Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Petros "Pete" Samprasis a retired American tennis player and former world No. 1 regarded as one of the greatest players in tennis history. He debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and finished his career at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating rival Andre Agassi in the final. He was particularly esteemed for his precise serve, earning the nickname "Pistol Pete"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth12 August 1971
CityPotomac, MD
CountryUnited States of America
I'm not worried about the weekend, I'm worried about Saturday.
I loved Wimbledon and what it meant, but the surface felt uncomfortable. I just didn't like it, I was a hard-court guy, a Californian kid.
I made it look so easy on court all those years. No one realized how hard I had to work. No one realized how much I had to put into it. They underestimated my intensity.
In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win. Not in golf. I played three rounds in that Tahoe event, and I was drained. Mentally, not physically
I don`t know why, but I love the dog eat dog nature of tennis. It`s real, it`s brutal and there`s no hiding place - it's like a one to one street fight. I love the intensity that comes with knowing you walk off court either a winner or a loser. It`s daunting but very exciting. There is no one to blame except yourself, no one cares who comes second.
What I've done in the game is always going to stick, no matter what happens.
I let my racket do the talking. That's what I am all about, really. I just go out and win tennis matches.
Success is walking out of here with the title, and anything less is not good enough in my book.
You kind of live and die by the serve.
Anybody who has played sports and says they have never choked is lying to you.
The difference of great players is at a certain point in a match they raise their level of play and maintain it. Lesser players play great for a set, but then less.
I never wanted to be the great guy or the colorful guy or the interesting guy. I wanted to be the guy who won titles.
The only person that I have met, that I have ever been in awe of, is Eddie Vedder.
This is more about just getting myself a little busier and focused on something I used to be good at. It's time this year to do a little more. Last year, I was kind of floating along.