Quote

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
Much
Tennis
Made
Realized
Years
Court
Easy
Look
Looks
Hard
Underestimated
Work
Intensity

More quotes by Pete Sampras

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I'm not worried about the weekend, I'm worried about Saturday.
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There should be more of an off-season in the game. I think you need to have less tournaments, more of a break at the end of the year so guys can recover.
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People wrote me off, but I believed in myself. I got the confidence back, and it grew and grew. I won my first major and my last at the place that changed my life.
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If Davis Cup was a little bit less or once every two years, I would be more inclined to play. But the way it is now, it is too much tennis for me.
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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.
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When you go through certain moments of your career and you're struggling, it just takes time. Time heals, when you're a little bit down.
Pete Sampras
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I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
Pete Sampras
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Tennis is seen all around the world if I am home or anywhere in the country, United States, people will stare.
Pete Sampras
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What I've done in the game is always going to stick, no matter what happens.
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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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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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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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I guess I get my strength from my legs, which are also important in tennis.
Pete Sampras
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I can't just wake up and watch TV and do nothing. I need a day off working out, seeing the wife, play a little golf, see my kids.
Pete Sampras
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Anything can happen out there on any court.
Pete Sampras
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Baseball is America's pastime, and that record is absolutely huge in the States.
Pete Sampras
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A champion is suppose to hate to lose, and it wasn't like I was ever crazy about the idea. But I learned to deal with losing without having my spirit or confidence broken, which would help immensely over time, not just in the big picture but even in specific matches when I found myself in a jam. Fear of losing is a terrible thing.
Pete Sampras
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It is nice to walk out on a court to have it packed.
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.
Pete Sampras
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It's one-on-one out there, man. There ain't no hiding. I can't pass the ball.
Pete Sampras