In the United States, we’ve just finished celebrating two major holidays – Thanksgiving and Black Friday. For my international readers who are unfamiliar, Thanksgiving is a time when American families get together for a meal, in order to give thanks for the things that are special to them in their lives. It’s always held on a Thursday in late November, and has a history that dates back to the times of the Pilgrims and Indians.

Oh – and Black Friday? Well, Black Friday isn’t actually a holiday in the US, but it has grown into a de facto one over the last few decades. The day after Thanksgiving is widely considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year, as stores open their doors earlier than usual (5 a.m. is quite common), offering great sales to shoppers eager to start their Christmas shopping.

In the spirit of Black Friday, I was thinking about what I want for Christmas (in part because I was recently asked this question). I have some ideas about presents that I hope to unwrap, but there’s one thing I want that won’t fit into a box with a bow on top. But I’m going to ask for it anyway.

'The grass is your domain, and I’m confident that you could still put up winning results on the lawns if you gave it a chance'


I want to see Pete Sampras play next year. A big ask? Yeah, especially after Sampras has repeatedly stated that he isn’t coming back. But after Pete finally got the best of Roger Federer in the third of their three exhibition matches, I’d like him to reconsider.

Pete, I’m not asking you to play the entire 2008 calendar – in fact, I just want to see you play the grass court season. We’ve talked about the misnomer that is the “season” of grass court tournaments here at [G/R] before, but consider how much more intriguing the “season” would become if you played? The grass is your domain, and I’m confident that you could still put up winning results on the lawns if you gave it a chance.

Returning straight to Wimbledon – which you’ve said that you miss – would be an onerous task. But what if you played in two warm-up tournaments beforehand? It would serve as valuable conditioning, practice, and would serve to pinpoint precisely what you would need to work on before returning to the All England Club.

I don’t care if you decide to play in Halle or London two weeks before Wimbledon, or whether you choose s’-Hertogenbosch or Nottingham the week prior, but I hope you consider playing the entire “season”. Building confidence (sorry if that’s an insult to ask) with each match is what I think would make your return to Wimbledon a truly fascinating story, as opposed to a glorified wild card.

Pete, I know the fans have grilled you in the past for not showing your emotions (not I). And I also know that you didn’t particularly care what the fans thought, as you played tennis your way. But how would you like to make almost every tennis fans’ dreams come true? We’d certainly all be behind you.

You can add to your already phenomenal resume. You can prove some things to others, and yourself, that you’ve always wondered. Hey, maybe you can even force Roger to win 16 Grand Slams in order to hold the all-time record for majors won.

Sound crazy? Your victory over Federer in Macau impressed me, exhibition or not. Even if you think Roger let you have that last one, it’s evident that your game still has flashes of brilliance. And at a Grand Slam tournament, all you need are seven brilliant performances in a row.

PS: For my stocking stuffer, I want one final return to the US Open as well.