Pete Sampras

In any list of the greatest ever male tennis players, Pete Sampras’ name is always included. Sampras was known for his serve, often considered the greatest in the history of tennis. He won 14 Grand Slam singles’ title, a male record until surpassed by Roger Federer when he won Wimbledon in 2009. Sampras won Wimbledon seven times (1993-95, 1997-2000), the US Open five times (1990, 1993, 1995-96, 2002), and the Australian Open twice (1994, 1997). He never won the French Open, making the semi-finals in 1996, and had relative struggles on clay courts, although he did win the 1994 Italian Open. With his seven titles at Wimbledon, he is considered among the greatest ever grass court players.

Sampras first ascended to the #1 ranking in April 1993 and held that ranking for a total of 286 weeks, including ending up ranked #1 at year-end for six consecutive years (1993-98), a record for the Open era of tennis. During his career he won 64 professional singles’ titles, which also including winning the ATP Tour Finals five times, in 1991, 1994, 1996-97, and 1999. After winning Wimbledon in 2000, Sampras’ play fell off for the next two years, until he came back to win the 2002 US Open, after which he retired. Sampras was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.