Before Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic began to establish their 'tyranny' in men's tennis, one of the most feared names on the circuit was that of Pete Sampras. The American tennis player was one of the great protagonists of tennis during the 90's despite suffering from thalassemia and he starred in beautiful duels with other great tennis players of the time such as André Agassi. Next, we review the figure of Pete Sampras, the 'King of Swing'.
The beginnings of Sampras
The son of George and Sammy Sampras, of Greek descent, little Petros Sampras was born in Washington on August 12, 1971 and From the age of 3 he showed his passion for tennis by spending hours hitting the ball against a wall. A few years later the family would move to California, allowing Sampras join a club to continue honing his talents alongside Robert Lansdorp and Peter Fischer.
Pete Sampras' beginnings on the circuit were his first great success in his participation in Indian Wells, where he defeated Ramesh Krishnan and Eliot Teltscher, two Top-50 players, before falling in the second round to Emilio Sánchez Vicario. After reaching the semi-finals at Schenectady, Sampras made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open and despite taking two sets to zero in favor, he was unable to beat Peruvian Jaime Yzaga.
In 1989, already within the Top-100 of the ranking, Sampras would add his first victory in a Grand Slam at Roland Garros against Jorge Lozano although in the second round he had no options against Michael Chang, while in the US Open he managed to reach the knockout stages. after surpassing in the second round the Swedish Mats Wilander, number 5 in the world at the time. Sampras would continue to grow, reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open and adding his first ATP title on February 25, 1990 in Philadelphia after winning the Ecuadorian Andrés Gómez in the final. after having left important rivals like Andre Agassi or Tim Mayotte on the way.
His first Grand Slam against Agassi
That title further spurred the career of 'Pistol Pete', who managed to sneak into the Top-20 of the ranking until When he was 19 years old, he would win his first Grand Slam at the US Open after beating tennis players like Thomas Muster, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe and beating André Agassi in the three-set final. to add the first of his 5 titles in New York and to be the youngest tennis player to win the title, a brand that he still has. Sampras would close that dream year with the conquest of the Grand Slam Cup in Munich. Sampras would have a hard time starting in the 1991 season, since he would not add a title until the Los Angeles and Indianapolis tournaments in August and would see Jim Courier prevent him from revalidating the title at the US Open. However Sampras managed to win the Lyon tournament and reach the final in Paris before taking revenge on Courier for his first ATP Finals title.
As in 1991, Sampras did not compete in the 1992 Australian Open either, although this time it did add a victory in February in Philadelphia. However Agassi deprived him of the title in Atlanta and also ended his career in Roland Garros before Sampras was uncovered in Wimbledon, where Goran Ivanisevic deprived him of playing the final, while Andrei Cherkasov left him without options for the Olympic gold at Barcelona 92. Sampras came thrown to the US Open after his wins in Indianapolis and Cincinnati although Stefan Edberg prevented him from adding his second title in New York. In the final stretch of the year he won the title in Lyon and added his first salad bowl with the United States in the Davis Cup.
The beginning of the idyll with Wimbledon
Sampras started 1993 by winning the Sydney tournament and reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open before conquering the Miami Masters and Climb to the top of the rankings for the first time on April 12, 1993 after winning the Tokyo Tournament. Already as number 1 of the Sampras ranking he managed to make history in Wimbledon winning his first title on the grass in London after beating Jim Courier in the final and that same year he would also raise his arms at the US Open after winning Cedric Pioline in the final.. Sampras added a new title in Lyon at the end of the season in addition to finishing as number 1 in the standings.
Sampras' streak continued in 1994 as, after winning in Sydney, he conquered his first Australian Open against Todd Martin. Sampras maintained his voracity with the title of the Masters Masters of Indian Wells and Miami and added three other consecutive titles in Osaka, Japan and Rome. However, at Roland Garros he would fall to Courier in the quarterfinals before returning to Wimbledon and revalidate the title in 'The Cathedral' against Goran Ivanisevic to enlarge his legend on the grass in London. However, Sampras was surprised by Jaime Yzaga in the round of 16 of the US Open. After winning in Antwerp, Sampras would close the season with a new ATP Finals title and world number 1 at the end of the year.
