Pete Sampras, American tennis player
Petros "Pete" Sampras (Greek: Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) 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 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 singles titles in total. He first reached 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. A right-handed player with a single-handed backhand, his precise and powerful serve earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". In 2007, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
1971Aug, 12
Pete Sampras
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Events on 1971
- 8Jan
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh. - 7Jun
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. - 11Jul
Chile
Copper mines in Chile are nationalized. - 21Sep
Bhutan
Bahrain, Bhutan and Qatar join the United Nations. - 24Nov
D. B. Cooper
During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (aka D. B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with $200,000 in ransom money. He has never been found.