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I made it look so easy on court all those years. No one realized how hard I had to work. No one realized how much I had to put into it. They underestimated my intensity.

Pete Sampras

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Pete Sampras
Age: 53
Born: 1971
Born: August 12
Tennis Player
Washington
District of Columbia
Petros Sampras
Peter Sampras
Years
Court
Easy
Look
Looks
Hard
Underestimated
Work
Intensity
Much
Tennis
Made
Realized

More quotes by Pete Sampras

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By putting pressure on myself to develop a great game, I had less pressure to win. These days, I tell kids that the way I grew up, it wasn't about winning. It was about playing well, about playing the right way. That approach helped me enjoy the game and develop mine to its maximum potential.
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I don`t know why, but I love the dog eat dog nature of tennis. It`s real, it`s brutal and there`s no hiding place - it's like a one to one street fight. I love the intensity that comes with knowing you walk off court either a winner or a loser. It`s daunting but very exciting. There is no one to blame except yourself, no one cares who comes second.
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I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
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I admire the way golfers handle themselves. But tennis players are a lot younger, as a rule. There aren't many teenagers on the golf tour.
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For so long people have just taken what I do for granted. It is not easy to do year-in, year-out, to win Grand Slams and be No. 1.
Pete Sampras
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My goal one day is to be in the same sentence as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall.
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Players aren't quite as intimidated by my name.
Pete Sampras
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Media access to us is more regulated than in golf.
Pete Sampras
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People know me. I'm not going to produce any cartwheels out there. I'm not going to belong on Comedy Central. I'll always be a tennis player, not a celebrity.
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Retirement is a work in progress. I try to figure out my day, and what I know about myself is that I need structure.
Pete Sampras
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As long as I feel like I can win majors and contend, I'll continue to play.
Pete Sampras
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I'm staying in shape, working out.
Pete Sampras
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When you struggle winning matches all year and you don't really get into a groove or rhythm, you just can't expect to just come in here and have it click.
Pete Sampras
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I let my racket do the talking. That's what I am all about, really. I just go out and win tennis matches.
Pete Sampras
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Winning is about taking your opponent's heart out and squeezing it until all the blood has come out, even the very last drop. There are no prizes for a funny loser.
Pete Sampras
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People watched the Masters. It was a huge event. It was at The Garden. Now that it is over here in Europe, it has lost a little bit of popularity in the States.
Pete Sampras
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The difference of great players is at a certain point in a match they raise their level of play and maintain it. Lesser players play great for a set, but then less.
Pete Sampras
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It's not my place to tell you whom to vote for, to take any political stand, to tell you what religion to believe in. I'm an athlete. I can influence certain things, but when I see other athletes and celebrities telling you whom to vote for, I actually get a bit offended.
Pete Sampras
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I feel much more respected in Europe than I do in the States from the press and from the people. Americans expect me to win every match I play.
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The only person that I have met, that I have ever been in awe of, is Eddie Vedder.
Pete Sampras