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  Pete Sampras might be thinning on top, but he hasn’t lost much of the form that saw him win 14 majors > Even without a lot of hair, Sampras shows he’s still among tennis’s top players

At 35, Pete Sampras’s hairline has become a tonsure or, in tennis terms, it resembles the second-week grass on Wimbledon’s centre court. The bottom half, to about the top of the ears, is pristine and lush; the top half is a construction zone of various colours and bare patches, glazed with just a hint of the turf that once grew so lavishly there.

Everything else, including his game, is about the same as it ever was, incredible considering the lack of match play since he retired nearly five years ago. And Sampras might be the key to success for a venture that, on the surface, should be a rousing success: a senior tennis tour.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion made his return to competitive tennis 10 days ago in Boston in the Champions Cup, part of the Outback Champions Series started by Sampras’s former on-court rival, Jim Courier.

Beyond some World Team Tennis and a hit with Roger Federer, last summer, Sampras had barely played. But he took this seriously; he dropped from about 200 pounds to 185. And while his opponents were competitive, he was by far the class of the field.

“I would seed him in the top five in Wimbledon without a doubt. Name five guys that could beat this guy at Wimbledon,” said John McEnroe, who lost to Sampras 6-3, 6-4 in Boston. “He absolutely just cranks the ball still, and just makes you so uncomfortable and uneasy.”

Beating a still feisty but 48-year-old Mac is one thing; best-of-five at Wimbledon is another. Sampras has no plans for an ATP Tour comeback. But the announcement that he would be in the eight-man field in Boston sent ticket sales soaring.

The format was tried by Jimmy Connors about 15 years ago. His tour grew to 20 tournaments in 11 countries by 2001. But the players weren’t nearly as fit, nor nearly as serious; Connors beat everybody routinely, including a rusty Bjorn Borg, an out-of-shape Guillermo Vilas, and the comedic Mansour Bahrami, who, you ask? Exactly.

By then, Connors was 49, needing a hip replacement. The tour basically fell apart without him. But now Courier, 36, is trying to bring it back. There was one event in 2005, four last year, and there will be six in the U.S. this year, plus an event in Athens, Greece, this weekend that will feature both Sampras, who will bring his Greek parents, and Mark Phillippoussis, who hasn’t ruled out a main-tour comeback.

The Champions Series seems like a perfect event to bring to Montreal, where tennis is popular to the point where people will pack Uniprix Stadium even when half the marquee names pull out with injuries. The smaller No. 1 court there would be a perfect venue, and the five-day, round-robin format guarantees you’ll see each favourite at least three times.

The Boston event got a lot of television coverage on the sports networks in the U.S.; the tennis was both high quality and highly entertaining. The over-30 crowd has learned a thing or two about playing to the fans.

Not only that, the pressure’s off. There’s money, $50,000 to the winner in Boston, but it’s just gravy. They even hung out together off the court. What would you rather watch: Guillermo Canas vs. Novak Djokovic, the final last week in Miami, or Sampras vs. McEnroe?

The two hadn’t played a competitive match since 1990, when Sampras was just starting out and McEnroe winding down, before meeting in Boston. The arena was packed as McEnroe opened the match thinking he had a puncher’s chance, before quickly realizing he had zero hope. But it was great theatre.

The players on this tour are fit, if slightly slowed by age. But that’s only compared to the lofty standards they set. And the advances, particularly in string technology, probably have made them better players. Courier, a dogged baseliner back then, was slicing and approaching the net with regularity. McEnroe, Pat Cash, Tim Mayotte, and Sampras were serving and volleying.

Sampras finally ditched his old Wilson Pro Staff and was playing with an oversized version of Federer’s stick, which, even though it resembles the classic Pro Staff, gave him a bigger sweet spot and more power. And Sampras’s second serve was as devastating as ever.

Unlike the previous generation, the over-30s have held up extremely well. Cash, 41, his trademark checkerboard bandanna firmly in place, looks to have paid a visit to Mr. Botox. Petr Korda, 39, so gawky when he played he was nicknamed “Big Bird,” looks better now. Add Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanisevic, Michael Chang, Marcelo Rios and Mats Wilander, and perhaps even Andre Agassi some day.

There might never be a better time to make this work, because McEnroe, a freak of nature for his ability to be competitive into his dotage without ever seemingly lifting a weight, won’t last much longer. He’s still churlishness personified on the court, a quality that is not aging well. But he’s also still a major draw. Wouldn’t you pay to see it? I know I would.