Quote

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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Pete Sampras
Age: 53
Born: 1971
Born: August 12
Tennis Player
Washington
District of Columbia
Petros Sampras
Peter Sampras
Thinking
Loses
Tennis
Happened
Defeat
Winning
Critical
Help
Losing
Choking
Helping
Failure
Choke
Spirit
Afraid
Nerve
Never
Lose
Experiencing
Think
Position
Nerves

More quotes by Pete Sampras

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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.
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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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I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so.
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Players aren't quite as intimidated by my name.
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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.
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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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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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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.
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Success is walking out of here with the title, and anything less is not good enough in my book.
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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.
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It's one-on-one out there, man. There ain't no hiding. I can't pass the ball.
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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.
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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 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.
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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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When I committed to playing a little tennis in some exhibitions, it was the best thing for me. It got me in shape. It got me out of the house. It got me doing something I love to do.
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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.
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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.
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I've always led a pretty simple life, with few extravagances. The money in tennis never drove me.
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You kind of live and die by the serve.
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