Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Petros "Pete" Samprasis a retired American tennis player and former world No. 1 regarded as one of the greatest players in tennis history. He debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and finished his career at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating rival Andre Agassi in the final. He was particularly esteemed for his precise serve, earning the nickname "Pistol Pete"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth12 August 1971
CityPotomac, MD
CountryUnited States of America
When you retire you want to get as far away as possible from the game for a couple of years.
In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win.
A couple hundred people around, and I'm shaking.
In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win. Not in golf. I played three rounds in that Tahoe event, and I was drained. Mentally, not physically
You expect people to kind of be walking around. And there's a certain buzz in the air.
There's no one out there that has a big enough game, a big enough serve to really put pressure on him. I would stick to my game and hopefully that would be big enough to beat him.
(The tournament) was one of my more favorite stops and I know a lot of players love playing in the desert and it's good to see it's staying in the desert. Obviously playing the event for 14 or 15 years, I love the two weeks I would spend there. I have a home close to there and I can have a presence at the event now that I'm a very small piece to a big puzzle.
The timing is right. I've been busy with my family and enjoying retirement but this feels like the right time to get back on the court and play World Team Tennis.
I don't know how I do it, I really don't.
I've worked hard my whole life, since I was a little kid. But now it's a point in my life now where I can just enjoy it, but at the same time I still need to work.
Andre Agassi was my rival in the '90s, and I think as we got older we sort of transcended the game. He was probably the best player I ever played over my career. There's a list of players that were tough, but Andre, certainly, he was the most unique.
It's not easy to retire at 31. In one respect I was glad I was done. But after a few years of having fun, I got a little restless. When you're 33, 34, and you don't have a focus, you can get kind of lost. As a man, you feel a little bit unfulfilled.
It's weird to say, but I'm content, ... I'm happy. I've got nothing left to prove to myself. That's a big statement. I'm coming to terms with it, you know? I'm like, 'I'm stopping?' But there's nothing left in tennis I want to achieve.
World Team Tennis gives me an opportunity to play singles, doubles and mixed doubles and that's something I didn't get to do during my career.