Team USA: Pete Sampras | Pro Tennis - News |  | USTA
Team USA: Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Birthdate: August 12, 1971
Member: 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002
Singles Record: 15-7
Doubles Record: 4-1
Overall Record: 19-8
Represented the United States for the first time in nearly two years, as he helped the U.S. to a 5-0 win over the Slovak Republic in the 2001 Davis Cup first round in Oklahoma City, Okla. Improved his Davis Cup record to 19-8. His four-set win over Karol Beck on Friday was his 15th Davis Cup singles victory, placing him into a tie for 13th place all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history along with Stan Smith and Tut Bartzen. Said Sampras of playing Davis Cup with his much younger Davis Cup teammates James Blake, Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick, "These guys are bouncing off the walls. They have got a lot of energy, and, you know, they are watching "The Simpsons" at night. And I am with Todd Martin watching "On Golden Pond." So they can't sit still for half an hour. They have dinner. They are up in the room, playing games and playing pingpong in their underwear. That's what these guys are doing."
Playing in his hometown of Los Angeles, Sampras was the hero of the 3-2 win over the Czech Republic in the 2000 Davis Cup by NEC quarterfinal, defeating Slava Dosedel 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 in the fifth and decisive rubber of the tie. Sampras overcame a partially-torn quad muscle to gut out the win for the United States. On the opening day of play, Sampras put in the U.S. in an early 1-0 hole, losing to Jiri Novak 7-6, 6-3, 6-2. The loss was Sampras’s most convincing defeat in Davis Cup play.
Named to the team that played Zimbabwe in the 2000 Davis Cup by NEC first round but was forced to pull out of the competition with a torn hip flexor muscle suffered at the Australian Open.
Returned to the Davis Cup team in 1999 and represented the United States against Australia in the Davis Cup by NEC Centennial Celebration at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Mass. Sampras paired with Alex O’Brien to defeat Mark Woodforde and Sandon Stolle 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to cut Australia’s lead to 2-1 against the United States. The United States would go on to lose to Australia 4-1.
Forced to retire with a torn left calf muscle against Magnus Larsson of Sweden trailing 6-3, 6-7, 1-2 in the 1997 Davis Cup final against Sweden in Gothenburg, Sweden. The loss put the American team down 0-2 after the first day of play. Sweden went on to the win the Davis Cup with a 5-0 victory.
Defeated Mark Philippoussis and Patrick Rafter in singles to lead the United States to a 4-1 win over Australia in the 1996 Davis Cup semifinal in Washington, D.C. Increased his Davis Cup singles winning streak to eight and his career Davis Cup record to 16-6 (13-5 in singles). Lost his first ever Davis Cup doubles match with Todd Martin, losing to Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.
Accounted for all three points as the U.S. defeated Russia 3-2 in the 1995 Davis Cup final in Moscow. Playing on clay, his worst surface, Sampras defeated Andrei Chesnokov in five sets on the first day of play. Sampras was dragged off the court by USTA Trainer Bob Russo and USTA Team Doctor George Fareed after the match due to severe cramps. Sampras teamed with Todd Martin to defeat Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andrei Olhovskiy in doubles on the second day and clinched the match with a straight-set win over Kafelnikov on the final day. Sampras described his win over Kafelnikov as his "best-ever on clay." Sampras became the first American since John McEnroe in 1982 to account for all three points in a Davis Cup final.
Won both his singles matches as the United States defeated Sweden 4-1 in the 1995 Davis Cup semifinals.
Defeated Renzo Furlan and Andrea Gaudenzi as the United States defeated Italy 5-0 in the 1995 Davis Cup quarterfinals in Palermo, Italy.
Split his two singles matches in a 3-2 U.S. loss to Sweden in the 1994 Davis Cup semifinals. He defeated Magnus Larsson 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 in his first match, but was forced to retire with a strained hamstring after dropping first set to Stefan Edberg.
Defeated Jacco Eltingh but lost to Richard Krajicek in a 3-2 U.S. win over The Netherlands in the 1994 Davis Cup quarterfinals in Rotterdam.
