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 staying in shape, working out.
Players aren't quite as intimidated by my name.
I admire the way golfers handle themselves. But tennis players are a lot younger, as a rule. There aren't many teenagers on the golf tour.
It is nice to walk out on a court to have it packed.
All I cared about in tennis was winning.
Baseball is America's pastime, and that record is absolutely huge in the States.
It's one-on-one out there, man. There ain't no hiding. I can't pass the ball.
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 hate to lose, and I do whatever I can to win, and if it is ugly, it is ugly.