Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras (2008) 1.jpg
Country  United States
Residence Los Angeles,CA
Date of birth August 12, 1971 (1971-08-12) (age 39)
Place of birth Washington, D.C.
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg)[1]
Turned pro 1988
Retired 2003
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money

US$ 43,280,489

  • 2nd All-time leader in earnings
Int. Tennis HOF 2007 (member page)
Singles
Career record 762–222 (77.44%)
Career titles 64
Highest ranking No. 1 (April 12, 1993)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (1994, 1997)
French Open SF (1996)
Wimbledon W (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
US Open W (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals W (1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)
Olympic Games 3R (1992)
Doubles
Career record 64–70
Career titles 2
Highest ranking No. 27 (February 12, 1990)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (1989)
French Open 2R (1989)
Wimbledon 3R (1989)
US Open 1R (1988, 1989, 1990)
Last updated on: July 5, 2008.

Pete Sampras (pronounced /ˈsæmprəs/; born August 12, 1971) is a former American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, the second most that any male player had achieved, surpassed in 2009 by Roger Federer. He had a 203–38 win-loss record over 52 Grand Slam singles tournament appearances. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.[2]

Sampras debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and played his last top-level tournament in 2002 when he won the US Open, defeating rival Andre Agassi in the final. He was the year-end World No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993–1998), a record for the open era. His seven Wimbledon singles championships is a record shared with William Renshaw. He spent 286 weeks at top of List of ATP number 1 ranked players, the most of any player. His five US Open singles titles is an open-era record shared with former World No. 1 players Jimmy Connors and Federer. He won five ATP World Tour Finals a record shared with Ivan Lendl. Sampras is the last American male to win Wimbledon.

Contents

Tennis career

Early life and career

Pete Sampras was born in Washington, D.C., and is the third child of Sammy and Georgia Sampras. His mother immigrated from Sparta, Greece, while his father was born in the United States to a Greek immigrant father and a Jewish mother.[3][4] Greek culture played a big role in his upbringing.[4][5] Pete attended regular services of the Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays.[6] From an early age, Sampras showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. At age 3 Sampras discovered a tennis racket in the basement of his home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California, and the warmer climate there allowed seven-year-old Pete to play more tennis. From early on, his great idol was Rod Laver, and at 11 Sampras met and played with him.[7] The Sampras family joined the Jack Kramer Club, and it was here that Sampras's talent became apparent. He was spotted by Peter Fischer, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who coached Sampras until 1989.[7][8] Fischer was responsible for converting Sampras's double-handed backhand to single-handed with the goal of being better prepared to win Wimbledon.[9][10]

1988–1990

Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked World No. 97 after starting the year at World No. 893.[11] His first professional match was a loss to Sammy Giammalva, Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia. But just one week later at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami, Sampras defeated two top-40 players before losing to World No. 18 Emilio Sánchez. He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, when he defeated World No. 39 Michiel Schapers at a US Open warm-up tournament in Rye Brook, New York. In his first Grand Slam singles match, Sampras lost to World No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in the first round of the US Open 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–5, 6–2. Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over World No. 79 Jim Courier, in their first career match-up, and World No. 8 Tim Mayotte.[12]

The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending World No. 81.[13] He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge 7–5, 7–6(5), 5–7, 6–3. He won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time at the French Open before losing in the second round to eventual champion, 17-year-old Michael Chang, 6–1, 6–1, 6–1 in their first career match-up. At the US Open, Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round 5–7, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4 before losing to World No. 13 Jay Berger in the fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round of four consecutive tournaments.[14]

Sampras finished 1990 at World No. 5, having started the year ranked World No. 61 just prior to the start of the Australian Open.[15] He lost to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Mayotte in the first round 7–6(6), 6–7(5), 4–6, 7–5, 12–10 before losing to thirteenth-ranked Yannick Noah in the fourth round in four sets. His first professional singles title came in February at the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia, where he defeated sixth-ranked Andre Agassi, eighth-ranked Mayotte, and eighteenth-ranked Andrés Gómez in the final. This title elevated his ranking into the top-20 for the first time. Sampras did not play the French Open and again lost in the first round of Wimbledon, this time to Christo van Rensburg 7–6(4), 7–5, 7–6(3). Sampras played seven consecutive weeks during the North American summer hard court season. He defeated John McEnroe in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open but then lost to Chang in the semifinals. He also reached the semifinals of the tournament in Los Angeles where he lost to World No. 2 Stefan Edberg. He did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, losing to Chang, Richey Reneberg, and Goran Ivanišević. In September, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Along the way, he defeated sixth-ranked Thomas Muster in the fourth round and third-ranked Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive US Open finals. He then defeated 20th-ranked McEnroe in a four-set semifinal to set up a final with fourth-ranked Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the US Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days.[16] He played five tournaments to complete the year, winning only the Grand Slam Cup.[17]

1991–1992

Sampras in 1992.