Helped the United States win the 1992 Davis Cup final over Switzerland, teaming with John McEnroe to defeat Jakob Hlasek and Marc Rosset 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. The victory gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the match that it would eventually win 3-1.
Clinched the 4-1 U.S. win over Sweden in the 1992 semifinals, teaming with McEnroe to defeat Stefan Edberg and Anders Jarryd 6-1, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Represented the U.S. in singles against Argentina and Czechoslovakia, achieving a 3-1 record.
Made his Davis Cup debut against France in the 1991 Davis Cup final in Lyon, France. Lost to Henri Leconte and Guy Forget. The loss to Forget clinched the 3-1 win for France.
OLYMPIC CAREER
Forced to pull out of the 1996 Olympics due to a strained Achilles tendon two days before the Opening Ceremonies of the Games.
Represented the United States at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He reached the third round losing to eventual bronze medalist Andrei Cherkasov. In doubles, he and Jim Courier were defeated in the second round.
RANKING HISTORY
2002 HIGHLIGHTS
Reached the semifinals of Indian Wells, losing to Lleyton Hewitt.
Reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, losing to eventual finalist Marat Safin, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2001
Advanced to the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Indoors, losing to Max Mirnyi.
Became the first player in US Open history to defeat three former US Open champions in succession -- 1997 and 1998 champion Patrick Rafter in the fourth round, 1994 and 1999 champion Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals and 2000 champion Marat Safin in the semifinals. Lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the final, 7-6, 6-1, 6-1. His quarterfinal win over Andre Agassi, (6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), did not feature a service break and was highlighted by a standing ovation by the capacity crowd at the start of the fourth-set tie-break.
Finished runner-up at the US Open tune-up in Long Island, N.Y., losing to Tommy Haas in the final.
Reached the singles final at Los Angeles, losing to Andre Agassi.
Upset in the fourth round of Wimbledon by Roger Federer, ending his consecutive match winning streak at Wimbledon at 31 straight matches. The loss also ended the bid by Sampras to win a fifth-straight Wimbledon title, tying Bjorn Borg’s mark from 1976 to 1980 and his attempt to win his record eighth Wimbledon title.
Lost in the second round of the French Open to Galo Blanco of Spain in straight sets. Saved three match points in defeating qualifier Cedric Kauffmann of France 8-6 in the fifth set in the first round.
Upset by Andy Roddick in the third round of the Ericsson Open in Miami.
Lost to Andre Agassi in the final of the Tennis Masters Series Indian Wells.
Lost in the fouth round of the Australian Open to Todd Martin.
2000
Reached the final of the US Open for the first time since 1996 and the first time in Arthur Ashe Stadium, losing in straight sets to Marat Safin of Russia.
Won his record breaking 13th career Grand Slam men’s singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Patrick Rafter in the final 6-7 (10), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2. Sampras surpassed Roy Emerson’s record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles won from 1961 to 1967. The Wimbledon title was the seventh for Sampras, which equals the record set by Willie Renshaw in 1889. Sampras won the title despite suffering from acute tendinitis in his left ankle.
Upset in the first round of the French Open by Mark Philippoussis 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 8-6.
Won his 62nd career title defeating Gustavo Kuerten 6-1, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 in three hours and 18 minutes in the final of the Ericsson Open in Miami, Fla.
Lost to Andre Agassi in a dramatic five-set semifinal at the Australian Open 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (5), 6-1.
1999
Ended the year in brilliant fashion, winning the ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover, Germany, defeating Andre Agassi 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Sampras entered the event, played in the third week in November, having only played one tournament match since August 24.
Withdrew from the 1999 US Open with a herniated disc in his back, suffered during a practice session with Gustavo Kuerten.
Injured his hip against Vince Spadea in the quarterfinal of the ATP Tour event in Indianapolis, Ind., ending his winning streak at 24 matches.
Defeated Patrick Rafter in the final (and Andre Agassi in the semifinals) to win the ATP Tour event in Cincinnati and to increase his winning streak to 22 matches. The title was the 60th career singles titles for Sampras.
