Upon retiring in 2003, Pete Sampras was widely considered to be the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis.
Sampras had 14 Grand Slam titles to his name – a feat no other male player in the history of tennis could match.
The American superstar, who won seven Wimbledon titles in eight years, announced his retirement in a press conference shortly before the 2003 US Open.
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During that press conference, Sampras revealed the moment he had decided to retire, before discussing the matter of his greatness within the sport.
Pete Sampras: ‘I will never sit here and say I’m the greatest ever’
“First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming here,” Sampras told reporters in New York. “I really, really appreciate it.
“I think you know why we’re here, is to announce my retirement. It’s been quite a process this past year. I know that the process is now over. So I am a hundred percent retired.
“It brings back a lot of memories, coming back here to the site, being back in New York. I’m looking forward to tonight.
“I knew once Wimbledon came and went that it was time for me to stop. And I know that it’s time. And I’m content and I’m at peace with it. It’s time to, you know, call it a career.
“Couldn’t happen at a better place than here in New York where everything happened for me at 19, and it ended for me last year here. Anyone has any questions (laughter), you guys can ask.”
Sampras, who won his first major title at the US Open when he was just 19 years old, was asked a pertinent question later on in the press conference.
“You always shy away from discussing the situation that a lot of people say arguably you’re the best player that ever played the game,” one reporter asked. “Can you kind of put your career in perspective, how you see it now?”
Pete Sampras’ US Open finals
- 1990 – defeated Andre Agassi in the final, 6–4, 6–3, 6–2
- 1992 – lost to Stefan Edberg in the final, 3–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–2
- 1993 – defeated Cédric Pioline in the final, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
- 1995 – defeated Andre Agassi in the final, 6–4, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
- 1996 – defeated Michael Chang in the final, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6
- 2000 – lost to Marat Safin in the final, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
- 2001 – lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the final, 7–6, 6–1, 6–1
- 2002 – defeated Andre Agassi in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4
“I will never sit here and say I’m the greatest ever,” the 14-time major champion stated. “I just won’t.
“It’s up — it’s not up to anyone. I’ve done what I’ve done in the game. I’ve won a number of majors. I think that’s really, you know, kind of the answer to everything.
“It’s hard to compare the 90s to the 60s and the 40s. I don’t know if there’s one best player of all time.
“I feel like my game will match up against anybody. I played perfect tennis in my mind at times. I really stayed number one for many years, which is tough to do.
“I feel like when it was a big match, that I was going to come through.
“But to say I’m the greatest ever, I won’t say that,” Sampras insisted.
“At times I felt like when I was playing out there, I was playing, you know, pretty close to perfect tennis. But it’s hard to compare.”
At the time of making these statements, Sampras had not played a competitive match since beating Andre Agassi in the 2002 US Open final.
Sampras secured his 14th major title with the victory, beating his compatriot 6-3 6-4 5-7 6-4 in the showpiece event.
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What was Pete Sampras’ record at Grand Slams?
Upon retiring in 2003, Sampras had won 203 Grand Slam matches across his career.
He only lost 38.
This gave him a Grand Slam winning percentage of 84.23; behind only Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Henri Cochet, Roger Federer and Fred Perry.
Sampras also sits in ninth place for the most Grand Slam matches won at men’s singles events.
He trails the likes of Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors, but sits ahead of Andy Murray in the 10th spot.