Sampras in 1991 captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. Upon entering the US Open as the defending champion that year, he caused controversy when, after losing in the quarterfinals to Jim Courier, Sampras said that he was not disappointed and felt relieved that the pressure to defend his title was no longer on him. This led to widespread criticism, which included disparaging remarks from Courier and Jimmy Connors.[18]

In 1992, Sampras reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first of three consecutive years, made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, and was the runner-up at the US Open to Stefan Edberg. Sampras later stated that his loss in the US Open final that year was a "wake-up call" and that he needed to figure out how to become the World No. 1.[19] He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup, duplicating the feat in 1995.

1993–1996

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 1993, and matched the previous year's quarterfinal performance at the French Open. In April 1993, Sampras attained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the top of the rankings spot was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles,[20] but he justified his ranking three months later by claiming his first Wimbledon title, beating former World No. 1 Jim Courier in the final. This was followed by his second US Open title. He finished the year as the clear No. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a season.

Except for a loss in the 1996 quarterfinals to eventual winner Richard Krajicek, Sampras would continue to win at Wimbledon for the rest of the decade, becoming the most successful male player in Wimbledon history.[21]

Sampras won the first of his two Australian Open titles in 1994, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. In 1995 Sampras experienced one of the most emotional matches of his career when he played Courier in the quarterfinals.[22] Sampras's longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullickson was later diagnosed with brain cancer to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullickson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match, but managed to win. He lost the final to Agassi. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras's full time coach after Gullickson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching.

Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts.[23] He was also known for his all-round game and strong competitive instinct. He won back-to-back US Open titles in 1995 and 1996, despite in the 1996 quarterfinals against Àlex Corretja, vomiting on the court at 1-1 in the tiebreak. Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won a 1992 clay court tournament in Kitzbühel, defeating Alberto Mancini in the final. He won the prestigious Italian Open in 1994, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final.

He won all men's single titles at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000 with the exception of 1996 when he was defeated in the quarter finals by Richard Krajicek who eventually won the trophy.

1997

Sampras won his second and final Australian Open title in January, defeating Carlos Moyà in the final; in July he won Wimbledon for the fourth time, defeating Cédric Pioline in the final. Sampras also won singles titles in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich, and Paris and the ATP Tour World Championships in Hanover, Germany. He became the only player to win both the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour World Championships in the same year.

He had a 10-1 win-loss record against top 10 opponents and was undefeated in eight singles finals. He held the World No. 1 ranking for the entire year and joined Jimmy Connors (1974–1978) as the only male players to hold the year-end World No. 1 ranking for five consecutive years. His prize money earnings of US$6,498,211 for the year was a career high.

1998

In 1998, Sampras's number-one ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Ríos. (In 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997, Sampras had dominated the ATP tour.) Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the quarterfinals to Karol Kučera, and won Wimbledon only after a hard fought five-set victory over Goran Ivanišević. Sampras lost a five-set US Open semifinal to the eventual winner Patrick Rafter after leading the match two sets to one. He lost another semifinal at the Tennis Masters Cup to eventual champion Àlex Corretja. Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top ranked player for the sixth year in a row.

1999

1999 also started out disappointingly, as Sampras withdrew from the Australian Open and failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then went on a 24-match winning streak, including the Stella Artois Championships, Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. His victory over Agassi in the Wimbledon final is often cited as one of Sampras's greatest performances. That run ended when he was forced to retire from the RCA Championships and the US Open because of a herniated disc in his back. Sampras's ranking was hurt through a combination of withdrawing from the Australian and US Opens, tournaments in which he had strong performances during the previous year, and the resurgence of longtime rival Andre Agassi, putting an end to Sampras' six consecutive years of finishing as the World No. 1. Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat him in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the fifth and final time, enabling Sampras to place 3rd in the rankings.