Defeated Andre Agassi 7-6, 7-6 to win the ATP Tour title in Los Angeles.
Defeated Andre Agassi in the Wimbledon men’s singles final to win his 12 Grand Slam singles title – tying Roy Emerson’s all-time record – and his sixth Wimbledon title.
Won his first title of 1999 at Queen’s Club, defeating Tim Henman in the final.
Lost in the second round of the French Open to eventual finalist Andrei Medvedev.
Skipped the Australian Open due to exhaustion.
1998
Became the first player in the history of the ATP Tour rankings (since 1973) to finish the year ranked No. 1 for six consecutive years. Won the singles title in the end of the year in Vienna and reached the final at the Paris Indoor (lost to Rusedski) to help clinch the No. 1 ranking.
Lost in the semifinals of the US Open to Patrick Rafter.
Won the singles title at Wimbledon for a fifth time – tying him with Bjorn Borg as the only five-time men’s singles champions in the Open Era. The Wimbledon title was his 11th career Grand Slam singles title – tying him with Borg and Rod Laver for second place all-time in men’s tennis. Defeated Goran Ivanisevic in the final in five sets.
Defeated by Ramon Delgado in the second round of the French Open.
Lost to Karol Kucera in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Won singles titles at Philadelphia and Atlanta. The title in Atlanta was his first on clay since the 1994 Italian Open.
1997
Named "SportsMan of the Year" by the U.S. Olympic Committee for 1997, becoming the first tennis player to ever win the award.
Concluded the year ranked No. 1 in the ATP Tour singles rankings for a fifth straight year - tying the record set by Jimmy Connors, who finished the year ranked No. 1 from 1974-1978.
Defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the final of the ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover. The title was his fourth at the ATP Tour World Championships.
Defeated Jonas Bjorkman in the final of the Paris Open.
Won the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, defeating Patrick Rafter in the final.
Was defeated by Petr Korda 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
Won his 49th career ATP Tour title at Cincinnati, defeating Thomas Muster in the final.
Won Wimbledon for a fourth time in his career, defeating Cedric Pioline in the final 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The title marked his 10 Grand Slam singles title.
Upset in the third round of the French Open by Magnus Norman.
Won titles in San Jose (defeated Greg Rusedski) and Philadelphia (defeated Patrick Rafter).
Won the Australian Open for the second time in his career, defeating unseeded Carlos Moya in the final 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
1996
Finished as the No. 1 ranked player in the world for a fourth straight year, joining Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe.
Won the ATP Tour World Championship for a third time, defeating Boris Becker in a five-set final.
Won the U.S. Open for the fourth time, defeating Michael Chang 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 in the final. Won the championship on what would have been his late coach, Tim Gullikson’s 45th birthday. Gullikson died of a brain tumor on May 3. In the quarterfinals, Sampras staged one of the gutsiest performances in tennis history, defeating Alex Corretja of Spain 7-6, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7) in 4:09 after vomitting struggling with fatigue and vommitting on court. Sampras saved a match point at 6-7 in the tie-break and served an incredible second-serve ace at 7-7 in the tie-break.
Fell short of winning his fourth straight Wimbledon title - losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Richard Krajicek 7-5, 7-6, 6-4. Had his 25-match winning streak at Wimbledon ended. Endured 29 aces from Krajicek - the same amount served up up Mark Philippoussis in his upset of Sampras in the third round of the Ausralian Open.
Achieved his best result at the French Open reaching the semifinals. Defeated two, two-time French Open champions en route - Sergi Bruguera in the second round in five sets and Jim Courier in five sets in the quarterfinals. Exhausted from playing three, five set matches en route to the semifinals, he lost in straight sets to eventual champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Won his 39th and 40th career singles titles in Hong Kong and Tokyo respectively.
Upset by Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals of Key Biscayne and by Paul Haarhuis in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells.
Defeated Todd Martin in the final of Memphis for his 38th career singles title.
