Sampras is still bushy haired and fit, living now within the gated grounds at Sherwood Country Club with his actress wife and two kids. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
Sampras’ recent autobiography, “A Champion’s Mind: Lessons From a Life in Tennis,” offers an inside view of the sacrifice and struggle it took to be one of the greats. (Rick Rycroft / AP)
Sampras hugs his father after winning his final Wimbledon in 2000. (Yuri Kadobnov / AFP / EPA)
“You know, I can still draw on the emotion of that court,” speaking of Centre Court at Wimbledon. “The 2 o’clock final. The anticipation. The way it feels. . . . It’d be great to get on that court one more time.” (Dave Caulkin / AP)
Pete Sampras kisses the men’s singles trophy after defeating Goran Ivanisevic in the final on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, Sunday July 5, 1998. It was his fifth Wimbledon singles title. (Dave Caulkin / AP)
Sampras held a wet towel on his face during a break in the French Open semi-final against Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Paris, June 7, 1996. Kafelnikov defeated Sampras 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, 6-2. (Lionel Cironneau / AP)
