Quotes from Pete Sampras

You kind of live and die by the serve.

It is nice to walk out on a court to have it packed.

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

That's not what I'm looking forward to, just being home and just kind of not really sure kind of what to do with myself.

Tennis is seen all around the world; if I am home or anywhere in the country, United States, people will stare.

For so long people have just taken what I do for granted. It is not easy to do year-in, year-out, to win Grand Slams and be No. 1.

People know me. I'm not going to produce any cartwheels out there. I'm not going to belong on Comedy Central. I'll always be a tennis player, not a celebrity.

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.

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.

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

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

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

If Davis Cup was a little bit less or once every two years, I would be more inclined to play. But the way it is now, it is too much tennis for me.

There's always one shot that I can rely on when I'm not hitting the ball that well, is my serve.

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.

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.

I can't just wake up and watch TV and do nothing. I need a day off working out, seeing the wife, play a little golf, see my kids.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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