Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 286 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 six consecutive times. Sampras won 64 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including 14 men's singles majors, which was an all-time record at the time of his retirement: seven Wimbledon Championships, two Australian Opens and an Open Era joint-record five US Opens. He also won five Tour Finals, two Grand Slam Cups, eleven Masters events, and was part of the winning United States Davis Cup teams in 1992 and 1995.
Sampras became the youngest male singles champion at the 1990 US Open at just. He claimed his first Wimbledon title in 1993, and would win the title seven times in an eight-year span. Sampras remained the best player for the rest of the decade, finishing each year as No. 1 for a record six consecutive seasons. Following a decline in form at the turn of the century, Sampras claimed his 14th and last major at the 2002 US Open over long-time rival and compatriot Andre Agassi, and retired from the sport thereafter, aged 31.
Sampras was a major practitioner of the serve-and-volley style of tennis. His precise and powerful serve, regarded as one of the best in the sport's history, earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". In 2007, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Early life
Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C. He is the third child of Soterios "Sammy" and Georgia Sampras. His father was born in the United States to a Greek father, Costas "Gus" Sampras, and a History of in Poland|Polish mother, Sarah Steinberg.; when she was 19, she immigrated to the United States from the village of Sellasia in Sparta. Sampras attended regular services of the Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays. At the age of 3, he 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 the seven year-old Sampras to play tennis for most of the year. From early on, his great idol was Rod Laver, and at the age of 11, Sampras met and played tennis with the legend. The Sampras family joined the Jack Kramer Club, and it was here that Sampras's talent became apparent. As a teenager, Sampras trained with tennis coach Robert Lansdorp. The forehand he learned from Lansdorp was the same forehand he used throughout his career. The key was an emphasis on driving through the ball and not hitting extreme topspin. He was spotted by Dr. Peter Fischer, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who coached Sampras until 1989. Fischer was responsible for converting Sampras's double-handed backhand to single-hand with the goal of being better prepared to win Wimbledon.
Professional career
1988: Turning professional
Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked world No. 97 after starting the year at No. 893. His first professional match was a loss to Sammy Giammalva Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia. However, just one week later, at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami, Sampras defeated two top-40 players, before losing to No. 18 Emilio Sánchez. He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, at which point he defeated 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 No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in the first round of the US Open. Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over No. 79 Jim Courier in their first career match-up, along with defeating No. 8 Tim Mayotte.1989: First major match wins
The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending No. 81. He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and, at that year's French Open, won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time in his career; in the second round he lost to eventual champion and fellow American teenager Michael Chang in their first career match-up. A few weeks later, Sampras lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge. At the US Open, Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round before losing to No. 13 Jay Berger in the fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round in four consecutive tournaments.1990: US Open champion
At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Tim Mayotte in the first round 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 finished 1990 at No. 5, having started the year ranked No. 61 just prior to the start of the Australian Open.Sampras did not play in the 1990 French Open and lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Christo van Rensburg. 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 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, Sampras 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. He played five more tournaments and won the Grand Slam Cup to complete his year.
1991: Year-end title
Sampras lost in the second round of the French Open and played "very inconsistently" in losing a second round match to Derrick Rostagno at Wimbledon. 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. Sampras captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup.1992: First Masters title
Sampras reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time, losing to Andre Agassi in straight sets. He made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, losing a serve dominated four set match to Goran Ivanisevic. He won at Cincinnati beating Ivan Lendl in the final. He 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. He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup on home soil, beating Switzerland 3–1.1992 was also the year when Sampras made his only competitive appearance at the Olympics. The event was played on clay, his worst surface. Nonetheless, Sampras advanced to the third round before giving up a two-set lead and losing to Andrei Cherkasov of Russia.