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
Choking is being in a position to win, and then experiencing some critical failure of nerve or spirit. That never happened to me. And I can't help but think it was because I was never afraid to lose.
I'm not going to give in to the critics. I'm going to stop on my own terms, not on when someone else thinks I should.
I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
I don't think it really matters, who plays first. Whatever they do, they do.
I want to end my career on my terms, not on what people think I should do.
The way I look at the top five, (Rod) Laver, (Roger) Federer, myself, Borg and (Ivan) Lendl. I think those five guys dominated their generations better than anyone. Maybe Roger will dominate better than any one of the other four. Maybe I put Andre (Agassi) as kind of six through 10 with, you know, (John) McEnroe and (Jimmy) Connors, kind of those guys. That's kind of how I see it.
There should be more of an off-season in the game. I think you need to have less tournaments, more of a break at the end of the year so guys can recover.
You know, you walk into this place, it's not like walking into Cincinnati or Montreal. This is a Grand Slam. You know, this is what you play for. This is what tennis is all about. Yeah, not many people will remember what happened in Montreal or Cincinnati if you go out and win this tournament.
World Team Tennis gives me an opportunity to play singles, doubles and mixed doubles and that's something I didn't get to do during my career.
When you retire, you take time away, you don't want to have anything to do with tennis. After two years of having fun and not doing much in the sport, you get a little bored and want to know what's the next chapter in your life. Last year was a turning point 'What am I going to do next?' and I had to make a decision.
He moves great, does everything very well. He's gotten to a point that when he's not at his best, he's finding ways to win, and that separates him from the rest.
You expect people to kind of be walking around. And there's a certain buzz in the air.
I don't know how I do it, I really don't.
I've worked hard my whole life, since I was a little kid. But now it's a point in my life now where I can just enjoy it, but at the same time I still need to work.