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Pete SamprasPete Sampras (born August 12, 1971, Washington, DC), is a retired American professional tennis player. He is considered by many to have been the greatest ever to play the game. Biography Sampras was the third son of Greek immigrants, Sam and Georgia Sampras. From an early age, Pete showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. The young Pete discovered a tennis racquet in the basement 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. The Sampras family joined the Peninsula Racquet Club, where they played a great deal of tennis together. It was here that Pete's ability became apparent. At the age of 11 he had already learned the solid serve and volley tactic that has become the hallmark of his game. On September 30, 2001, Sampras married American actress Bridgette Wilson. Sampras has thalassemia minor, a mild form of an inherited disease that causes anemia. Sampras' older sister Stella is head coach at UCLA and his younger sister, Marion, is a teacher in Los Angeles. His older brother, Gus, is tournament director at Scottsdale ATP event. He is now considered the second greatest player of all time, behind Roger Federer who is the best. Career Sampras's pro career began in 1988 at the age of 16. His first victory in a Grand Slam tournament came at the US Open in 1990, when he defeated, among others, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, and in the final, an up-and-coming young player named Andre Agassi. At only 19 years 28 days, Pete Sampras was the youngest tennis player ever to win the US Open Men's title. The rivalry between Agassi and Sampras lasted throughout the 1990s. Sampras dominated Wimbledon for much of the 1990s, taking the title there in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. In 1991 Pete won the IBM World Championship and in 1992 played on the team that won the Davis Cup. Pete set a new ATP Tour record in 1993 when he became the first player to serve over 1000 aces in a season. He has been very successful at Queen's Club. Whereas the grass courts of Wimbledon played to Sampras's strengths, his only real weakness was on clay, where the slow surface tended to negate his natural attacking serve-and-volley game, and he never progressed beyond the semi-final stage at the French Open. His businesslike attitude during play and cautious handling of the press led critics to bemoan his lack of charisma, but his natural talent and work ethic meant that Sampras was always able to let his results speak for themselves. He was known for his good all-round game and a strong competitive instinct. He holds the record for the most wins in Grand Slam men's singles events, having won a total of 14 (7 Wimbledon, 5 US Open, and 2 Australian Open). Sampras led the world tennis rankings for six consecutive years, from 1993 to 1998. After a period of time during which he, by his own admission, lacked the drive and hunger needed to remain at the top, Sampras officially retired on August 25, 2003. Style Sampras was known for several extraordinary facets in his game, in particular: - an accurate and powerful first serve;
- a second serve just as powerful as his first, possibly his most dangerous weapon;
- a stellar forehand, in particular his "running forehand" (a forehand hit on the run) was considered the best in the world;
- a phenomenal net game (Sampras' volleys were fabulous and arguably the best overhead smash in the history of the men's game. His slam dunk smash was an effective way to demoralise his opponents);
- a decent one-handed backhand (something increasingly rare among top players).
His game strategy was quite simple. When serving, he was a "serve-and-volleyer": he hit a hard serve, forcing a bad return; he then typically ran up to hit the ball on the volley for an easy putaway. When not serving, he usually employed a "chip-and-charge" strategy: just chip back the return and run up to the net, waiting for a volley. These strategies work best on "fast" surfaces like concrete (and grass in particular) and are weak on "slow" surfaces like clay. As a result, he dominated Wimbledon (played on grass) and never won the French Open (played on clay). Famous matches Some of the most famous matches Sampras played include the following: - U.S. Open 1990 Final: defeated Andre Agassi, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, Sampras' first Grand Slam tournament victory.
- Wimbledon 1995 Final: defeated Boris Becker, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, in a clash of two of the top grass-court players of their generation.
- Wimbledon 1996 Quarter-final: lost to Richard Krajicek, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4, Sampras' only loss at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000 inclusive.
- U.S. Open 1996 Quarter-final: defeated Alex Corretja, 7-6, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6, after being physically ill on the court, and coming back from being match point down. Sampras vomited twice during the match and required half a gallon of intra-venous fluids after the match.
- ATP World Championships 1996 Final: defeated Boris Becker, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-7(11), 6-4, in a four-hour-long match, Sampras and Becker struggled against typical season-end fatigue on the indoor carpet in Hannover, Germany. Sampras had the match point in the fourth set tie break but was unable to capitalize as Becker came back with the crowd behind him and forced Sampras to play a final set. Many thought Sampras was physically exhausted and mentally beaten, but he came back stronger than ever and won one of the most difficult matches in his career.
- U.S. Open 1997 Fourth Round: lost to Petr Korda, 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, an upset victory for Korda.
- Wimbledon 1998 Final: defeated Goran Ivanisevic, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, in a thrilling 5-set final.
- U.S. Open 1998 Quarter-final: lost to Patrick Rafter, 6-7, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, in a sign that his dominance was fading.
- Wimbledon 1999 Final: defeated Andre Agassi, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, in what Sampras called one of his best matches ever.
- Australian Open 2000 Semi-final: lost to Andre Agassi, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1, in an exciting match.
- Wimbledon 2001 Fourth round: lost to Roger Federer, 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5, which ended his 21-match winning streak. Another sign of his gradual decline, especially the fact that it came on his best surface. It is also notable because it was a harbringer of the future dominance of Federer.
- U.S. Open 2001 Quarter-final: defeated Andre Agassi, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, a classic duel that featured a remarkable zero breaks of serve.
- US Open 2002 Final: defeated Andre Agassi, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in yet another memorable battle with his long-time rival. As it turned out, this was his last competitive match; he did not play in any subsequent tournaments before making his retirement official.
Grand Slam titles (14) 1990 U.S. Open Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 1993 Wimbledon Jim Courier 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 1993 U.S. Open Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 1994 Australian Open Todd Martin 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 1994 Wimbledon Goran Ivanisevic 7-6, 7-6, 6-0 1995 Wimbledon Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 1995 U.S. Open Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 1996 U.S. Open Michael Chang 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 1997 Australian Open Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 1997 Wimbledon Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 1998 Wimbledon Goran Ivanesevic 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 1999 Wimbledon Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 2000 Wimbledon Patrick Rafter 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 2002 U.S. Open Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 External links Sampras, Pete Sampras, Pete Sampras, Paul
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