2000s

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000 (falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match) and won the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida for the third time in March. He then won a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, battling through a painful shin injury in the process.[24] This victory was his eighth consecutive win in a Grand Slam final (starting at 1995 Wimbledon), which remains a record. After this victory, Sampras did not win another title for more than two years. He lost in the finals of the 2000 and 2001 US Open to Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively, leading many to speculate that Sampras would never capture another major title. At the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, Sampras lost to Roger Federer, who was 19 at the time, 7–6(7), 5–7, 6–4, 6–7(2), 7–5 in the fourth round, ending Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon. The match also marked the first and only time that the two men ever played each other on the ATP tour.

2002

In 2002, Sampras suffered his second consecutive early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to 145th ranked George Bastl of Switzerland, whose best surface was red clay. Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open. Greg Rusedski, whom Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the US Open, said that Sampras was "a step and a half slower" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young and upcoming stars of the game, Tommy Haas in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight US Open final, and eighth US Open final overall, tying Ivan Lendl's all-time record. This time, he faced Agassi, whom he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a then record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors's record of five US Open singles championships.

He played no tour events in the following 12 months, but did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the US Open. He chose not to defend his title there, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the open. After retirement, many regarded Sampras to be the greatest player of all time.[25]

Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slam titles, 11 Super 9 / ATP Masters Series titles, and five Tennis Masters Cup titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the World No. 1 for a record 286 weeks and was year-end No. 1 for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

Rivalry with Andre Agassi

Sampras won 20 of the 34 matches he played against Agassi.[26]

The 1990 US Open was their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final. Agassi was favored because he was ranked World No. 4 compared to the World No. 12 ranking of Sampras and because Agassi had defeated Sampras in their only previously completed match. However, Agassi lost the final to Sampras in straight sets.

Their next meeting in a Grand Slam was at the 1992 French Open, where they met in the quarterfinals. Although Sampras was higher ranked, Agassi prevailed in straight sets. Their next Grand Slam meeting was at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1993, where Agassi was the defending champion and Sampras was the newly minted world number one. Sampras prevailed in five sets, and went on to win his first Wimbledon championship.

With both Sampras and Agassi participating, the U.S. won the Davis Cup in 1995. Notable Sampras-Agassi matches of 1995 included the finals of the Australian Open, the Newsweek Champions Cup, the Lipton International Players Championships, the Canadian Open, and the US Open, with Sampras winning the Newsweek Champions Cup and the US Open.

The next time Sampras and Agassi met in a Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon in 1999, where Sampras won in straight sets. For both, it was considered a career rejuvenation, as Sampras had suffered a string of disappointments in the last year while Agassi was regaining his status as a top-ranked player after winning the French Open. Sampras forfeited the World No. 1 ranking to Agassi when injury forced Sampras to withdraw from that year's US Open. They faced each other twice in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships, with Sampras losing the round robin match but winning the final.

They played each other only once in 2000. The top-ranked Agassi defeated World No. 3 Sampras in the semifinals of the Australian Open 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(0), 7–6(5), 6–1.

In arguably their most memorable match, Sampras defeated Agassi in the 2001 US Open quarterfinals 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5). There were no breaks of serve during the entire match. Reruns of the match are frequently featured on television, especially during US Open rain delays.

The final of the 2002 US Open was their first meeting in a US Open final since 1995. The match also was notable because they had defeated several up-and-coming players en route to the final. Sampras had defeated World No. 3 Tommy Haas in the fourth round and future World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals while Agassi had defeated World No. 1 and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals. Sampras defeated Agassi 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4. This was the final ATP tour singles match of Sampras's career.

On August 2010 Sampras played an exhibition game with Andre Agassi at the indoor arena: Coliseo Cubierto El Campin in Bogota, Colombia.