Regained the No. 1 ranking by winning the title in San Jose, Calif., defeating Andre Agassi in the final. After the match, he was asked whether carrying the No. 1 ranking was a lot of baggage. Sampras replied, "It’s not a lot of baggage. It’s just a couple of carry-ons."
Upset in the third round of the Australian Open by Mark Philippoussis 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, losing his No. 1 ranking to Andre Agassi with the loss.
1995
Finished the year as the No. 1 ranked player in the world for the third straight year. Clinched the No. 1 ranking by reaching the semifinals of the ATP Tour World Championships. Won five titles and was co-nominated to the U.S. Olympic Committee with Andre Agassi by the USTA as its Athletes of the Year.
Won the U.S. Open for a third time, defeating Andre Agassi in the final 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. He served 142 aces en route to the title - including 24 in the final against Agassi. Became only the fourth player in history to win three U.S. Open titles and three Wimbledon titles.
Became the first American to win three straight Wimbledon men’s singles titles, defeating Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Also became one of only three men to win three or more straight Wimbledon titles joining Bjorn Borg 1976-1980 and Fred Perry 1934-35-36. The victory earned him the honor of being the first men’s tennis player to win the USOC Athlete of Month award when he was bestowed the honor for the month of July.
Won the grass court title at Queens' Club, defeating Guy Forget in the final 7-6, 7-6. Sampras had beaten Marc Goellner 6-7, 6-2, 13-11, saving three match points, earlier in the day in the semifinals and then teamed with Todd Martin after the singles final to defeat Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge in the doubles semifinals. In all Sampras played 111 games in five hours and 20 minutes of playing time. On Monday, he won the doubles title when he and Martin defeated Jonas Bjorkman and Jan Apell in the final.
Dropped to No. 2 in the rankings behind Agassi on April 10.
Reached the final at the Australian Open, where he lost to No. 2 seeded Andre Agassi 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4. En route to the final, he won back-to-back matches after trailing two sets to love against Magnus Larsson in the round of 16 and Jim Courier in the quarterfinals, (the first player to do so in a Grand Slam since Paul Annacone at the 1987 Australian Open). His 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Courier, regarded as one of the most dramatic matches in the history of the Australian Open, was highlighted by Sampras weeping in the fifth set after a fan shouted for Sampras to win the match for his coach, Tim Gullikson, who had left the tournament due to complications from a brain tumor.
1994
Won the year-end IBM/ATP Tour Championships, defeating Boris Becker, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Finished year as the world's No. 1 player for the second straight year. Sampras was ranked No. 1 for the entire 1994 season - becoming the first player to hold that distinction since Ivan Lendl in 1987. The title in Frankfurt was his 10th of the season - the most in a single season on the ATP Tour since Ivan Lendl won 10 in 1989. He also reached the final of the Grand Slam Cup, losing to Magnus Larsson, but defeating Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals 10-8 in the fifth set.
At the U.S. Open, he was seeded No. 1 for the first time in his career - but was ousted by Jaime Yzaga in fourth round by a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7, 5-7 score.
Withdrew from four tournaments leading into the 1994 U.S. Open due to tendinitis in his left foot and a right hamstring injury.
Defended his title at Wimbledon, defeating Goran Ivanisevic in the final 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. Became the first player to repeat as men's singles champion at Wimbledon since Boris Becker in 1985 and 1986. Served 17 aces in the final and 115 during the tournament.
On June 13, he held a 2,412-point lead (the largest ever) over No. 2 Michael Stich in the ATP singles rankings.
Upset by Jim Courier in the quarterfinals at the French Open by a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 margin. The loss to Courier broke his 25-match Grand Slam winning streak.
Had his 29-match winning streak halted by No. 2-ranked Michael Stich by a 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 margin at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Won his second career clay court title at the Italian Open, defeating Boris Becker in the final 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The title was his fifth in a row and seventh of the year. The victory over Becker was his 27th straight match victory of the year.
Defeated Agassi 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the final at Key Biscayne. Suffered from a severe upset stomach prior to the match. Was allowed to play when Agassi agreed to delay the match.
