Pete Sampras Quotes & Sayings

“I never wanted to be the great guy or the colorful guy or the interesting guy. I wanted to be the guy who won titles.”

“I let my racket do the talking. That's what I am all about, really. I just go out and win tennis matches.”

“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.”

“I could be a jerk and get a lot more publicity, but that's not who I am.”

“In tennis, you can make a couple of mistakes and still win. Not in golf. I played three rounds in that Tahoe event, and I was drained. Mentally, not physically.”

“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.”

“I am going to hold serve the majority of the time. It is nice to have a little time to return serve.”

“I did it my way, and I have no regrets when I look back on my career that it was just a big focus for me.”

“After I went through two years of not winning an event, what kept me going was winning one more major. Once I won that last U.S. Open, I spent the next six months trying to figure out what was next. Slowly my passion for the sport just vanished. I had nothing left to prove.”

“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.”