The Switzerland men's national tennis team represents Switzerland in the Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by Swiss Tennis .
92-569: In 2007, Switzerland competed in the World Group for the 13th consecutive year – the third longest ongoing streak – before being relegated after losing 3–2 against the Czech Republic . Switzerland, with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and three-time Grand Slam champion and then-reigning Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka on the team, won its first Davis Cup title in 2014. Switzerland competed in its first Davis Cup in
184-591: A 1992 clay court tournament in Kitzbühel, defeating Alberto Mancini in the final. He won the prestigious Italian Open in 1994, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final. On April 6, 2006, three and
276-404: A 2-0 deficit against the latter) before losing in a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov , 7-6 , 6–0, 6–2. In the eight Wimbledons inclusive between 1993 and 2000, 1996 was the only year that Sampras would fail to win the tournament. Sampras lost in the quarterfinals that year to the 17th-seed and eventual champion Richard Krajicek , who defeated Sampras 7–5, 7–6 , 6–4. In
368-473: A Grand Slam singles match for the first time in his career; in the second round he lost to eventual champion and fellow American teenager Michael Chang in their first career match-up. A few weeks later, Sampras lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge . At the US Open , Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round before losing to No. 13 Jay Berger in
460-427: A West Los Angeles public storage facility. The loss included the trophy from his first Australian Open victory, two Davis Cups, an Olympic ring and six trophies for finishing top in the year-end rankings. Most of the stolen items have since been recovered and returned. On November 17, 2011, Sampras played and lost an exhibition match against Milos Raonic . His serve approached 200 km/h (124 mph) throughout
552-682: A clay court in Tashkent. Switzerland won 3-2 and confirmed its spot in the World Group. In 2017, The Swiss B team (Laaksonen, Chiudinelli, Bellier, Bossel) lost the first round 5-0 to the United States in Alabama. It was the second 5-0 in a row for the US team against Switzerland, after they had won 5-0 against a team with Federer and Wawrinka in Fribourg in 2012. Switzerland maintained its spot in
644-594: A comfortable 4-1 win against the Netherlands in The Hague , Switzerland traveled to the Arena of Nîmes to play France on clay in the quarterfinals. The Roman amphitheater was semi-covered for this event. Switzerland won 3-2 and recorded its first victory against a French team when Jakob Hlasek scored the decisive point against French clay-court specialist Thierry Champion . The semifinal against Brazil (won 5-0) in
736-960: A half years after his retirement, Sampras resurfaced and played his first exhibition match in River Oaks, Houston, Texas , against 23-year-old Robby Ginepri . Ginepri won the match in two sets. Sampras later announced that he would be playing in World Team Tennis events. In 2007, Sampras was announcing that he would play in a few events on the Outback Champions Series , a group of tournaments for former ATP players who have met certain criteria during their careers. Sampras won his first two events on tour, defeating Todd Martin in both finals (one of which included Sampras's first trip to his ancestral homeland, Greece). Many observers noted that despite Sampras’ lengthy layoff from competitive tournaments, he still possessed many of
828-510: A hard-fought win over Jim Courier , whom he had beaten in the Olympics the same year. The doubles proved to be the turning point of the tie. After the Swiss won the two first sets 7-6, John McEnroe managed to fire up Pete Sampras , who had been hardly there during the two first sets. The United States won the third set 7-5, and then took the two remaining sets easily. On Sunday, Courier secured
920-426: A low-ranked player with a demotivated attitude, causing Switzerland’s relegation to Group II, the third level of world’s tennis. Serious questions remain about the financial support received by this player from the Swiss federation, despite the absence of any results over years and the fact that his nominations on the team prevent younger players (Bellier, Nikles) from getting a real chance to express their qualities on
1012-458: A painful back injury in the process equalling the then all time gentleman's singles title record of William Renshaw. In the final, Sampras was a set down and 4-1 down in the second set tie break against Patrick Rafter , but went on to win in four sets. This was his 13th Grand Slam singles title, breaking the all-time record of Roy Emerson that had stood for over 30 years. In the 2000 US Open , Sampras overcame Richard Krajicek in four sets at
SECTION 10
