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Pete Sampras
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Videos more videos      Biography Pete Sampras is an American tennis player of Greek ancestry. He is one of the most successful tennis players in history with a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles and six consecutive years as World No.1. Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971 in Washington, DC to Greek immigrants, Sam and Georgia Sampras. The young Sampras had amazing athletic abilities and used to spend hours just hitting balls against the wall. When he was seven years old, his family moved to California and Pete joined the Peninsula Racquet Club. Here, he was spotted by Dr. Peter Fisher who became his mentor and arranged for Pete's coaches. In 1988 when he was 17, Sampras turned pro. His first top-level singles title came in February 1990 at Philadelphia. The same year, at the age of 19 years and 28 days, he won his first Grand Slam title at the 1990 US Open beating Agassi in straight sets and becoming the youngest-ever male singles US Open champion in the process. He achieved this feat overcoming tennis greats like Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals and John McEnroe in the semifinals. It was in April 1993 that Sampras reached the World No. 1 ranking for the first time despite not winning any Grand Slam titles for more than a year. His World No. 1 ranking proved lucky-three months later, he won his second Grand Slam and first Wimbledon title, defeating Jim Courier in the final. He also won his second US Open title in 1993. Sampras went on to dominate at Wimbledon winning three back-to-back consecutive titles from 1993 to 1995. In 1996, he lost to Richard Krajicek but came back the next year winning four back-to-back titles from 1997 through 2000. He also broke the record of Roy Emerson for 12 Grand Slam men's singles titles. He also shared the record of winning seven Wimbledon titles with William Renshaw. Sampras also won consecutive US Open titles in 1995 and 1996. He was also the Australian Open champion, in 1994 and 1997. However, the French Open title has evaded Sampras, his best performance there being a semi-final appearance in 1996. In 2000, Sampras got married to former Miss Teen USA and actress Bridgette Wilson. They have two sons. After winning the Wimbledon title in 2000, Sampras had a draught of titles for two years. He was on the decline but not out of the race. In 2002, Sampras defeated Andre Agassi in four sets to win the US Open and his record 14th Grand Slam title. The event was to be the last in Sampras' career. He officially announced his retirement in August 2003, just before the US Open and did not defend his title. In 2006, Sampras started playing exhibition matches. He has also announced that he would be taking part in World Team Tennis tournaments. In a stellar career, Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles including 14 Grand Slam titles and 11 ATP Masters Series titles and two doubles titles. He was the World No. 1 for a mind-boggling 286 weeks and was the year-end No. 1 consecutively for six years from 1993 through 1998. Though lacking in charisma, Sampras more than made up by his accomplishments. Links Samprasfanz - Pete Sampras Internet fan club JockBio.com: Pete Sampras 123celebs - Pete Sampras Related Celebrities Andre Agassi Brad Friedel Eddie Jones Jeff Gordon Jim Courier Penny Hardaway Robby Gordon Shaquille O'Neal Terrell Owens Tony Stewart | |||||||||||||||||
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