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Quick Facts
- NAME: Pete Sampras
- OCCUPATION: Tennis Player
- BIRTH DATE: August 12, 1971 (Age: 41)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Potomac, Maryland
- Originally: Petros Sampras
- Nickname: King of Swing
- ZODIAC SIGN: Leo
Best Known For
Tennis player Pete Sampras is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In 2002 he set the career mark for most Grand Slam victories with 14 titles.
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Play NowPete Sampras. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:01, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460.
Pete Sampras. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460 [Accessed 24 May 2013].
"Pete Sampras." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 09:01 http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460.
"Pete Sampras," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460 [accessed May 24, 2013].
"Pete Sampras," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460 (accessed May 24, 2013).
Pete Sampras [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460.
Pete Sampras, http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460 (last visited May 24, 2013).
Pete Sampras. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/pete-sampras-9470460. Accessed May 24, 2013.
But for a public that didn't grow up playing, tennis becomes charismatic only when rackets are flying or fists are pumping or new ground in fashion is being broken."
Sampras, of course, offered none of the latter. Instead,
he quietly and efficiently rose to become one of the game's all-time greats. In 2000 he came from one set down to defeat Patrick Rafter at Wimbledon to win the singles title and move past Roy Emerson as the sport's greatest winner with 13 major titles. In 2002 he capped his career with a 14th Grand Slam victory when he defeated Agassi in dramatic fashion in the final of the U.S. Open.
The win not only ended a two-year Grand Slam drought for Sampras but, at age 31, made him the oldest Open champion since 1970. Deciding to go out on top, Sampras made the tournament the last official tennis match of his career.
Recent Years
In 2007, four years after his retirement, Sampras was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
In 2008, after several years of staying home with his family, he began playing on the ATP Champions Tour, winning his first title that same year. In addition, Sampras published his autobiography, A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis in 2008.
Sampras lives in California with his wife, Bridgette, and their two boys, Christian and Ryan.
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Famous Tennis Players
View groupThroughout the history of tennis, there have been champs who have captivated fans with their achievements. From the history-making record of Arthur Ashe, the first African-American to win at Wimbledon, to the Olympic medal-winning athleticism of players like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal to the colorful on and off-court personalities of players like Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, these tennis players have made history acing their sport.
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Famous People Born in 1971 78 people in this group