#17327984658761104-516: A potential venue. The previous memorable campaigns of 1992 and 2003 also saw the Swiss team play against France abroad. Both games ended with a Swiss victory (1992: QF won 3-2 in Nîmes; 2003: QF won 3-2 in Toulouse). At the same time, these were the only two Swiss victories in 12 encounters with France. The preparation of the Swiss team for the final was overshadowed by the back injury of Federer. He
1196-566: A record eighth Gentleman's Singles title in 2017. Sampras is lauded by many tennis analysts as one of the greatest male grass-court players of all time. Sampras also shares the record of five US Open titles in the Open Era with Jimmy Connors and Federer. He won back-to-back US Open titles in 1995 and 1996, despite vomiting on the court at 1–1 in the final set tiebreak due to dehydration in the 1996 quarterfinals against Àlex Corretja . Combined with his two Australian Open titles, this gave Sampras
1288-516: A single title, and he finished the year ranked No. 10, also his lowest since 1989. In 2002, Sampras suffered an early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to No. 145 fast-court specialist George Bastl of Switzerland. After that loss, Sampras asked his former coach Paul Annacone to return and coach through the US Open. Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open , losing at Cincinnati to No. 70-ranked Wayne Arthurs in
1380-478: A total of fourteen majors won on grass and hard courts. Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov . Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won
1472-569: A traditional strength of the Swiss team during its victorious campaigns - failed completely and lost its three games without winning a single set. Czech Republic Davis Cup team The Czech Republic men's national tennis team represents the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup and is governed by the Czech Tennis Federation. The Czech team was started in 1993, following the break-up of Czechoslovakia . The team competed in
1564-500: Is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open , which he won, defeating his longtime rival Andre Agassi in the final. Sampras won 14 major singles titles during his career, which was an all-time record at the time of his retirement: a then-record seven Wimbledon titles, two Australian Opens and a joint Open Era record five US Open titles. He won 64 ATP Tour -level singles titles in total. He first reached
1656-565: Is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Sampras was known for his natural attacking serve-and-volley game, all-round game, and strong competitive instinct. Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts, Sampras won seven Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles titles (1993–95, 1997–2000), broken only by a loss in the 1996 quarterfinals to eventual winner Richard Krajicek . Sampras's seven Wimbledon Gentleman's Singles titles, tied with William Renshaw and Novak Djokovic , has only been surpassed by Federer who won
1748-603: Is the third child of Soterios "Sammy" and Georgia (née Vroustouris) Sampras. His father was born in the United States to a Greek father, Costas "Gus" Sampras, and a Polish-Jewish mother, Sarah Steinberg. His mother is also Greek; when she was 19, she immigrated to the United States from the village of Sellasia in Sparta . Sampras attended regular services of the Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays. His mother would pray for him every day,'' she said. ''Somebody
1840-475: Is watching you up there, no matter what you are doing.' Things happen" At the age of 3, he discovered a tennis racket in the basement of his home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes , California , and the warmer climate there allowed the seven year-old Sampras to play tennis for most of the year. From early on, his great idol was Rod Laver , and at
1932-689: The 1923 . They won the Davis Cup title for the first time in 2014 , defeating France in the final by three rubbers to one, Roger Federer 's victory over Richard Gasquet in the first reverse singles rubber clinching the title for the Swiss. Switzerland has reached one other final, losing to the USA in 1992 , as well as being semifinalists in 2003 , and quarterfinalists in 1998 , 1999 , 2001 and 2004 . Tennis became extremely popular in Switzerland in 1992. First, Marc Rosset and Jakob Hlasek won
SECTION 20
#17327984658762024-547: The 1992 French Open title in doubles. Marc Rosset went on to win the Olympics singles title in Barcelona. The Davis Cup campaign completed this exceptional year for Swiss tennis. The team was led by Marc Rosset and Jakob Hlasek and completed by Claudio Mezzadri and Thierry Grin . It lost the final 3-1 to a tough United States team consisting of Andre Agassi , Jim Courier , Pete Sampras , and John McEnroe . After
2116-576: The Australian Open ), Janko Tipsarević (injured), and Victor Troicki (suspended). Also, the Swiss team for the first time included two Grand Slam champions, as Stan Wawrinka had won the Australian Open. The draw for the World Group looked favourable for the Swiss, with a quarterfinal against Kazakhstan or Belgium and possibly a semifinal against Italy (led by Fabio Fognini ) or Great Britain (led by Andy Murray ). Switzerland won
