Krajicek Sampras Quotes

Where I fall down is my short game. I don't practice enough, and when I have to take a half swing from 50 yards out, that's trouble. ~ Pete Sampras

I am here for the goal, and the goal is to try to do it again. ~ Pete Sampras

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. ~ Pete Sampras

Tennis obviously isn't as popular as baseball in the States. ~ Pete Sampras

There are a lot of good memories, and because I was injured, during the rehab, I met my wife. The tennis was very good but the injuries were good for something too. ~ Richard Krajicek

The way I look at the top five, (Rod) Laver, (Roger) Federer, myself, Borg and (Ivan) Lendl. I think those five guys dominated their generations better than anyone. Maybe Roger will dominate better than any one of the other four. Maybe I put Andre (Agassi) as kind of six through 10 with, you know, (John) McEnroe and (Jimmy) Connors, kind of those guys. That's kind of how I see it. ~ Pete Sampras

I think Pete Sampras has really reached his peak. About the only thing he doesn't do is cook. ~ Michael Chang

I think the image of golfers is terrific, and rightly so. ~ Pete Sampras

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

I could be a jerk and get a lot more publicity, but that's not who I am. ~ Pete Sampras

When I tied the record five years in a row, even over in Europe, it wasn't really talked about. It is disap-pointing because it is one of the toughest things to do in sports. ~ Pete Sampras

It's one-on-one out there, man. There ain't no hiding. I can't pass the ball. ~ Pete Sampras

With this ranking system, the more you play, the better off you are. ~ Pete Sampras

Once the fifth set comes, it's a matter of nerves. ~ Pete Sampras

As long as I feel like I can win majors and contend, I'll continue to play. ~ Pete Sampras

Baseball is America's pastime, and that record is absolutely huge in the States. ~ Pete Sampras

I'm not worried about the weekend, I'm worried about Saturday. ~ Pete Sampras

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. ~ Pete Sampras

Players aren't quite as intimidated by my name. ~ Pete Sampras

Many say that (Pete) Sampras is the greatest player. But I say with all due respect to the rest, that he (Roger Federer) is the most complete player in the world so far. ~ Marat Safin

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

I don't look at myself as a historical icon, but the reality of it is, yeah, I am playing for history now. ~ Pete Sampras

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. ~ Pete Sampras

I've worked hard my whole life, since I was a little kid. But now it's a point in my life now where I can just enjoy it, but at the same time I still need to work. ~ Pete Sampras

I've always led a pretty simple life, with few extravagances. The money in tennis never drove me. ~ Pete Sampras

Andre Agassi was my rival in the '90s, and I think as we got older we sort of transcended the game. He was probably the best player I ever played over my career. There's a list of players that were tough, but Andre, certainly, he was the most unique. ~ Pete Sampras

My father's coaching Misha and I just might help from time to time. ~ Richard Krajicek

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

Success is walking out of here with the title, and anything less is not good enough in my book. ~ Pete Sampras

I guess I get my strength from my legs, which are also important in tennis. ~ Pete Sampras

Throughout my career, my mind rarely wandered, and I was never sidetracked by distractions, no matter what I was going through off the court. ~ Pete Sampras

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

This time last year I would have said Federer would beat Sampras's record. Now I'm not so sure. His aura has gone. He's not as dominant as he was, and since I beat him in Australia he's looked frustrated. Players are beginning to challenge him now, especially myself and Rafa. He's got 12 Grand Slams to his name and maybe he will beat Sampras, but now I'm here it will be tough for him. ~ Novak Djokovic

Once the US Open is over in the States, mainstream America doesn't really follow tennis, unless you are a true tennis fan. ~ Pete Sampras

But in 2000, the injuries really started to kick in and my elbow gave a lot of problems. At the end of the year I had to take 20 months off before I could come back into the game. ~ Richard Krajicek

There is no doubt about how hard it is to stay on top in any sport, but to do it in an individual sport for the majority of your career, it is not easy. ~ Pete Sampras

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

It's not easy to retire at 31. In one respect I was glad I was done. But after a few years of having fun, I got a little restless. When you're 33, 34, and you don't have a focus, you can get kind of lost. As a man, you feel a little bit unfulfilled. ~ Pete Sampras

When you retire you want to get as far away as possible from the game for a couple of years. ~ Pete Sampras

I was serving good but was returning especially well, which was a weakness in my game. So not only was I serving well, but I was also breaking these other guys, and they felt the pressure. ~ Richard Krajicek

My serve was there, everything was just clicking. Those are the days you dream about, especially in a final. ~ Pete Sampras

All I cared about in tennis was winning. ~ Pete Sampras

I don't think anybody was ever up 6-2 and would lose the tiebreaker. ~ Richard Krajicek

Media access to us is more regulated than in golf. ~ Pete Sampras

Walking to the net, I'm certain that I've lost to the better man, the Everest of the next generation. I pity the young players who will have to contend with him. I feel for the man who is fated to play Agassi to his Sampras. Though I don't mention Pete by name, I have him uppermost in my mind when I tell reporters: It's real simple. Most people have weaknesses. Federer has none. ~ Andre Agassi

Roddick can challenge him as well if he serves big consistently for the entire match. If he does that, then he is tough to break even for a guy like Federer. ~ Richard Krajicek