Posted on: July 14th, 2007
Sampras lauded with Tennis Hall of Fame honour
- petepageNEWPORT, United States (AFP) - American legend Pete Sampras, who captured a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame here on Saturday.
The 35-year-old American headlined the class of 2007 which also featured Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, a three-time winner at the French Open and Sven Davidson, the first Swedish player to win a Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 1957. Photographer Russ Adams, who covered the sport for 50 years, was also inducted.
Considered one of the greatest players in the men's game, Sampras won a record 14 Grand Slams, including seven at Wimbledon.
The youngest winner in the history of the US Open at 19 in 1990, the Californian also won five titles at Flushing Meadows and two more at the Australian Open.
However, it was his failure to reach the top at the French Open that has kept the 35-year-old Sampras from being thought of as the best ever.
Along with his Grand Slam success, Sampras held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 286 weeks, including a streak of 102 weeks that has been bettered by only Federer.
In all, Sampras finished with 64 singles titles, including five from the season-ending ATP World Championships - a record he shares with Ivan Lendl.
Sampras also played eight years for the United States Davis Cup team.
The first Spanish woman to win the US Open title in 1994, Sanchez-Vicario finished an 18-year career with a total of 14 Grand Slam titles, including 10 in doubles.
She was just one of four women to be ranked No. 1 in the world in both singles and doubles at the same time, accomplishing the feat on February 13, 1995.
Inducted as a Masters player, Davidson was the prominent singles champion for Sweden prior to the reign of the legendary Bjorn Borg.
He reached the final of the French Open in three straight years starting in 1955. He also won a doubles crown at Wimbledon in 1958.
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