2208-645: The German Davis Cup Team in 1938, by an aide to Adolf Hitler who was unaware that he was Jewish, but declined. The Czech Republic won the Davis Cup in 1980 as Czechoslovakia , and in 2012 and 2013 as the Czech Republic in Prague and Belgrade respectively. Here is the list of all match-ups since 1981, when the competition started being held in the current World Group format. Pete Sampras Pete Sampras (born August 12, 1971)
2300-671: The Stade Pierre-Mauroy was transformed into a tennis stadium for the occasion, with a capacity of 30,000. The French decided to play on a clay court. This choice was mostly due to the fact that both Federer and Wawrinka were participating in the ATP World Tour Finals on a hard court a week before the Davis Cup final. However, French captain Arnaud Clément stated that the surface would not necessarily be an advantage for France. France started practicing on
2392-415: The US Open . Along the way, he defeated sixth-ranked Thomas Muster in the fourth round and third-ranked Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive US Open finals. He then defeated 20th-ranked McEnroe in a four-set semifinal to set up a final with fourth-ranked Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the US Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at
2484-586: The 2020 edition, Switzerland faced Peru at the Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposicíon in Lima in a qualifying round to stay in what would now be called World Group I, one level below the teams allowed to compete for the title of world champion. This was the first tie ever between the two nations. Switzerland played with Laaksonen, Ehrat, Nikles, Bellier and Margaroli. Switzerland lost 3x1, with team leader Henri Laaksonen losing once again his decisive rubber against
2576-619: The Europe/Africa Zone I in 2019. It has played in the World Group in all but one year since it was created in 1981, sharing this record with the United States . The Czech Republic competed in its first Davis Cup in 1921 , as Czechoslovakia. From 1930 to 1939 Ladislav Hecht played for the Czech Republic Davis Cup team, achieving a record of 18-19, and was its Captain. Hecht was invited to play for
2668-477: The Friday singles. Marti left the team on Friday with only three players available for the tie. Switzerland lost the tie 3-2 (despite Henri Laaksonen 's winning both his singles), and Marti was heavily criticized in Switzerland. The president of Swiss Tennis even stated that he would never tolerate Marti's presence on the team again and that he would prefer to play in the continental zone with serious people, than in
2760-535: The Geneva Palexpo established a new world record for the largest attendance at an indoor tennis event at that time (15,000 people). The tie was played on an extremely fast Taraflex court, which favoured the fast serving Marc Rosset against Brazilian players traditionally used to play on much slower clay courts. Brazil had shocked Germany and Italy in the previous rounds, both played in Brazil. The Swiss team
2852-485: The Qualifiers for the 2023 Finals opening a path back to the elite of world team tennis. Germany fielded Alexander Zverev (WR 14) and Wawrinka made his comeback for Switzerland on that occasion after a long absence. He eventually won the decisive rubber against Daniel Altmaier , securing Switzerland a 3-2 victory and a spot in the 2023 Finals. The other match hero was Marc-Andrea Hüsler who won against Zverev. This
Switzerland Davis Cup team - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-486: The Swiss team, Yann Marti (ATP 209) was called as a fifth player, acting as a sparring partner. He was allowed to wear the team uniform for the first time and to stay with the team the whole week. Both Federer and Wawrinka won their singles matches in straight sets and were first expected to play together in the doubles on Saturday. However, due to his fatigue after the US Open, Federer asked not to play in order to be fresh in case he needed to play on Sunday. Wawrinka played
3036-677: The Tennis Masters Cup to eventual champion Àlex Corretja . Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top-ranked player for the sixth year in a row. The year started with a withdrawal from the Australian Open due to fatigue, and Sampras failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then went on a 24-match winning streak encompassing the Stella Artois Championships , Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson 's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles , and Cincinnati (a rematch of
3128-458: The US Open final that year was a "wake-up call" and that he needed to figure out how to become the world No. 1. He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup on home soil, beating Switzerland 3-1. 1992 was also the year when Sampras made his only competitive appearance at the Olympics. The event was played on clay, his worst surface. Nonetheless, Sampras advanced to