Rivalry with Patrick Rafter

Sampras won 12 of the 16 matches he played against Rafter, including eight of their first nine.[27] Their rivalry began to truly develop after Rafter shocked the tennis world by winning the 1997 US Open, a tournament that many expected Sampras to win, having won in 1995 and 1996; the win catapulted Rafter to the year-end number two ranking behind Sampras. Many, including seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe believed Rafter to be a "one-slam wonder", since it was only his second career ATP title.[28]

In 1998, after Rafter defeated Sampras in the Cincinnati Masters final, Sampras, at the time winner of 11 Grand Slams, when asked about the difference between himself and Rafter, famously stated "Ten grand slams", that a controversial line-call cost him the match, and that a player had to come back and win another Grand Slam title in order to be considered great.[29] The two met in the semifinals of the 1998 US Open, with Rafter winning in five sets. Sampras cited a leg injury as the reason Rafter won, an attitude that upset the generally mild-mannered Aussie: "He really does say some funny things at the wrong time", said Rafter, "We are out there busting our guts and he doesn't show a lot of respect at the end of the day. He tries to play down the reason why he lost, giving no respect to the other player, and that is what really upsets me about him and the reason I try to [anger him] as much as I can."[30]

Following his successful defense of his 1997 U.S. Open title by defeating Mark Philippoussis in the 1998 final, when asked about Sampras' earlier comments about having to win another Grand Slam in order to be considered great, Rafter replied: "Maybe you can ask him that question, if he thinks that now. For me, I won another Slam, and it hasn't sunk in yet. It's very, very exciting for me, especially to repeat it".[29] Although Sampras throughout his career modeled himself after "those classy Aussies" including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and Roy Emerson, he admitted about Rafter: "When I see him holding the US Open trophy, it pisses me off."[31]

After losing for a third consecutive time against Rafter, Sampras won their final four meetings, including a four-set victory in the 2000 Wimbledon final after being down a set and trailing in the second-set tiebreaker. The victory gave Sampras his 13th Grand Slam title, breaking the record of 12 by Roy Emerson and at that time giving Sampras the most Grand Slam titles in history, until his record was eclipsed by Roger Federer following the 2009 Wimbledon final.

Equipment

Sampras used one racket type, the Wilson Pro Staff Original, for his entire professional career - a racket first introduced in 1983. He played with Babolat natural gut, with all his rackets re-strung before each match (used or not) at 75 lbs tension (more or less depending on conditions). His rackets had weight added to bring them close to 400g, but the proper frame was a production model manufactured from St. Vincent, an island factory in the Caribbean. The handles were custom-built.[32]

Post-retirement, Sampras has used the slightly modified Pro Staff Tour 90 and in 2008 had a new version of the original Pro Staff produced, with in-between head size of 88 square inches and heavier weight at 349 grams unstrung.[33]

Post-retirement activity

Pete Sampras at Champions Cup Boston, in 2007.

On April 6, 2006, three and a half years after his retirement, Sampras resurfaced and played his first exhibition match in River Oaks, Houston, Texas against 23 year old Robby Ginepri. Ginepri won the match 6–3, 7–6(10). Sampras would then later announce that he would be playing in World Team Tennis events.

2007 saw Sampras announcing that he would play in a few events on the Outback Champions Series, a group of tournaments for former ATP players who have met certain criteria during their careers.[34] Sampras won his first two events on tour, defeating Todd Martin in both finals (one of which included Sampras's first trip to his ancestral homeland, Greece).[35] Many observers noted that despite his lengthy layoff from competitive tournaments, Sampras still possessed many of the previous skills he had once displayed when he was on the ATP tour, with tennis legend John McEnroe going as far as to say that Sampras would be worthy of a top five seed at Wimbledon if he were to enter the tournament.[36]

On November 20, 2007, Sampras lost the first of three exhibition matches in Asia against Roger Federer losing 6–4, 6–3 in Seoul, Korea.[37] Two days later in Kuala Lumpur, Sampras again lost to Federer, 7–6(6), 7–6(5). However, Sampras was able to win the last match of the series, winning 7–6(6), 6–4.[38]

On February 18, 2008, in an exhibition match during the SAP Open, Sampras defeated another active player, former World No. 2 Tommy Haas. Sampras dispatched the German, 6–4, 6–2 in 43 minutes.[39]

On March 10, 2008, Sampras played another exhibition match against World No. 1 Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Sampras once again lost the match 6–3, 6–7(4), 7–6(6).[40]

In 2009, Sampras won two Outback Champions Series titles. He defeated McEnroe in the final of the Champions Cup Boston in February and Patrick Rafter in the final of The Del Mar Development Champions Cup in March.[41]

Playing style

Sampras was an all-court player who would often serve and volley. In the early years of his career, when not serving, his strategy was to be offensive from the baseline, put opponents in a defensive position, and finish points at the net. In his later years, he became even more offensive and would either employ a chip-and-charge strategy; just chip back the return and run up to the net, waiting for a volley or try to hit an offensive shot on the return and follow his return to the net.

