Quote

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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Pete Sampras
Age: 53
Born: 1971
Born: August 12
Tennis Player
Washington
District of Columbia
Petros Sampras
Peter Sampras
Sports
Raise
Point
Players
Less
Raises
Certain
Level
Play
Difference
Great
Levels
Lesser
Player
Match
Differences
Maintain

More quotes by Pete Sampras

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If I win and play well, then the ranking will take care of itself. Defending points is really not a problem. Just go out and play and not worry about it.
Pete Sampras
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I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
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.
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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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 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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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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It is nice to walk out on a court to have it packed.
Pete Sampras
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Golfers are forever working on mechanics. My tennis swing hasn't changed in 10 years.
Pete Sampras
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My goal one day is to be in the same sentence as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. If I can match them for 10 years, I'd be in their company. They were class acts. That's what I'd like to be.
Pete Sampras
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Choking is being in a position to win, and then experiencing some critical failure of nerve or spirit. That never happened to me. And I can't help but think it was because I was never afraid to lose.
Pete Sampras
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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.
Pete Sampras
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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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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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What I've done in the game is always going to stick, no matter what happens.
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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You kind of live and die by the serve.
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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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.
Pete Sampras
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Anything can happen out there on any court.
Pete Sampras