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American tennis star Pete Sampras has been one of the most successful players in the history of this sport. Sampras and Andre Agassi’s rivalry was the ‘Big 3’ equivalent of the late 20th and early 21st century. Over the years, Sampras enjoyed incredible success and set many, seemingly unbreakable, records. 

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However, then came the Big 3. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal have been rewriting the history books of the game since they began their era of dominance. When Pete retired, he was on 14 Grand Slam titles, the most for any male tennis player. That record is now a distant fourth now, with all three, Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic tied at 20 each.  

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Taking note of their dominance, Sampras stated, “I think,” Sampras said as he broke into a laugh, “that’s the only record I’m going to have left.” Pete was talking about his record of six consecutive year-end no. 1 finishes from 1993-98. That record seems likely to last for a while, or so we hope, for Pete’s sake. The American remarked that his consistency and endurance in that period was one of his greatest achievements.

Recently, Djokovic overtook Sampras this season on ending the year as the World’s No. 1 player for a record 7th time. Sampras was also absurdly dominant on grass, with 7 triumphs at Wimbledon. That record was broken by Federer who currently holds 8 titles at SW19.

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Pete Sampras is an absolute legend of the game 

The great American player managed to end his career on a high note, winning the US Open in his final appearance at a Grand Slam event. 

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Coming to the current season, Djokovic began the year on a great note, winning the Australian Open. After that, he managed to beat Nadal in the semifinal of Roland Garros and went on to win the title. 

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Later, he won the Wimbledon Championships, which put him level with Federer and Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles each. On the contrary, the Swiss maestro and the Spanish star ended their seasons early due to injuries. 

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Watch this story: The Journey of Roger Federer to the Elite Billionaire’s Club

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Rohan Kollare

1,671 Articles

Rohan Kollare is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Rohan has studied Sports Management and has a trophy cabinet adorned with accolades won in district and state-level tennis competitions. He has previously worked in Content Operations for Disney’s Hotstar for over a year, covering Tennis and Formula One. Rohan's experience as a player gives him the ability to provide incisive analysis of the game rather than a superficial understanding. When not staunchly supporting his idol Roger Federer, Rohan likes to dive into animal welfare work, get lost in a book or listen to some music.

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