He was known for producing aces on critical points, even with his second serves.[42][43] He had an accurate and powerful first serve, one of the best of all time.[44] His second serve was nearly as powerful as his first, possibly his most dangerous weapon. He had great disguise on both his first and second serves.

Sampras was also known for having arguably the best "running forehand" of all time. He was able to catch attacks wide to his forehand using his speed and hitting a forehand shot on the run. When successfully executed, he won many points outright or put opponents immediately on the defensive, due to the extreme pace and flat nature of the shot. He also popularized the jump smash, or "slam dunk", where he jumps and then hits the smash in mid-air.

The nearest Sampras came to having any weakness in his arsenal was his backhand. Many players tried (especially late in his career) to serve a high "kicker" out to the Sampras backhand in an attempt to draw a weak return. A similar tactic was employed by many players in rallying Sampras; they would play shot after shot to the Sampras backhand, hoping to wear him down. Many times in this situation Sampras could be seen running around his backhand to employ his forehand to devastating effect; his dangerous running forehand allowed him to camp on the backhand wing in many rallies daring his opponents to challenge his running forehand; this court positioning made it easier for Sampras to run around his backhand. The Sampras forehand was extremely potent, particularly on faster surfaces such as grass, hardcourt and indoor carpet, due to the combination of extreme pace and almost no spin; the ball would skid through extremely low making it even harder to retrieve than the more common topspin shots most players employ.

Personal and family life

Sampras's older sister Stella is the women's tennis head coach at UCLA,[45] and his younger sister, Marion, is a teacher in Los Angeles. His older brother, Gus, has been tournament director at the Scottsdale ATP event, but from 2007 he became president of the firm managing Pete's business activities.[46]

On September 30, 2000, Sampras married American actress and former Miss Teen USA, Bridgette Wilson.[47] On November 21, 2002, their son Christian Charles was born.[48] On July 29, 2005, the couple welcomed their second son, Ryan Nikolaos.[49]

Sampras has thalassemia minor, a genetic trait that sometimes causes a mild anemia.[50]

Career statistics

Records and achievements

Records

Championship Years Record accomplished Player tied
Grand Slam 1995–2000 8 consecutive wins in Grand Slam finals Stands alone
Grand Slam 1993–2000 8 consecutive years with a victory in a slam Björn Borg
Roger Federer
Wimbledon 1993–2000 7 wins overall Stands alone
Wimbledon 1993–2000 7 finals overall Roger Federer^

Boris Becker
U.S.Open 1990–2002 5 wins overall Roger Federer^

Jimmy Connors
U.S. Open 1990–2002 8 finals overall Ivan Lendl^
ATP World Tour Finals 1991–1999 5 wins overall Ivan Lendl

Sampras went 20-0 at night at the U.S. Open, his last match a victory over Andy Roddick.