3220-518: The United States. Gullikson was later diagnosed with brain cancer, to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullikson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match when a spectator shouted at Sampras, urging him to win it for Gullikson. Sampras nevertheless managed to defeat Courier, but lost the final to Andre Agassi in four sets. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras' full-time coach after Gullikson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching. Sampras defeated Agassi in
3312-603: The World Group with Marti. Michael Lammer announced his retirement after the Belgium tie. The Swiss team secured its spot in the World Group by winning the play-off game against the Netherlands 4-1 in Geneva. Both Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka played the tie. They both needed to play one Davis Cup tie during the year in order to guarantee a spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2016, Switzerland faced Italy abroad for
3404-494: The World Group with a 3-2 win on home soil. Chiudinelli won both singles including the decisive fifth game. This was also his last game for the Swiss Davis Cup Team and he retired from professional tennis a few months later. In 2018, Switzerland got relegated for the first time after 2010. First with a loss to Kazakhstan abroad and to Sweden 3-2 at home. The Davis Cup format then changed as of 2019 and Switzerland
3496-481: The age of 11, Sampras met and played tennis with the legend. The Sampras family joined the Jack Kramer Club , and it was here that Sampras's talent became apparent. As a teenager, Sampras trained with tennis coach Robert Lansdorp . The forehand he learned from Lansdorp was the same forehand he used throughout his career. The key was an emphasis on driving through the ball and not hitting extreme topspin. He
3588-492: The age of 19 years and 28 days. He played five more tournaments and won the Grand Slam Cup to complete his year. In 1991, Sampras captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup . Upon entering the US Open as the defending champion that year, he caused controversy when, after losing in the quarterfinals to Jim Courier , Sampras said that he was not disappointed and felt relieved that
3680-533: The clay court in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. The French team had no injury to report and prepared during 10 days on clay before the final. The captains nominated the following players: France: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ATP 12), Gaël Monfils (ATP 19), Julien Benneteau (ATP 25), Richard Gasquet (ATP 26). Switzerland: Roger Federer (ATP 2), Stan Wawrinka (ATP 4), Marco Chiudinelli (ATP 212), Michael Lammer (ATP 508). Federer's injury triggered discussions about
3772-585: The court 10 days before the final, while Federer and Wawrinka were playing in London on a hard court. Initially, the French team also evoked the possibility of organizing the final in one of their Overseas Territories to impose jet lag on Federer and Wawrinka, both playing the ATP World Tour Finals in London one week before the Davis Cup final. Gilles Simon mentioned the city of Nouméa in New Caledonia as
Switzerland Davis Cup team - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-571: The court. In 2021, the Swiss team led by Stricker and Laaksonen beat Estonia 5-0 in Biel in the World Group II. In 2022, Switzerland hosted Lebanon for the World Group I and won 3-1, qualifying for a World Group I final game in Ecuador, which they won 3-2 thanks to victories from Stricker, Hüsler and Ritschard in the decisive rubber. This victory earned the Swiss team a spot against Germany in
3956-687: The decisive rubber against Martin Verkerk ). Switzerland recorded a convincing win against France in Toulouse during which Rosset and Federer showed their strength as a doubles team, and Federer outplayed Fabrice Santoro in the fourth rubber. For the semifinal, Switzerland had to travel to the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to face Australia with Lleyton Hewitt , Mark Philippoussis , and doubles specialists Todd Woodbridge and Arthurs. After
4048-534: The doubles with Chiudinelli, and they lost in five sets to Fognini and Bolelli. This was the third defeat of the Wawrinka and Chiudinelli in three Davis Cup matches. They had already lost together against Italy in 2009. For the decisive rubber on Sunday, Roger Federer faced Fognini and won in straight sets, qualifying Switzerland for its second final. For the final against France, the Swiss team traveled to Villeneuve-d'Ascq , near Lille . The local football stadium,
4140-417: The expected wins of Hewitt against Kratochvil and Federer against Phlippoussis, the doubles appeared to be the turning point, very much like in the 1992 final. Federer and Rosset lost in five sets, and Federer then had to play Hewitt for survival. After Federer won the first two sets 7-5 and 6-2, Hewitt fought back and won the next three sets. This is still considered one of Federer's most painful defeats, and he
4232-542: The fifth and final time, enabling him to remain third in the rankings. Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000, falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match. He won the Ericsson Open for the third time in March. After getting knocked out in the first round at the French Open, he won his seventh and final title at Wimbledon , battling through tendinitis in his right shin and