Became the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three Grand Slams in a row (1993 Wimbledon, 1993 U.S. Open, 1994 Australian Open) defeating Todd Martin in the final of the 1994 Australian Open. En route to the championship he defeated Josh Eagle, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Stephane Simian, Ivan Lendl, Magnus Gustafsson and Jim Courier.
1993
Accumulated an 83-15 won loss record. Won eight titles and $3,648,075 in prize money.
Won his second U.S. Open singles title with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over France's Cedric Pioline. Seeded No. 2, he defeated Fabrice Santoro, Daniel Vacek, Arnaud Boetsch, Thomas Enqvist, Michael Chang and Alexander Volkov en route to the final.
Regained the No. 1 spot in the men's rankings from Jim Courier with his U.S. Open win, while becoming the first player since Boris Becker in 1989 and the first American since John McEnroe in 1984 to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year.
Seeded No. 1, he won his first Grand Slam title since the 1990 U.S. Open prevailing at Wimbledon defeating fellow American Jim Courier in the final 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 on the fourth of July.
Seeded No. 1, he reached the quarterfinals of the French Open – losing to eventual champion Sergi Bruguera. Also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, losing to Stefan Edberg.
Became ranked No. 1 in the world on April 12, 1993 and held the top spot for all but three weeks of the year. He became the 11th man to rank No. 1 in the world.
1992
Won five titles – including his first on clay Kitzbuhel, Austria.
Reached his second career Grand Slam singles final at the U.S. Open, where he was defeated by Stefan Edberg 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. In the semifinals he was stricken with a case of dehydration and food poisoning but managed to defeat Jim Courier 6-1, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Reached the semifinals of Wimbledon defeating defending champion Michael Stich in the quarterfinals. Lost to Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals.
Represented the United States at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He reached the third round losing to eventual bronze medalist Andrei Cherkasov. In doubles, he and Jim Courier were defeated in the second round.
Reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time - losing to Andre Agassi.
1991
Finished the year ranked No. 6 and captured four titles, including the IBM/ATP Tour Championships in Frankfurt where he defeated Jim Courier in the final.
As defending champion, he lost to Jim Courier in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
After two first round exits, he won his first career match at Wimbledon - defeating Danilo Marcelino in the first round before falling to Derrick Rostagno in the second round.
Came back from two-sets down for the first time in his career to defeat Thomas Muster in the first round of the French Open. Lost in the second round to Thierry Champion.
1990
Became the youngest male at the age of 19 years and 28 days to ever win the U.S. National or U.S. Open singles title when he defeated Andre Agassi for the 1990 U.S. Open crown. Seeded No. 12 in the event, he was the lowest seeded player to win the title in the Open era. Defeated in succession Dan Goldie, Peter Lundgren, Jakob Hlasek, Thomas Muster, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Agassi. The 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 defeat of Lendl ended the Czech's eight-year streak of making at least the finals of the U.S. Open.
He capped off the 1990 season by beating Brad Gilbert in the final of the inaugural Grand Slam Cup competition. The win netted him $2,000,000 first prize. He donated $250,000 to the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. Finished ranked No. 6 in the world and won three titles.
Won his first career title in Philadelphia defeating Andres Gomez in the final. Won his second career at Manchester.
1989
Burst onto the scene at the 1989 U.S. Open as an 18-year-old, reaching the round of 16 defeating defending champion Mats Wilander in the second round 5-7, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Won the doubles title at the Italian Open and reached the final at Forest Hills with Courier.
1988
In his U.S. Open and Grand Slam debut, he lost to Jamie Yzaga 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
Turned professional in 1988. In his second tournament as a professional, he defeated Ramesh Krishnan and Eliot Teltscher before falling to Emilio Sanchez at Indian Wells, Calif.
1987
Ranked No. 7 in the USTA Boy's 18 in 1987, finishing as runner-up to Michael Chang at the USTA National Boys’ 18 Hard Court Championships. Concluded his junior tennis career without ever winning a USTA national championship.
Won the 1987 USTA International Boys’ 18 Grass Court doubles title (with Matt Lucena).
Won a gold medal in singles at the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival.
PERSONAL