Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras (12 August, 1971) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. Sampras holds the record for the most consecutive grand slam titles, winning 14 during his 15 year career. Sampras won seven Wimbledon singles titles , five U.S. Open singles titles, and two Australian Open titles. Yet he failed to ever win the French Open throughout his career.

Sampras was born in Washington D.C., but he was raised Palos Verdes, California. He left high school in 1988 to become a professional tennis player at the age of 17 and won the U.S. Open in 1990. Sampras modeled his play after that of Australian player Rod Laver, developing a fast serve, strong groundstrokes, and an excellent net game. Sampras won Wimbledon and his second U.S. Open in 1993, and also became the first professional tennis player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a single year. Sampras was able to dominate the Grand Slam tournaments throught the mid to late 90s, winning another aix Wimbledons, two Australian Opens, and five U.S Opens. Sampras officially announced his retirement in 2003, just prior to the U.S. Open.