4324-631: The final at Indian Wells and then won his third straight Wimbledon title over Boris Becker . Sampras lost in the final of the Canadian Masters to Agassi and then beat Agassi in the final of the US Open. In the year's first major, the Australian Open, the top-seeded Sampras lost to the unseeded Mark Philippoussis 6–4, 7-6 , 7-6 in the tournament's third round. Sampras had what would end up being his best run ever at that year's French Open, defeating two past former champions Sergi Bruguera and Jim Courier (in 5 sets on both occasions and overcoming
4416-628: The final. In July, he won Wimbledon for the fourth time, defeating Cédric Pioline in the final. Sampras also won singles titles in San Jose , Philadelphia, Cincinnati , Munich , and Paris , and the ATP Tour World Championships in Hanover , Germany. He became the only player to win both the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour World Championships in the same year. He had a 10–1 win–loss record against top-10 opponents and
4508-514: The final. This title elevated his ranking into the top 20 for the first time. Sampras finished 1990 at No. 5, having started the year ranked No. 61 just prior to the start of the Australian Open. Sampras did not play in the 1990 French Open and again lost in the first round of Wimbledon, this time to Christo van Rensburg . Sampras played seven consecutive weeks during the North American summer hard-court season. He defeated John McEnroe in
4600-432: The final. This was followed by his second US Open title. He finished the year as the clear No. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a season. Sampras won the first of two Australian Open titles in 1994, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. He then defended his Wimbledon later that year, beating Ivanisevic in the final. Criticisms were made about
4692-480: The first round against a Serbian "B-Team" 3-2 in Novi Sad. The game was decided 3-0 after Chiudinelli and Lammer made the winning point in the doubles. For the quarterfinal, Switzerland faced Kazakhstan in Geneva. A poor performance by Wawrinka (lost his first singles and the doubles) almost caused the elimination of the Swiss team, so Federer played a deciding fifth rubber (after Wawrinka had regained his form to win
SECTION 50
#17327984658764784-443: The first round of the US Open . Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over No. 79 Jim Courier in their first career match-up, along with defeating No. 8 Tim Mayotte . The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending No. 81. He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and, at that year's French Open, won
4876-469: The first round, without Federer and Wawrinka. The captain called Laaksonen, Chiudinelli, Bossel and a newcomer from Geneva, Antoine Bellier. Switzerland lost 5-0. Chiudinelli and Wawrinka were not called for the play-off in Uzbekistan, while Federer was taking a long break to recover from a knee injury, so that Switzerland had to play again with a B team, led by Laaksonen and Bellier. The tie was played on
4968-483: The following 12 months, but he did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the US Open. He chose not to defend his title there, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the Open. He thus became the only man to win the final Grand Slam tournament at which he competed. At the time of his retirement, many regarded Sampras as
5060-430: The following players: Yann Marti (ATP no. 294), Adrien Bossel (ATP no. 324), Henri Laaksonen (ATP no. 344) and Michael Lammer (ATP no. 541). Marco Chiudinelli (ATP no. 226) was still recovering from an injury and was not called. This was the first selection for both Marti and Bossel. The tie was overshadowed by the decision of Yann Marti to leave the team after the captain had decided not to nominate him for
5152-564: The fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight US Open final, and eighth US Open final overall, tying Ivan Lendl 's all-time record. This time, he faced Agassi, whom he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a then-record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors ' Open Era record of five US Open singles championships. Sampras did not compete in any tour events in
5244-766: The fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round in four consecutive tournaments. He lost to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Mayotte in the first round before losing to thirteenth-ranked Yannick Noah in the fourth round in four sets. His first professional singles title came in February at the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia, where he defeated sixth-ranked Andre Agassi , eighth-ranked Mayotte, and eighteenth-ranked Andrés Gómez in
