Pete Sampras is set to announce his retirement from professional tennis on Monday. With 64 singles titles, including a record 14 majors, Pistol Pete was clearly the dominant player of his generation. He finished at number one in the rankings a record six years from 1993-98.
Why don't we think of Pete Sampras the way we think of Michael Jordon, Wayne Gretzky and Joe Montana? The reason Pete Sampras never received the praise he deserves is because of his incredibly low-key personality. To be blunt, the man was as boring as watching paint dry. This man made Al Gore resemble John 'Bluto' Blutarsky from Animal House by comparison. With just a little of McEnroe's spice or Agassi's competitiveness, Pete would be going down in history as one of the greatest atheletes of all time in any sport. Instead, he's just that nice guy who won a lot of tennis matches.
