Pete Sampras /

Petros "Pete" Sampras (pronounced /ˈsæmprəs/) (born August 12, 1971) is a retired American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles. Sampras debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and played his last top-level tournament in 2002 when he won the US Open, defeating rival Andre Agassi in the final. He was the year-end World No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993–1998), a record for the open era. His seven Wimbledon singles championships is a record shared with William Renshaw. He spent 286 weeks at number 1, the most of any player. His five US Open singles titles is an open-era record shared with former World No. 1 players Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. He won five ATP World Tour Finals a record shared with Ivan Lendl and Federer. Sampras is the last American male to win Wimbledon (2000) and ATP World Tour Finals (1999). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Pete Sampras was born in Potomac, Maryland, and is the third child of Sammy and Georgia Sampras.