5336-704: The fourth rubber) against Golubev, which he won. With this victory, Federer succeeded Jakob Hlasek as the Swiss player with most singles wins (35). For the semifinal against Italy, a record attendance for a Swiss tennis game was set with 18,400 spectators in the Geneva Palexpo . Tickets sold out in less than three hours. Captains Severin Lüthi and Corrado Barazzutti called the following players: Switzerland: Roger Federer (ATP 3), Stan Wawrinka (ATP 4), Marco Chiudinelli (ATP 161), Michael Lammer (ATP 497). Italy: Fabio Fognini (ATP 17), Andreas Seppi (ATP 48), Simone Bolelli (ATP 76), Paolo Lorenzi (ATP 78). For
5428-461: The greatest player of all time. Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slam titles, 11 Super 9/ATP Masters Series/ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and five Tennis Masters Cup titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the world No. 1 for a total of 286 weeks (the third most in the Open Era after Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer ) and was year-end No. 1 for an ATP record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998. He
5520-412: The length of the points, as only three rallies contained more than five shots. In 1995, Sampras battled for the world No. 1 ranking with compatriot Andre Agassi, whom he faced in two grand slam finals. He won two grand slam titles on the year and was the key figure for champion United States in the Davis Cup , beating Russia in the final in Moscow 3-2. Sampras was included in all of the three wins. After
5612-481: The match in three tight sets. In 2009, Sampras won two Outback Champions Series titles. He defeated McEnroe in the final of the Champions Cup Boston in February and Patrick Rafter in the final of The Del Mar Development Champions Cup in March. Sampras was present at the 2009 Wimbledon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer to witness Federer eclipse his mark of 14 major titles and become
SECTION 60
#17327984658765704-476: The most successful man in Grand Slam history. His record of 14 majors had lasted for seven years. The following year along with Federer, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal , Sampras played an exhibition doubles match at Indian Wells to raise money for the people of Haiti who had been affected by the earthquake . In November 2010, Sampras reported that many of his trophies and memorabilia had been stolen from
5796-406: The night. The rivalry has been called the greatest of the generation of players competing in the 1990s, as they were the most successful players of that decade, and had a contrasting playing style, with Sampras and Agassi being considered respectively the greatest server and the greatest serve returner of their eras. Sampras won 20 of the 34 matches he played against Agassi. The 1990 US Open
5888-410: The opening match (a 5-set thriller against Chesnokov) Sampras was so exhausted that he collapsed and needed help to get into the locker room. Sampras experienced one of the most emotional matches of his career against Courier in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Sampras' longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson , had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to
5980-457: The particularity to have a playing captain in the person of 1992 Olympic champion and Davis Cup finalist Marc Rosset , who partnered Federer in the doubles against France (QF) and Australia (SF). The 2003 team further included Michel Kratochvil and George Bastl . The team had to play its three matches away from home. After a very tight first round in Arnhem, Netherlands ( Michel Kratochvil won
6072-449: The possible late nomination of a substitute. Yann Marti (ATP 227) was considered as a replacement, clay being his favourite type of surface. However, Federer's health improved, and no further nomination was made. Despite a good end of season (runner-up in the ATP 1000 Shanghai), Gilles Simon , who had a better ranking than Benneteau and Gasquet (ATP 21), was left out of the French team. This
6164-517: The pressure to defend his title was no longer on him. This led to widespread criticism, which included disparaging remarks from Courier and Jimmy Connors . In 1992, Sampras reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first of three consecutive years, made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, and was the runner-up at the US Open to Stefan Edberg . Sampras later stated that his loss in
6256-612: The previous skills he had displayed while on the ATP tour, with commentator John McEnroe going as far as to say that Sampras would be worthy of a top five seeding at Wimbledon were he to enter the tournament. On November 20, 2007, Sampras lost the first of three exhibition matches in Asia against then world #1 Roger Federer in Seoul, Korea. Two days later in Kuala Lumpur, Sampras again lost to Federer in two tiebreaks. However, Sampras
6348-597: The previous year's final with Patrick Rafter). Sampras' victory over Andre Agassi in the Wimbledon final is often cited as one of the greatest performances in a Wimbledon final. Despite this—on account of a herniated disc in his back forcing retirements at the RCA Championships and the US Open —he lost his no. 1 ranking to Agassi the following day, when the ATP Tour rankings were updated. Sampras' ranking
