a lot of games in Miami, which is a fun way to
have a little entertainment after dinner. Pat Riley, formerly of
the L.A. Lakers, is the Heat's coach now. Miami and L.A. games have
a similar kind of atmosphere when it comes to basketball. People
are very laid-back. Obviously, my heart is with the Lakers, but I
enjoy watching the Heat. A couple of times when I've been in Miami,
the Heat and the Lakers have played each other, which is a really
passionate game for me to watch."
SUNDAY
EXCURSION
"I used to drive from Tampa to Miami, going across Everglades
National Park. You need a full tank of gas when you cross the
Everglades, because you're not going to see anything for about
three hours, except for endless swampland filled with wading birds,
alligators, and crocodiles. Once you get to Tampa, there are a
couple of good restaurants, especially Bern's Steak House. It's one
of the older restaurants in the area, and they have some of the
best steak anywhere. They make everything from scratch and grow
their own vegetables on their own farm, where the waiters have to
work before moving on to the restaurant. So the waiters know what
they're talking about."
ONE GREAT DAY IN MIAMI
"I remember my match with Brazilian player Gustavo Kuerten in the
finals one year at the Ericsson Open. A lot of Brazilian fans were
there for him, and it was really one of the louder crowds that I've
ever played in front of. There was a lot of support for me, as
well, which was nice. That match was really one of my most
memorable because Kuerten was getting a lot of support throughout
the week from the Brazilian and South American fans. Then we played
each other in the finals. His fans were really getting behind him,
but American fans can really rise to the occasion when there's a
challenge. They certainly did for me in that match. The fans got
behind me and I ended up winning the match something like 7-6 in
the fourth set. It was very, very loud; one of the best atmospheres
I've ever experienced. What does that say about Miami? They're into
tennis. Because of the weather, people play all year round, so it's
just a great tennis town."
PETE SAMPRAS’ MIAMI ESSENTIALS
LODGING
Inn at Fisher Island Hotel, $690-$1,500; (305) 535-6026
DINING
Bern’s Steak House, Tampa, steak; $25-$150; (813) 251-2421
Café Porto Cervo, Italian; $14-$32; (305) 535-6039
Capriccio, Italian; $10-$15; (305) 372-1221
Joe’s Stone Crab, seafood; $10-$48; (305) 673-0365
La Trattoria, Italian; $11-$18; (305) 535-6090
Mezzanotte, Italian; $5-$13; (305) 448-7677
Shula’s Steak House, steak; $40-$65; (305) 820-8102
Vanderbilt Mansion, continental; $9-$32; (305) 535-6027
SPA
Spa Internazionale, (305) 535-6030
GOLF
Crandon Park Golf Course, (305) 361-9120
The Links at Fisher Island, (305) 535-6016
NIGHTLIFE
CocoWalk, shopping/entertainment complex; (305) 444-0777
Miami Heat, pro basketball; (786) 777-4328