Pete Sampras

“When I committed to playing a little tennis in some exhibitions, it was the best thing for me. It got me in shape. It got me out of the house. It got me doing something I love to do.”

“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.”

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

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

“Andre Agassi was my rival in the '90s, and I think as we got older we sort of transcended the game. He was probably the best player I ever played over my career. There's a list of players that were tough, but Andre, certainly, he was the most unique.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“You kind of live and die by the serve.”

“It's not easy to retire at 31. In one respect I was glad I was done. But after a few years of having fun, I got a little restless. When you're 33, 34, and you don't have a focus, you can get kind of lost. As a man, you feel a little bit unfulfilled.”

“After I went through two years of not winning an event, what kept me going was winning one more major. Once I won that last U.S. Open, I spent the next six months trying to figure out what was next. Slowly my passion for the sport just vanished. I had nothing left to prove.”

“I am going to hold serve the majority of the time. It is nice to have a little time to return serve.”

“I've got a great wife, a great life.”