Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras (12 August, 1971) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. He holds the record for the most grand slam titles, winning 14 during his 15 year career. Sampras won seven Wimbledon singles titles [1], five U.S. Open singles titles, and two Australian Open titles; but he never won the French Open.
Sampras was born in Washington D.C., but he was raised in Palos Verdes, California. He left high school in 1988 to become a professional tennis player at the age of 17 and won the U.S. Open in 1990. He modeled his play after that of Australian player Rod Laver, developing a fast serve, strong groundstrokes, and an excellent net game. He won Wimbledon and his second U.S. Open in 1993, and also became the first professional tennis player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a single year. Sampras was able to dominate the Grand Slam tournaments throughout the mid to late 90s, winning another six Wimbledons, two Australian Opens, and five U.S Opens. He officially announced his retirement in 2003, just prior to the U.S. Open.
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Footnotes
- ↑ An all time record shared with William Renshaw.