Petros “Pete” Sampras (born 12 August 1971), is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States. During his 15-year career he won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles in 52 appearances. Sampras finished as No. 1 on the ATP rankings for six consecutive years, a record for the open era and tied for third all-time. Sampras won the singles title at Wimbledon seven times, a record shared with William Renshaw. He also won five singles titles at the U.S. Open, an open-era record shared with Jimmy Connors. Bud Collins has named Sampras as one of the top five men's tennis players of all-time, and TENNIS Magazine has named him the greatest player from 1965 through 2005. On July 17, 2007, Sampras was inducted into the 2007 class of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Pete Sampras was born in Washington, D.C., and is the third son of Sammy and Georgia Sampras, Greek immigrants. From an early age, Sampras showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. The young Sampras discovered a tennis racquet 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. The Sampras family joined the Peninsula Racquet Club. It was here that Pete's ability became apparent. By the age of 11, he had already learned the solid serve-and-volley tactic that would become the hallmark of his game. He was spotted by Peter Fisher, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who became his mentor for much of his career, overseeing his training and arranging coaches. Fisher was instrumental in converting Sampras's two-handed backhand to a one-handed shot so that Sampras would have a better chance of winning Wimbledon. Sampras later gave credit to Fisher for orchestrating his early development as a player.
Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16. He reached the fourth round of the 1989 U.S. Open, stunning defending champion Mats Wilander in a five-set match in the second round. His first top-level singles title came in February of 1990, at Philadelphia. In August that year, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the 1990 U.S. Open. Along the way, he defeated Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive U.S. Open finals. He defeated John McEnroe in four sets in the semifinals to set up a final with another up-and-coming American player, Andre Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the U.S. Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days. The rivalry between Agassi and Sampras became the dominant rivalry in tennis in the 1990s, with Sampras winning 20 of the 34 matches they played.
Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16. He reached the fourth round of the 1989 U.S. Open, stunning defending champion Mats Wilander in a five-set match in the second round. His first top-level singles title came in February of 1990, at Philadelphia. In August that year, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the 1990 U.S. Open. Along the way, he defeated Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive U.S. Open finals. He defeated John McEnroe in four sets in the semifinals to set up a final with another up-and-coming American player, Andre Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the U.S. Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days. The rivalry between Agassi and Sampras became the dominant rivalry in tennis in the 1990s, with Sampras winning 20 of the 34 matches they played.
Sampras played the first exhibition match since his retirement on April 6, 2006, in Houston, Texas against Robby Ginepri. Ginepri won the match 6-3, 7-6.
In 2006, Sampras announced he would be playing in World Team Tennis events. in 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. 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).Many observers noted that despite his lengthy layoff from competitive tournaments, Sampras still possessed many of the previous skills he had once displayed on the ATP tour, with 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.
On November 20, 2007, Sampras lost the first of three exhibition matches in Asia against Roger Federer 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul,Korea.Two days later, Sampras again lost to Federer 7-6, 7-6. However, Sampras won the last match of the series 7-6(6), 6-4.
In 2006, Sampras announced he would be playing in World Team Tennis events. in 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. 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).Many observers noted that despite his lengthy layoff from competitive tournaments, Sampras still possessed many of the previous skills he had once displayed on the ATP tour, with 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.
On November 20, 2007, Sampras lost the first of three exhibition matches in Asia against Roger Federer 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul,Korea.Two days later, Sampras again lost to Federer 7-6, 7-6. However, Sampras won the last match of the series 7-6(6), 6-4.
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