Tennis - Pete Sampras, US Open 2002 - American postcard

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Pete Sampras, tennis player at the US Open, 2002
• Publisher:  USTA (United States Tennis Association)
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition:  acouple of small marks marks where it has been stuck to something in two corners on back

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971) is an American retired tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 14-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, becoming the first player to break Roy Emerson's record of 12 Slams. Sampras also won 7 major indoor titles (5 ATP year-end World Championships and 2 Grand Slam Cups). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.^[2]

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 an Open Era record shared with Roger Federer, while Sampras' five US Open singles titles is an Open Era record shared with both Federer and Jimmy Connors. Sampras is the last American male to win Wimbledon (2000) and the ATP World Tour Finals (1999).^[2]

Sampras was born in Potomac, Maryland, the third child of Sammy and Georgia Sampras. His mother emigrated from Sparta, Greece, and his father was born in the United States to a Greek father and a Jewish mother.^[3][4] He attended regular services of the Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays.^[5] From an early age, Sampras showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. At the age of 3, Sampras discovered a tennis racket in the basement of his home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall.

In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California, and the warmer climate there allowed the seven-year-old Sampras to play more tennis. From early on, his great idol was Rod Laver, and at the age of 11, Sampras met and played with him.^[6] The Sampras family joined the Jack Kramer Club, and it was here that Sampras's talent became apparent. He was spotted by Peter Fischer, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who coached Sampras until 1989.^[6][7] Fischer was responsible for converting Sampras's double-handed backhand to single-handed with the goal of being better prepared to win Wimbledon.^[8][9]

Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked World No. 97 after starting the year at World No. 893.^[10] His first professional match was a loss to Sammy Giammalva, Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia. However, just one week later at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami, Sampras defeated two top-40 players before losing to world number 18 Emilio Sánchez. He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, when he defeated World No. 39 Michiel Schapers at a US Open warm-up tournament in Rye Brook, New York. In his first Grand Slam singles match, Sampras lost to World No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in the first round of the US Open. Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over World No. 79 Jim Courier in their first career match-up, and world number 8 Tim Mayotte.^[11]

The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending world number 81.^[12] He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge. He won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time at the French Open, before losing in the second round to eventual champion, 17-year-old Michael Chang, in their first career match-up. At the US Open, Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round before losing to World No. 13 Jay Berger in the fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round of four consecutive tournaments.^[13]

Sampras finished 1990 at World No. 5, having started the year ranked World No. 61 just prior to the start of the Australian Open.^[14] He lost to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Mayotte in the first round before losing to thirteenth-ranked Yannick Noah in the fourth round in four sets. His first professional singles title came in February at the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia, where he defeated sixth-ranked Andre Agassi, eighth-ranked Mayotte, and eighteenth-ranked Andrés Gómez in the final. This title elevated his ranking into the top 20 for the first time.

Sampras did not play in the 1990 French Open and again lost in the first round of Wimbledon, this time to Christo van Rensburg. Sampras played seven consecutive weeks during the North American summer hard-court season. He defeated John McEnroe in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open, but then lost to Chang in the semifinals. He also reached the semifinals of the tournament in Los Angeles, where he lost to World No. 2 Stefan Edberg. He did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, losing to Chang, Richey Reneberg, and Goran Ivaniševic.

In September, Sampras captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Along the way, he defeated sixth-ranked Thomas Muster in the fourth round and third-ranked Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive US Open finals. He then defeated 20th-ranked McEnroe in a four-set semifinal to set up a final with fourth-ranked Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the US Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days.^[15] He played five more tournaments and won the Grand Slam Cup to complete his year.^[16]

In 1991, Sampras captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. Upon entering the US Open as the defending champion that year, he caused controversy when, after losing in the quarterfinals to Jim Courier, Sampras said that he was not disappointed and felt relieved that the pressure to defend his title was no longer on him. This led to widespread criticism, which included disparaging remarks from Courier and Jimmy Connors.^[17]

In 1992, Sampras reached the quarter finals of the French Open for the first of three consecutive years, made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, and was the runner-up at the US Open to Stefan Edberg. Sampras later stated that his loss in the US Open final that year was a ""wake-up call"" and that he needed to figure out how to become the world number 1.^[18] He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup, duplicating the feat in 1995.

1992 was also the year when Sampras made his only appearance at a Summer Olympics. The event was played on clay, which was considered his worst surface. Nonetheless, Sampras had a solid showing in Barcelona, advancing to the third round before giving up a two-set lead and losing to Andrei Cherkasov of Russia.

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 1993 losing again to Stefan Edberg and matched the previous year's quarterfinal performance at the French Open. In April 1993, Sampras attained the world number 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the top of the rankings spot was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles,^[19] but he justified his ranking three months later by claiming his first Wimbledon title, beating former world number 1 Jim Courier in the final. This was followed by his second US Open title. He finished the year as the clear no. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a season.

