Sampras: ‘I Let My Racquet Do The Talking’ | ATP tour

In the ninth profile of a series of 26 players who rise to number 1 in the ATP FedEx rankings, ATPTour.com traces Pete Sampras’ career. View the complete list

First week as n. April 1, 1993
Total weeks at n. 1: 286
Year end n. 1: 1993-1998

Like the world no. 1
With 286 weeks on top of the FedEx ATP ranking, Sampras is second on the all-time list for most weeks at n. 1 (although Novak Djokovic was only four weeks away from that point when the ATP Tour and FedEx ATP rankings were suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19). The American took Jim Courier’s top spot for the first time on April 12, 1993 and held him for most of the next seven years, definitively giving up on Marat Safin on November 20, 2000.

Although seven other players would have taken the top spot during Sampras’ reign, Andre Agassi was the only player to hold him back for more than a handful of weeks. Its longest stretch at the top lasted 102 weeks (April 15, 1996 – March 29, 1998) and is the fifth longest run at number 1 in the history of the ATP tour. The American is also the only player to hold the No. 1 at the end of the year on six occasions (1993-1998).

Highlights of the Grand Slam
Before one of the Big Three claimed the first Grand Slam titles, Sampras was the most dominant single player of all time in the main 14 crown championships. He got his first major title as a relatively unknown nineteen at the 1990 US Open and would have won at least one Grand Slam for nine of the next 12 years.

Sampras became synonymous with Wimbledon in the 90s, winning seven titles (1993-1995, 1997-2000) and keeping the incredible record of 63-7 (90%). His final triumph at the All England Club in 2000 (d. Rafter) gave the American 13 Grand Slam titles, breaking Roy Emerson’s record.

He was almost as dominant in the US Open, winning five times (1990, 1993, 1995-1996, 2002) and finishing second in three occasions (1992, 2000-2001). The normally submissive servant and volleyball was often at its peak in New York and produced several dramatic victories throughout his career. His main final title at the 2002 US Open, his first in two years, was the last event of his career.

Sampras also had success at the Australian Open, winning twice (1994, 1997) and also reaching the final in 1995. However, his net game has historically fought on Roland Garros’ red clay and his best result has been a semifinal showing in 1996.

Highlights of the Nitto ATP finals
Sampras is a five-time Nitto ATP Finals champion (1991, 1994, 1996-1997, 1999), tied in second place with Novak Djokovic for most titles in this event. It was a perennial staple in the end-of-season championships in the 1990s and qualified for 11 consecutive years (1990-2000). The American has always saved his best tennis for his last event of the season, eliminating the round-robin stage in every appearance apart from his debut.

Sampras retired from a set down to defeat Jim Courier in the 1991 final and repeated the effort to defend his title against Boris Becker. He avenged a defeat for Becker during the 1996 round-robin event, defeating him in an epic five-set final in front of his home crowd in Hannover, then defending his title once again the following year blitz Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the championship game.

Sampras’ last Nitto ATP Finals crown in 1999 saw him defeat Agassi twice, dropping only four games in their round-robin clash before scoring a streak in the final. He ended with a 35-14 career record in this event while competing between Frankfurt, Hannover and Lisbon.

Main features of ATP Masters 1000
The California native has collected 11 ATP Masters 1000 titles over the course of his career, eight of which have landed on home soil. He won twice at the BNP Paribas Open (1994-1995) and three times at the Miami Open presented by Itau (1993-1994, 2000), becoming only the second player to complete the “Sunshine Double” in 1994. His triumph in Miami it was partly due to Agassi’s generous display of sportsmanship, who agreed to push the final back an hour so Sampras could have more time to recover from a stomach ailment.

Sampras’ most dominant Masters 1000 races came in two of his three championship attempts at the Western & Southern Open (1992, 1997, 1999) as he stormed the draws in 1997 and 1999 without losing a set. He also excelled at the Rolex Paris Masters, fighting in the circle of winners in 1995 (D. Becker) and 1997 (D. Korda). And despite all his well-documented clay problems, Sampras captured a Masters 1000 title on the surface with his convincing victory over Becker in the 1994 Internazionali BNL d’Italia final.

