Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971) 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 (ATP) for 286 weeks (third-most of all time), 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 Petros "Pete" Sampras was born on August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C. He is the third child of Soterios "Sammy" and Georgia (née Vroustouris) Sampras. His father was born in the United States to a Greek father, Costas "Gus" Sampras, and a Polish-Jewish mother, Sarah Steinberg who, when she was 19, 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.Srinivasan, 2007, Bio-Sporting Legends, p. 83. 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 (to Thierry Champion) 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.
1993: Two major titles, world No. 1 Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in January, losing again to Stefan Edberg. In April, Sampras attained the No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the top of the rankings was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles. A few days after becoming world number one, Sampras beat world number two Jim Courier in the final at Hong Kong on a final set tie break, serving 15 aces. Sampras allowed Sergi Bruguera to dictate play from the baseline and lost in four sets in the French Open quarter finals. He consolidated his number one ranking in July by claiming his first of seven Wimbledon titles, beating former world No. 1 and fellow American Jim Courier in the final. This was followed by his second US Open title, where he beat Cedric Pioline in the final (Pioline made 45 unforced errors during the three set match). Sampras 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.
1994: Australian and Wimbledon titles Sampras won the first of two Australian Open titles in 1994, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. Sampras was suffering from a stomach ailment as the start of the Key Biscayne final was delayed. Andre Agassi was offered a walkover but declined. Sampras recovered and served 7 aces in his final two service games to win in three sets. Sampras allowed Boris Becker a total of five games in three sets in the Italian Open final and entered the French Open trying to win his fourth consecutive Grand Slam. Sampras failed to become the first man since Rod Laver to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles, losing to Jim Courier in the quarters. Courier's ranking was falling and Sampras had won his previous four matches against him but the clay surface "neutralized Sampras' serve". Sampras then defended his Wimbledon in July, beating Ivanisevic in the final. Criticisms were made about the length of the points, as only three rallies contained more than five shots. Sampras was suffering from fatigue and lost in five sets to Jaime Yzaga in the fourth round of the US Open.
1995: Wimbledon and US titles, world No. 1 In 1995, Sampras battled for the world No. 1 ranking with compatriot Andre Agassi. Sampras experienced one of the most emotional matches of his career against Courier in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Sampras' longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullikson was later diagnosed with brain cancer, to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullikson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match when a spectator shouted at Sampras, urging him to win it for Gullikson. Sampras nevertheless managed to defeat Courier, but lost the final to Andre Agassi in four sets. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras' full-time coach after Gullikson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching.
Sampras defeated Agassi in the final at Indian Wells and lost to him in the Key Biscayne final on a final set tie break. At the French Open, Sampras lost in five sets in round one to Gilbert Schaller, making 99 unforced errors. He then won his third straight Wimbledon title over Boris Becker in a four set final in which he served 23 aces and didn't face a break point. "Unfortunately, he owns the Centre Court now. I used to own it a few years back, but it belongs to him now" said Becker afterwards. Sampras lost in the final of the Canadian Masters to Agassi. Sampras faced Agassi in the final of the US Open. Agassi "knew Sampras would have to play excellent tennis to beat him. And he knew that Sampras had done exactly that." Sampras served 24 aces during his four set victory.