Except for a loss in the 1996 quarterfinals to eventual winner Richard Krajicek, Sampras continued to win at Wimbledon for the rest of the decade, becoming the most successful male player in Wimbledon history.^[20]

Sampras won the first of his two Australian Open titles in 1994, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. In 1995, Sampras experienced one of the most emotional matches of his career, when he played Courier in the quarterfinals.^[21] Sampras's longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullikson was later diagnosed with brain cancer to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullikson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match, but managed to win. He lost the final to Agassi. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras's full-time coach after Gullikson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching.

Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts.^[22] He was also known for his all-round game and strong competitive instinct. He won back-to-back US Open titles in 1995 and 1996, despite vomiting on the court at 1–1 in the tiebreak due to dehydration in the 1996 quarterfinals against Àlex Corretja.

Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won a 1992 clay court tournament in Kitzbühel, defeating Alberto Mancini in the final. He won the prestigious Italian Open in 1994, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final.

Sampras won his second Australian Open title in January, defeating Carlos Moyá in the final.^[23] In July, he won Wimbledon for the fourth time, defeating Cédric Pioline in the final.^[24] Sampras also won singles titles in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich, and Paris, and the ATP Tour World Championships in Hanover, Germany. He became the only player to win both the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour World Championships in the same year.

He had a 10–1 win–loss record against top-10 opponents and was undefeated in eight singles finals. He held the world number 1 ranking for the entire year and joined Jimmy Connors (1974–1978) as the only male players to hold the year-end world number 1 ranking for five consecutive years. His prize money earnings of US$6,498,211 for the year was a career high.

In 1998, Sampras's no. 1 ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Ríos. (In 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997, Sampras had finished as the year-end world number one player.) Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the quarterfinals to Karol Kucera,^[25] and won Wimbledon only after a hard-fought five-set victory over Goran Ivaniševic. Sampras lost a five-set US Open semifinal to the eventual winner Patrick Rafter, after leading the match two sets to one. He lost another semifinal at the Tennis Masters Cup to eventual champion Àlex Corretja. Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top-ranked player for the sixth year in a row.

1999 also started out disappointingly, as Sampras withdrew from the Australian Open and failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then went on a 24-match winning streak, including the Stella Artois Championships, Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. His victory over Andre Agassi in the Wimbledon final is often cited as one of Sampras's greatest performances (despite this, he lost his no. 1 ranking to Agassi the following day, when ATP Tour rankings were updated). That run ended when he was forced to retire from the RCA Championships and the US Open because of a herniated disc in his back.

Sampras's ranking was hurt through a combination of withdrawing from the Australian and US Opens, tournaments in which he had strong performances during the previous year, and the resurgence of longtime rival Andre Agassi, putting an end to Sampras' six consecutive years of finishing as the world number 1. Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat him in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the fifth and final time, enabling Sampras to place third in the rankings.

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000 (falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match) and won the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida for the third time in March. He then won a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, battling through tendonitis in his right shin and a painful back injury in the process. This victory was his eighth consecutive year winning in a Grand Slam final (starting at 1993 Wimbledon), a record in the Open Era until being surpassed by Rafael Nadal in 2013. After this victory, Sampras did not win another title for more than two years.

Sampras lost handily in the finals of the 2000 and 2001 US Open to Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively, leading many to speculate that Sampras would never capture another major title. At the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, Sampras lost to Roger Federer, who was 19 at the time, 6–7(7), 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(2), 5–7, in the fourth round, ending Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon, and a match that marked the first and only time that the two men ever played each other on the ATP tour. At the 2001 US Open, Sampras defeated Patrick Rafter, Andre Agassi and Marat Safin in the round of sixteen, quarterfinals, and semi-finals, respectively. In the final, Sampras was beaten in straight sets by Lleyton Hewitt.^[26]

In 2002, Sampras suffered an early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to no. 145 fast-court specialist George Bastl of Switzerland. After that loss, Sampras asked his former coach Paul Annacone to return and coach through the US Open.^[27] Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open, losing at Cincinnati to No. 70-ranked Wayne Arthurs in the second round, and then being eliminated at the opening round at Long Island by No. 85. Paul-Henri Mathieu.

At the US Open, Sampras was seeded 17th. Greg Rusedski, whom Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the US Open, said that Sampras was ""a step and a half slower"" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young stars, Tommy Haas in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight US Open final, and eighth US Open final overall, tying Ivan Lendl's all-time record. This time, he faced Agassi, whom he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a then-record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors's record of five US Open singles championships.^[28]

Sampras did not compete in any tour events in the following 12 months, but he did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the US Open.^[29] He chose not to defend his title there, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the Open.^[29] At the time of his retirement, many regarded Sampras as the greatest player of all time.^[30][31]

Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slam titles, 11 Super 9/ATP Masters Series/ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and five Tennis Masters Cup titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the world number 1 for a total of 286 weeks (the second most all-time) and was year-end no. 1 for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

type=printed

sport=tennis

period=post-war (1945 - present)

postage condition=unposted

number of items=single

size=continental/ modern (150x100mm)

county/ country=usa