 "Happy Birthday Pete Sampras: Top moments of 14-time Grand Slam champion")
Pete Sampras is a former American Tennis player who started his professional career at the tender age of 16 in 1988. Starting off ranked 893rd in the world, he showed utter dominance on the court and finished the very first year of his journey among the top 100 players in the world. A few years ahead, he earned the label of the greatest tennis player in the 1990s. He reached World No 1 for the first time in 1993 and held that place for 286 weeks including an Open Era record of six consecutive year-end No 1 finishes from 1993-1998. Among his 64 singles titles in total, Pete Sampras clinched 14 Grand Slams including seven Wimbledon, two Australian Opens and five US Open. His decorated career concluded with the 2002 US Open. Today on his 51st birthday, let’s remember the top 5 victorious moments of the tennis great:
vs Goran Ivanisevic (1998 Wimbledon): In the 1998 Wimbledon Final, Pete Sampras had to face the toughest battle of his career. In the match against Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic, he was finding it hard to reply to the powerful serves by the opponent. The first four sets saw great competition between the two before the American outplayed Goran Ivanisevic in the final set riding on his rich experience. The clash ended 6-7,7-6,6-4,3-6,6-2 in the favour of Pete Sampras.
vs Ivan Lendl (1990 US Open): It was the quarter-final of the 1990 US Open which led to Pete Sampras’ first Grand Slam of his career. While facing the former World’s no. 1 Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras bagged the first two sets. But he lost the momentum in the next two sets and the final set turned out to be the decider. The American held his nerve and came out all guns blazing in the fifth set to snatch the match away. With the win, he broke Ivan Lendl’s streak of 8 consecutive final berths.
vs Albert Costa (1997 Australian Open): Pete Sampras faced Albert Costa in the quarter-final of the 1997 Australian Open. Though it was Albert Costa’s first quarter-final appearance in a Grand Slam, he put up a strong competition which made Pete Sampras fight tooth and nail till the final set. The American lived up to the expectation and clinched the victory with some beautiful volleys and sensational drop shots. The final scoreline at Melbourne Park read 6-3,6-7,6-1, 3-6,6-2.
vs Jim Courier (1996 French Open): Pete Sampras incidentally failed to win any French Open during his career. But, one of his career-best challenges came in the quarter-final of the 1996 French Open where he had to fight against his fellow American player, Jim Courier. Despite enduring defeats in the first couple of sets, Pete Sampras registered his best comeback on the clay court of the Roland Garros. He won the final three sets and the match ended 6-7,4-6,6-4,6-4,6-4 for him.
vs Petr Korda (1997 Wimbledon): Pete Sampras pulled off a smooth start to the 1997 Wimbledon but had to struggle a bit in the fourth round against Petr Korda. He dominated the first two sets before his Czech opposition levelled the match. In the final set, the American great got the upper hand and secured the win with the scoreline of 6-4,6-3,6-7,6-7,6-4. Read all the Latest News ****, Trending News ****, Cricket News ****, Bollywood News ****, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook ****, Twitter and Instagram ****.