| When one talks about the greatest tennis players of all | | | | outstanding athletic ability. The young Sampras |
| time, only a handful of names come to mind. In terms | | | | discovered a tennis racquet in the basement of his |
| of sheer number of championships won, perhaps no | | | | home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. In |
| one is more deserving of the tag "the greatest ever" | | | | 1978, the Sampras family moved to |
| than Pete Sampras. | | | | Pensacola, California and joined the Peninsula Racquet |
| Sampras played professional tennis from 1988 to 2003 | | | | Club, where they played a great deal of tennis |
| and left an indelible mark in the history of the game. He | | | | together. At the age of seven, it did not take long for |
| won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles and | | | | Pete's ability became apparent. Even at that early |
| finished the year as No. 1 for a record six consecutive | | | | stage, Sampras showed the beginnings of a solid |
| years, from 1993 to 1998. When it came to Grand | | | | serve and volley tactic that would become the |
| Slam events, Sampras was always at the top of his | | | | hallmark of his game. |
| game, winning the men's singles title at Wimbledon a | | | | Dr. Peter Fisher, a rabid tennis enthusiast, spotted |
| record seven times, the US Open five times and the | | | | Sampras on the courts and soon became his mentor, |
| Australian Open twice. He also won 11 ATP Masters | | | | overseeing the boy's training and tapping coaches to |
| Series titles. The one blemish on his record is that he | | | | help him reach the next level. |
| never won the French Open, which is the lone Grand | | | | In 1988, at the age of 17, Sampras had turned pro. By |
| Slam event that eluded the superstar's grasp. | | | | February 1990, he already won his first singles |
| Overall, Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles and | | | | tournament and by August that same year, he |
| two doubles titles. He was ranked the World No. 1 for | | | | captured his first Grand Slam, the US Open. With that |
| a record 286 weeks. Aside from his overall court | | | | victory, Sampras became the youngest-ever |
| game, he is widely regarded to have one of the best | | | | champion of the US Open at the age of 19 years and |
| second serves in history. | | | | 28 days. The rest, as they say, is history. |
| From an early age, Sampras showed signs of | | | | |