Pete Sampras, as the record books and honours board at the All England Club tell us, was an unmatched champion on the grass lawns of Wimble...
Pete Sampras, as the record books and honours board at the All England Club tell us, was an unmatched champion on the grass lawns of Wimbledon. The American won seven titles in eight years between 1993 and 2000 with a stunning 90% win record at the grass-court Major and no runner-up trophy.
Yet, the start of Sampras’ journey at Wimbledon was at complete odds with his eventual success. In fact, Sampras hated it initially and thought grass as a surface was “unfair.”
“When I first came over here, the first three years, I didn’t really enjoy grass. I thought it was a fast surface that was unfair. I kind of had a negative attitude towards the grass. I just didn’t like the speed. ”
His first appearance was as an unseeded teen in 1989, where he lost to Todd Woodbridge in the first round. In 1990, right before his first Major title at the US Open, he was out in the first round to Christo van Rensburg, this time as the 12th seed. In 1991, the eighth seed crossed that first hurdle but lost in the second round to Derrick Rostagno.
Sampras’ affinity for grass didn’t increase much after that. But his coach, the late Tim...