6440-456: The quarterfinals (including a comeback from 2-6 down in a tiebreaker), and upcoming star Lleyton Hewitt in the semi-finals, but lost the final to Marat Safin . Sampras' run to the final briefly returned him to the No. 1 ranking, but Gustavo Kuerten ended the year atop the rankings. This would be the last time Sampras was ranked No. 1, extending his ATP record career total to 286 weeks. (The record
6532-411: The quarterfinals of the Canadian Open, but then lost to Chang in the semifinals. He also reached the semifinals of the tournament in Los Angeles, where he lost to No. 2 Stefan Edberg . He did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, losing to Chang, Richey Reneberg , and Goran Ivanišević . In September, Sampras (youngest male player ever) captured his first Grand Slam title, at
6624-555: The quarterfinals of the US Open, Sampras vomited on the court at 1–1 in the final set tiebreak (due to dehydration) while facing Àlex Corretja ; nonetheless, Sampras would win that match. Sampras advanced to the finals, where he defeated No. 2 Michael Chang to defend his US Open title. Sampras finished off the year by claiming the season-ending ATP Tour World Championship for the third time in his career. Sampras won his second Australian Open title in January, defeating Carlos Moyá in
6716-546: The quarterfinals to Karol Kučera , and won Wimbledon only after a hard-fought five-set victory over Goran Ivanišević . Sampras lost in the final of the Cincinnati Masters to Patrick Rafter after a controversial line call. Sampras faced Rafter again in the semifinals of the US Open , losing in five sets after sustaining injury while leading the match two sets to one, and Rafter went on to win his second consecutive US Open title. Sampras lost another semifinal at
6808-419: The second round, and then was eliminated at the opening round at Long Island by No. 85. Paul-Henri Mathieu . At the US Open , Sampras was seeded 17th. Greg Rusedski , whom Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the US Open, said that Sampras was "a step and a half slower" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young stars, Tommy Haas in
6900-615: The third round before giving up a two-set lead and losing to Andrei Cherkasov of Russia. Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 1993, losing again to Stefan Edberg and matching the previous year's quarterfinal performance at the French Open. In April 1993, Sampras attained the No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the top of the rankings was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles, but he justified his ranking three months later by claiming his first of seven Wimbledon titles, beating former world No. 1 and fellow American Jim Courier in
6992-562: The title for the United States with a four-set win against Hlasek. The fifth rubber between Andre Agassi and Marc Rosset was not played. Annoyed by Agassi's behaviour during the tie (especially some alleged verbal aggression against Hlasek), Rosset later stated that he was ready to "explode Agassi" in the fifth rubber and that this would have been the kind of game that would have excited him a lot. One year later, Rosset faced Agassi in Indian Wells and beat him. The Swiss team in 2003 had
7084-541: The world No. 1 ranking in 1993, and held that position for a total of 286 weeks ( third all time), including an Open Era record of six consecutive year-end No. 1 rankings from 1993 to 1998. His precise and powerful serve earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". In 2007, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame . Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C. He
7176-859: Was a loss to Sammy Giammalva Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia . However, just one week later, at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami , Sampras defeated two top-40 players, before losing to No. 18 Emilio Sánchez . He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, at which point he defeated No. 39 Michiel Schapers at a US Open warm-up tournament in Rye Brook, New York . In his first Grand Slam singles match, Sampras lost to No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in
7268-596: Was able to win the last match of the series, winning in two sets on fast carpet. On February 18, 2008, in an exhibition match during the SAP Open , Sampras defeated another active player, former No. 2 Tommy Haas . Sampras dispatched the German in 43 minutes. On March 10, 2008, Sampras played another exhibition match against No. 1 Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Sampras once again lost
7360-510: Was allowed to play a qualifying round to try to access the new Davis Cup finals format. Switzerland lost against Russia at home and was confirmed as a relegated nation to Europa zone. On this occasion, team leader Laaksonen lost both his singles. Switzerland then competed in the Europe zone group I and lost abroad against Slovakia (3-1) after team leader Laaksonen again lost his two singles and the doubles, without showing any signs of rebellion. For
