In 1990 Pete Sampras surprised the world of tennis by becoming the youngest man ever to win the U.S. Open men's singles title with a serve that often traveled over 120 miles per hour. When he couldn't repeat his success during the next two years, some said he'd been lucky at the U.S. Open, that he really didn't deserve to be considered a great player. Instead of letting what people said get him down, Sampras just worked harder. In 1993 he became a superstar, first earning the world's number-one ranking and then winning the famous Wimbledon tournament and the U.S. Open once again. Over the next several years Sampras let his racquet do the talking as he established himself as the number-one player in the world.

Pete Sampras was born August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C. His dad, Soterios, is of Greek descent and was a civilian aerospace engineer...