By putting pressure on myself to develop a great game, I had less pressure to win. These days, I tell kids that the way I grew up, it wasn't about winning. It was about playing well, about playing the "right" way. That approach helped me enjoy the game and develop mine to its maximum potential.

Pete Sampras

The only person that I have met, that I have ever been in awe of, is Eddie Vedder.

Pete Sampras

mets awe persons

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.

Pete Sampras

differences player sports

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.

Pete Sampras

tennis success interesting

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

tennis looks years

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

Pete Sampras

fifth nerves matter

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

Pete Sampras

inspirational-sports winning talking

Anybody who has played sports and says they have never choked is lying to you.

Pete Sampras

sports wrestling lying

Winning is about taking your opponent's heart out and squeezing it until all the blood has come out, even the very last drop. There are no prizes for a funny loser.

Pete Sampras

winning heart blood

People wrote me off, but I believed in myself. I got the confidence back, and it grew and grew. I won my first major and my last at the place that changed my life.

Pete Sampras

tennis lasts people

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

Pete Sampras

not-good-enough titles book

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

crazy hate ideas

I don`t know why, but I love the dog eat dog nature of tennis. It`s real, it`s brutal and there`s no hiding place - it's like a one to one street fight. I love the intensity that comes with knowing you walk off court either a winner or a loser. It`s daunting but very exciting. There is no one to blame except yourself, no one cares who comes second.

Pete Sampras

fighting real dog

I hate to lose, and I do whatever I can to win, and if it is ugly, it is ugly.

Pete Sampras

ugly hate winning

Choking is being in a position to win, and then experiencing some critical failure of nerve or spirit. That never happened to me. And I can't help but think it was because I was never afraid to lose.

Pete Sampras

tennis winning thinking

When you go through certain moments of your career and you're struggling, it just takes time. Time heals, when you're a little bit down.

Pete Sampras

careers struggle littles

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

Pete Sampras

tennis balls men

You kind of live and die by the serve.

Pete Sampras

dies kind

Golfers are forever working on mechanics. My tennis swing hasn't changed in 10 years.

Pete Sampras

swings sports years

What I've done in the game is always going to stick, no matter what happens.

Pete Sampras

done matter games

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

generations guy thinking