The biggest rivalries
The rivalry between Sampras and Agassi in the 1990s transcended tennis and is considered one of the biggest rivalries in sport. Both men were polar opposites: Agassi’s basic power against Sampras’ propensity for the race to the net, the gorgeous Las Vegas native and the Californian conservative. But like most major rivalries, their differences have made the vision compelling on and off the pitch.

Sampras leads his ATP Head2Head 20-14 rivalry and holds an impeccable record on the grass (2-0), while Agassi dominated his clay battles (3-1). Sampras also excelled in major league battles (6-3), including a 4-1 record in the Grand Slam finals. He rightly won his first Grand Slam title on Agassi in the 1990 US Open final and his last in the 2002 US Open final.

After Agassi had a winning streak in four games from 1999-2001, Sampras’ coach Paul Annacone changed his tactics by going for a bigger second serve and more reverse gear from Agassi’s second serve. The strategy worked and Sampras reversed the trend by taking the last three games of their rivalry.

Sampras also had numerous high profile games in the 90s against Boris Becker. But while their Head2Head ATP streak was relatively uniform with Sampras leading 12-7, the American stepped up when it mattered most. He has won six of their seven finals, including the 1994 and 1996 title matches in the ATP Nitto, Wimbledon 1995 and Rome 1994 finals. Sampras set a flawless 3-0 record against the German in the Grand Slam games, all played in Wimbledon.

Memorable moment
Although Agassi and Sampras ‘2001 US Open quarter-finals, which saw Sampras prevail in four draws, is widely considered their most famous game, Sampras’ repeated victory in the 2002 US Open final provided a fairytale ending to his career. Having not won a tour-level title since 2000 in Wimbledon, he resisted questions about retirement at most of his press conferences. The American entered New York that year as seed no. 17 and it was considered a long shot to get the title.

But with the crowd behind fervently, Sampras chased Tommy Haas and Andy Roddick en route to the championship game. He saved his best tennis last by defeating Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 for his fifth US Open crown, equaling Jimmy Connors’ Open Era record of five leagues at this event, a a feat that Roger Federer would also carry out later. At the age of 31, Sampras became the oldest New York champion from Ken Rosewall (35) in 1970.

But that was what Sampras was he did not do later that defined the moment in the history of tennis. Although he didn’t retire on the spot, Sampras failed to rally the disc to enter any event in the next 12 months and retired the following year in a special ceremony at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Agassi On Sampras
“I’ve played some of the most memorable games of my career against Pete – get out on both sides. We are right in front. We are opposite in everything we do. Out there on the pitch, we are two styles that contrast. It allows many aspects of the game to reveal itself. And it’s exciting to play against it, because every point, something special seems to happen. “

Sampras On Sampras
“I let my racket talk. That’s what I really do. I go out and win tennis games.”

“People know me. I’m not going to make cartwheel out there. I won’t be part of Comedy Central. I will always be a tennis player, not a celebrity. “

“After two years in which I didn’t win an event, what kept me going was winning another important one. Once I won the last US Open, I spent the next six months trying to figure out what would have happened. Slowly my passion for sport has vanished. I had nothing left to prove. “

Issuer / journalist Graeme Agars
Considered one of the greatest fast-paced players of all time, Sampras has been all on the pitch, as his great service and volley shot led him to his 64 career tour-level trophies, rarely showing much emotion on the Street.

But there was one memorable exception, and that occurred in a late evening late-night clash with the American colleague Jim Courier. Courier had won the first two sets in a draw and established a first service break in the third set. But then the momentum of the now famous match changed as Sampras reacted to force a fifth set.

As he prepared to serve to begin the final set, Sampras began to sob with tears that clearly streaked his face. It was so obvious that Sampras was fighting emotionally that Courier asked, on the other side of the net, if he was okay and even offered to finish the game the next day.

Sampras covered his tears in a towel during the final change, but somehow managed to continue and eventually won the epic 6-3 match in the fifth set. It wasn’t until after the game that people learned that Pete’s coach, Tim Gullikson, had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer before the start of the season.