Petros Sampras is an American tennis player of Greek descent, 14 times Grand Slam winner. One of the greatest players in history who held the title of "best racquet in the world" for 286 weeks.
Biography
Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971 to Soterios and Georgia in Washington DC, USA. His mother, who emigrated from Greece, was a housewife, and his father, a Native American, worked as a design engineer at NASA. Pete was the third child in a family of Greek roots and attended regular Orthodox services on Sundays. At the age of 3, he found a tennis racket in the basement of his house and spent hours hitting a ball against the wall. The first real rival of the little athlete was his father, who was a big tennis fan and loved to spend his free time on the court. The intense game of relatives sometimes ended in fainting, since Pete had a rare disease associated with a lack of iron in his blood. However, the disease did not prevent him from making a professional career as a tennis player.
In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California, and the warmer climate allowed seven-year-old Sapras to play for most of the year. From the very beginning, his idol was the Australian tennis player Rod Laver, and at the age of 11 he met and played with this legend. Later he joined the Jack Kramer club, and it was here that the talent of the future professional player manifested itself. Pete's first coach was Robert Lansdorp, with whom he had to part after a while. Sampras then began to study with a family friend, Pediatrician Dr. Pete Fisher, who was also a passionate admirer of Rod Laver. His style of play became more aggressive under Fischer's influence, and at the age of 15, also at Fischer's insistence, he changed from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed one.
Career
Pete Sampras turned pro in 1988. At the age of 16, the first serious fight with Sammy Jammalw Jr. ended in defeat, but this did not stop the initial pressure and desire to play. This was followed by a series of victories, defeats and a landmark match in the "Grand Slam" tournament with Jaime Izaga, which ended in defeat for Pete. He did not advance further than the quarter-finals, although he made record successes in fights with more experienced athletes. The following year, Sampras improved his rankings slightly.
The first professional singles title was won in February 1990 at the "Ebel US Pro Indoo" tournament. These competitions in Philadelphia raised him in the TOP-20, and in September he won the victory in the "Grand Slam" tournament.
1991 was a very controversial year for Sampras, who was then awarded the first of five racket titles in the ATP Tour World Championsip. After losing to Jim Courier, he caused a wave of indignation among critics, but attributed it to the tension of the burden of responsibility to defend the title.
1992 also saw significant career events: victory in the team with John McEnroe in the Davis Cup and the first performance at the Olympics. After a string of victories, Pete reached the # 1 ranking, which he justified by taking his first title at the Wimbledon Championships.
In 1994, Sampras won the first of two Australian Open Tennis Championships, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. He later won titles again, and also won various tournaments in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich and Paris, as well as the ATP Tour World Championship. 1998 Pete finished as the best player for the sixth time in a row. This is followed by numerous victories again, including "Queen's Club Championships", "Wimbledon Championships", championships in Los Angeles, Cincinnati.
Sampras was known for his natural attacking serve and volley strategy, all-round play and strong competitive instinct. Features of the playing style: aggressive play, characterized by powerful serving and constant exits to the net. Powerful, reliable right hand kick with little spin, high speed of the ball, one-handed backhand with good spin, filigree flight play, excellent smash (Sampras's trademark kick, thanks to which he was often called "Jordan of tennis" in the press), and reverse (overhead blow to the left). The best surface is a grass court.
In 2003, Pete announced his retirement. During his retirement for everyone, he was the greatest player of all time. His career totaled 64 top-level awards (including 14 Grand Slam wins, 11 Super 9 / ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000, and 5 Tennis Masters Cup wins) and two doubles. title. It was ranked first in the world for being # 1 in the rankings for 286 weeks.
Retirement activities
After retirement, Pete did not stop playing. He has competed in the Outback Champions Series, hosted various exhibition matches while continuing to demonstrate his skills. In 2008 he managed to publish his book "A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis". In his own work, Sampras invites readers to see the life of an outstanding athlete through his own eyes. The great tennis player, who always avoided the attention of the press and never allowed "to look into his soul", himself reveals it to the reader. In his book, for the first time, he speaks frankly about what it meant for him to have such skills.
In 2010, along with Federer, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, he played a doubles match in Indian Wells to raise money for the Haitians affected by the earthquake.
Personal life
In parallel with the brilliant success in professional sports, Pete Sampras managed to arrange his personal life. On September 30, 2000, Sampras married American actress and Miss Teen USA title holder Bridget Wilson. On November 21, 2002, they had a son, Christian Charles Sampras, and on July 29, 2005, the couple had a second son, Ryan Nikolaos Sampras. Now they live in Lake Sherwood, California.