Awards

Summary of professional awards.[51]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pete Sampras at the Association of Tennis Professionals
  2. ↑ "40 Greatest Players of the Tennis Era". Tennis magazine. http://www.tennis.com/features/40greatest/40greatest.aspx?id=194. Retrieved February 14, 2007. 
  3. ↑ "Sampras visits ancestral home for first time". msnbc.com. Associated Press. May 15, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18682181/. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Higdon, David (October 2, 1996). "Questions from the Net: Your Top Ten Questions to Pete Sampras". Tennisserver.com. http://www.tennisserver.com/netgame/netgame_10_2_96.html. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  5. ↑ Nick Green (Sunday July 1, 2007). "The tennis champion on meeting his Hollywood actress wife, beating Agassi and those famous on-court tears". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/jul/01/tennis.features. Retrieved June 26, 2009. 
  6. ↑ Srinivasan, Archana (2007). Biographies of Bio-Sporting Legends. Sura Books. p. 80. ISBN 8-174-78644-9. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The King of Swing. Pete Sampras". Petesampras.com. http://www.petesampras.com/sampras2.html. Retrieved February 22, 2008. 
  8. ↑ Spadea, Vince; with Dan Markowitz (2006). Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player. ECW Press. pp. 36, p. 125. ISBN 1-550-22729-7. 
  9. ↑ Shifrin, Joshua (2005). 101 Incredible Moments in Tennis: The Good, the Bad and the Infamous. Virtualbookworm.com Publishers. p. 229. ISBN 1-589-39820-3. 
  10. ↑ "One-handed backhand now a rarity in post-Henin era". USA Today. June 24, 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2008-06-23-tennis-backhands_N.htm. Retrieved 5 June 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Ranking History of Pete Sampras for 1988". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/rankhistory.asp?playernumber=S402&selyear=1988. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  12. ↑ "1988 Player Activity for Pete Sampras". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity.asp?prevtrnnum=0&year=1988&query=Singles&selTournament=0&player=S402&x=8&y=8. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  13. ↑ "Ranking History of Pete Sampras for 1989". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/rankhistory.asp?playernumber=S402&selyear=1989. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  14. ↑ "1989 Player Activity for Pete Sampras". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity.asp?prevtrnnum=0&year=1989&query=Singles&selTournament=0&player=S402&x=6&y=4. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  15. ↑ "Ranking History of Pete Sampras for 1990". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/rankhistory.asp?playernumber=S402&selyear=1990. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  16. ↑ Srinivasan, 2007, Bio-Sporting Legends, p. 83.
  17. ↑ "1990 Player Activity for Pete Sampras". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity.asp?prevtrnnum=0&year=1990&query=Singles&selTournament=0&player=S402&x=10&y=8. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  18. ↑ Schwartz, Larry. "Sampras competes against best -- ever". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016453.html. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  19. ↑ "Upon Hall of Fame Induction, Sampras Says a Loss Spurred Wins". The Associated Press. July 15, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/sports/tennis/15tennis.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=sampras+open+1992&st=nyt&oref=slogin. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  20. ↑ Sampras, Pete; Peter Bodo (2008). A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis. Crown Publishing Group. p. 92. ISBN 0307383296. 
  21. ↑ Most current Wimbledon Titles.
  22. ↑ Bud Collins (January 26, 1995). "Old friends battle it out to the death". http://www.geocities.com/hovav13/art-The_Night_Pete_Cried.html. Retrieved June 27, 2009. 
  23. ↑ Based on total wins per surface.
  24. ↑ Mizell, Hubert (June 30, 2000). "Injured Sampras plays on". St. Petersburg Times. http://www.sptimes.com/News/063000/Sports/Injured_Sampras_plays.shtml. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  25. ↑ Raymond Lee (September 14, 2007). "Greatest Player Of All Time: A Statistical Analysis". Tennis Week. http://www.tennisweek.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=503656. Retrieved June 27, 2009. 
  26. ↑ "Sampras-Agassi Head-to-Head Matches". ATP Official website. http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/headtohead/?player1=Sampras%2C+Pete&player2=agassi. Retrieved November 28, 2008. 
  27. ↑ Sampras-Rafter Career Head-To-Head
  28. ↑ Tennis: Rafter learns the mind game
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Rafter Grandly Slams U.S. Open Criticism
  30. ↑ There's a Little Tension in Sampras, Rafter Rackets
  31. ↑ Sampras slight raises stakes for 'Pat-trick'
  32. ↑ "Q & A with Nate Ferguson, Sampras' personal stringer". Tennis Warehouse. August 1999. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Features/9908NateFerguson.html. Retrieved June 27, 2009. 
  33. ↑ "Wilson K Factor KPro Staff 88 Racquet Review". Tennis Warehouse. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/KPS88/KPS88Review.html. Retrieved June 26, 2009. 
  34. ↑ Ulmann, Howard (February 7, 2007). "Sampras 'to see how it goes' in Champions Series return". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2007-02-05-sampras_x.htm. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  35. ↑ "Pete Sampras beats Todd Martin to win Athens seniors event". Associated Press. May 20, 2007. http://www.sportsline.com/tennis/story/10190061. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  36. ↑ "Senior tour a crowd-pleasing idea". The Gazette. May 15, 2007. http://championsseriestennis.com/boston2007/index.php?newsid=358&page=news. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  37. ↑ "Federer beats Sampras in first of three exhibitions". The Associated Press. November 20, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3120068. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  38. ↑ "Sampras pulls off Federer upset". BBC Sport. November 24, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7110622.stm. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  39. ↑ "Sampras shows no mercy in beating Haas in exhibition". Associated Press. February 19, 2008. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/81271/Sampras-shows-no-mercy-in-beating-Haas-in-exhibition. Retrieved February 20, 2008. 
  40. ↑ "Clash of the Tennis Titans". The Tennis Channel. 2008. http://www.tennischannel.com/federer_sampras/. Retrieved February 22, 2008. 
  41. ↑ "2009 EVENTS". http://www.championsseriestennis.com/upcoming.php. 
  42. ↑ "Pete Sampras's serving style". http://www.tennisserver.com/set/set_03_11.html. Retrieved July 7, 2008. 
  43. ↑ "Second Serve Style and Speed". http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/tour_strokes/john_yandell/sampras_serve/sampras_serve_second_serve_part8_images/sampras_serve_second_serve_part8.html. Retrieved July 7, 2008. 
  44. ↑ "Had you written off Pistol Pete?". BBC Sport. August 19, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/sports_talk/2202611.stm. Retrieved June 5, 2010. 
  45. ↑ Behniwal, Ajaybir (May 2, 2007). "Women's tennis nets good draw through recent wins". The Daily Bruin (ASUCLA Student Media). http://dailybruin.com/news/2007/may/02/womens_tennis_nets_good_draw_through_recent_wins/. Retrieved May 20, 2007. 
  46. ↑ "TENNIS LEGEND PETE SAMPRAS FORMS NEW COMPANY – PURE SPORTS MANAGEMENT" (PDF). Press Release. March 29, 2007. http://www.puresportsmanagement.com/files/Pure_Sports_Management_announcement.pdf. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  47. ↑ "Actress Brigette is Sampras love match". CNN.com (Associated Press). October 2, 2000. Archived from the original on May 26, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060526035920/http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2000/fyi/news/10/02/sampras.wedding/index.html. Retrieved May 20, 2007. 
  48. ↑ "Sampras Adds New Title: Father". The New York Times. November 26, 2002. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DEFD71F39F935A15752C1A9649C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fS%2fSampras%2c%20Pete. Retrieved May 20, 2007. 
  49. ↑ "Review 2005: Celebrity births, marriages and deaths". Manchester Evening News. December 12, 2005. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz/s/191/191185_review_2005_celebrity_births_marriages_and_deaths.html. Retrieved May 20, 2007. 
  50. ↑ "Clay soils Pete's record". BBC Sport. May 23, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/french_open/1952120.stm. Retrieved February 22, 2008. 
  51. ↑ "Bio:Pete Sampras". Gabby Awards. http://www.gabbyawards.com/the-nominees/athletics/117-pete-sampras.html. Retrieved June 26, 2009. 
  52. ↑ "ATP Bio:Pete Sampras". http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Sa/P/Pete-Sampras.aspx. Retrieved June 26, 2009. 
  53. ↑ Pete Sampras at the International Tennis Federation
  54. ↑ "Pete Sampras Left Behind A Legacy Few Players Can Ever Match". http://www.all-about-tennis.com/pete-sampras.html. Retrieved June 27, 2009. 