Sampras could not revalidate the title at the 1995 Australian Open after falling in the final against his great rival, Andre Agassi, although he would take revenge for this defeat in the final of Indian Wells but would fall again with Agassi for the title in Miami. That year Sampras would yield the world throne and after falling in the first round of Roland Garros and would remove the thorn on the grass tour winning at Queen's and later beating Boris Becker to add his third consecutive Wimbledon. As if this were not enough Sampras added his third title at the US Open after beating Agassi in the final and closed the year with the title in Paris and with his third season at the top of the ranking, in addition to winning his second Davis Cup.
At the gates of the final at Roland Garros
1996 did not start well for Sampras, who lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Mark Philippoussis, although he did beat Agassi in San José to regain number 1 and cement him with a new title in Memphis. After winning in Hong Kong and Tokyo Sampras, he started his umpteenth assault on Roland Garros, the only Grand Slam missing from his showcases. However Yevgeni Kafelnikov left him at the gates of the final. Although the great disappointment for Sampras came at Wimbledon, when Richard Krajicek stopped the 'Pistol Pete' win streak on the grass in London. However Sampras managed to overcome the title in Indianapolis and his fourth US Open after beating Michael Chang in the final. The American won the title in Basel and also added another victory in the ATP Finals to finish for the fourth consecutive year as world number 1.
Sampras arrived with new energy to the 1997 season, in which he achieved his second Australian Open after beating Carlos Moyá in the final and continued with this inertia in the Philadelphia tournament before being surprised in Indian Wells and Miami. After the earth tour, where it didn't shine, Sampras came to London seeking revenge and added his fourth Wimbledon title there after winning Cedric Pioline in the final. With his victory at the Cincinnati Masters, Sampras seemed set to conquer a new US Open but Petr Korda slowed down his run in the knockout stages. The American would recover with victory in the Grand Slam Cup and Masters 1,000 in Paris as well as finishing for the fifth consecutive year at the top of the world ranking.
The 1998 season did not start well for the American after falling in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and losing to Agassi in the San José final although he would later win the title in Philadelphia and Atlanta and He would add his fifth Wimbledon title after beating Goran Ivanisevic in the final in five sets. On the American tour Patrick Rafter deprived him of winning the title in Cincinnati and reaching the final of the US Open although Sampras rebuilt himself by winning the title in Vienna before finishing his sixth season in a row as world number 1.
The end of the dynasty in the ranking
After not playing in Australia, Sampras had a hard time starting in 1999, since he gave up the world number one and did not manage to lift a title until June at Queen's, in what would be the prelude to his sixth title at Wimbledon after beating Andre Agassi in the final, whom he would win again in the final in Los Angeles. Sampras took revenge for last year's loss to Rafter in Cincinnati but an injury at the Indianapolis tournament prevented him from playing in the US Open. The American closed the year with the conquest of the ATP Finals after defeating Andre Agassi, who ended the six-year Sampras dynasty in the ranking after finishing the year as world number 1.
In 2000 Agassi asserted his status as world number 1 to overcome Sampras in the semifinals of the Australian Open although 'Pistol Pete' redeemed himself with his victory at the Miami Masters and added his seventh title at Wimbledon after defeating Rafter in the final. However, Marat Safin prevented him from adding another Wimbledon-US Open double after defeating him in the final in New York.
The last Dance
In the 2001 season Sampras could not pass the eighth in Australia and Agassi deprived him of the title in Indian Wells, while at Wimbledon a young Roger Federer defeated him in five sets in the round of 16 and in Los Angeles Agassi beat him in the final. Sampras also made it to the final at the US Open after beating Rafter, Agassi and Safin but in the title match failed Lleyton Hewitt.
In 2002 Sampras fell to Safin in the last 16 of Australia while at Wimbledon he was surprised by the Swiss George Bastl. However, 'Pistol Pete' had one last dance left after announcing that he would retire after the US Open. In New York he achieved his fourteenth Grand Slam after defeating Andre Agassi in the final And he put the finishing touch to one of the great legends of tennis.
What is Pete Sampras doing today?
Pete Sampras currently resides with his wife and children in California away from the media, although he is frequently seen as a spectator in the Los Angeles Lakers games. at the Staples Center. However, in 2010 he suffered the theft of most of the conquered trophies that he kept in a warehouse, although he would recover them a year later.