7452-427: Was higher ranked, Agassi prevailed in straight sets. Their next Grand Slam meeting was at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1993, where Agassi was the defending champion and Sampras was the newly minted No. 1. Sampras prevailed in five sets, and went on to win his first Wimbledon championship. With both Sampras and Agassi participating, the U.S. won the Davis Cup in 1995. Notable Sampras-Agassi matches of 1995 included
7544-488: Was hurt by a combination of withdrawing from the Australian and US Opens, tournaments in which he had strong performances during the previous year, and the resurgence of longtime rival Agassi, putting an end to Sampras' six consecutive years of finishing as world No. 1. Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat Agassi in the year-end championships for
7636-402: Was mostly concerned about Jaime Oncins , who was featuring a 9-0 record in Davis Cup before the semifinal. Oncins had also reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics a few months earlier. Oncins did not win a single set in Geneva. The tie was decided after the doubles rubber with a straight-set win by Hlasek and Rosset against the experienced pair of Fernando Roese and Cássio Motta . The final
7728-523: Was played in Fort Worth, Texas . Switzerland fired their captain Roland Stadler after the semifinals for reasons which remain unclear. He was replaced by former player and multiple Swiss champion Tim Sturdza . Andre Agassi put the United States 1-0 ahead with a very clear win over Jakob Hlasek in which Hlasek only won a total of five games in three sets. Marc Rosset levelled the game with
7820-541: Was playing at the ATP Finals in London the week before and won the semifinal in a very tight match against Wawrinka, during which he injured his back. He subsequently withdrew from the final against Novak Djokovic , and he was unable to practice until the late evening of Wednesday before the final. This left Federer with very limited practice time for the transition from hard court (on which he played in Paris and London) to
7912-531: Was probably due to his bad previous results in Davis Cup and his inability to win decisive games in this competition. With Federer's fourth-round victory over Gasquet in the reverse singles rubber, Switzerland secured its first Davis Cup trophy. After winning the Davis Cup for the first time, titleholder Switzerland travelled to Belgium for the first round. Both Federer and Wawrinka announced that they would not play. Therefore, captain Severin Lüthi called
8004-420: Was spotted by Dr. Peter Fischer , a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who coached Sampras until 1989. Fischer was responsible for converting Sampras's double-handed backhand to single-hand with the goal of being better prepared to win Wimbledon. Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked world No. 97 after starting the year at No. 893. His first professional match
8096-516: Was still in tears many hours after the game. For the final, Switzerland would have faced Spain in the Bern Arena , which was already booked to receive the event. After its failure of 2003, Switzerland did not reach a semifinal until 2014 . The team's prospects rose considerably when Roger Federer declared himself available for the first round of the World Group against Serbia, which was without its best players: Novak Djokovic (exhausted after
8188-414: Was surpassed by Roger Federer in 2012.) Sampras' 31-match Wimbledon win streak ended in a five set loss to Roger Federer , aged 19, in the fourth round ; this was the only time the two tennis legends ever played an official professional match. At the US Open , Sampras reached the final but lost in straight sets to Lleyton Hewitt . Overall, this season was the first in 12 years that Sampras did not win
8280-552: Was the first time the Swiss team won against Germany in Davis Cup. After years of absence, Switzerland came back to the elite of world tennis and participated in the 2023 Finals with Wawrinka and Stricker leading the team in singles. They faced long-time Davis Cup rival France, Great Britain and Australia in the Qualifiers held in Manchester. The overall result was disappointing. Switzerland lost all ties (0-3, 1-2, 0-3) scoring only one point (Wawrinka vs Norrie). The doubles team -
8372-411: Was their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final. Agassi was favored because he was ranked No. 4, compared to the No. 12 ranking of Sampras and because Agassi had defeated Sampras in their only previously completed match. However, Agassi lost the final to Sampras in straight sets. Their next meeting in a Grand Slam was at the 1992 French Open , where they met in the quarterfinals. Although Sampras
8464-482: Was undefeated in eight singles finals. He held the No. 1 ranking for the entire year and joined Jimmy Connors (1974–1978) as the only male players to hold the year-end No. 1 ranking for five consecutive years. His prize money earnings of US$ 6,498,211 for the year was a career high. In 1998, Sampras's No. 1 ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Ríos . Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in
#875124