Further reading

Video

External links

 
Pete Sampras (Achievement precedessor & successor)
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jim Courier
Jim Courier
Andre Agassi
Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster
Marcelo Ríos
Marcelo Ríos
Carlos Moyá
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Patrick Rafter
Andre Agassi		 World No. 1
April 12, 1993 - August 22, 1993
September 13, 1993 - April 9, 1995
November 6, 1995 - January 28, 1996
February 19, 1996 - March 10, 1996
April 15, 1996 - March 29, 1998
April 27, 1998 - August 9, 1998
August 24, 1998 - March 14, 1999
March 29, 1999 - May 2, 1999
June 14, 1999 - July 4, 1999
August 2, 1999 - September 12, 1999
September 11, 2000 - November 19, 2000		 Succeeded by
Jim Courier
Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Thomas Muster
Marcelo Ríos
Marcelo Ríos
Carlos Moyà
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Marat Safin
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Michael Chang		 ATP Most Improved Player
1990		 Succeeded by
Jim Courier
Preceded by
Jim Courier		 ATP Player of the Year
1993–1998		 Succeeded by
Andre Agassi
Preceded by
Jim Courier		 ITF World Champion
1993–1998		 Succeeded by
Andre Agassi
Preceded by
Roy Emerson		 Most Career Grand Slam Singles Titles
2000–2009		 Succeeded by
Roger Federer