"I enjoyed watching Sampras play" admits Stefanos Tsitsipas

Petros Sampras is one of the best tennis players of all time and the American grew up in a Greek-American home. His ties to Greece are mostly through his parents (his mother is Greek, father is Greek-American) but that did not stop him from having a tremendous impact on the popularity of tennis in Greece. One kid that was particularly fond of Sampras is Stefanos Tsitsaps, the most successfully Greek tennis player of all time.

Tsitsipas spoke fondly about Sampras many times and he reiterated his admiration for Pete once again in a recent interview:

"His flamboyant game. I enjoyed watching his serve-and-volley game. People say Roger Federer is effortless. I also feel like Pete Sampras was very effortless and just making the game so beautiful to watch."

The connection to Sampras is a natural one for Tsitsipas whose father Apostoles rarely missed a match. On that Tsitsipas said:

"[Pete] was a player that he really liked to watch and he passed it on to me. Both of us grew up watching him. I grew up being given Pete as an example”.

One particular aspect of Sampras' career impresses Tsitsipas the most:

"That was the best ending of someone's career, to be honest with you, to win a Grand Slam title and just call it a day,” Tsitsipas said, cracking a smile. He did it in unbelievable style. Doesn't get any better, I think”. Tsitsipas insists it's always a beautiful day when you celebrate a birthday.

Tsitsipas and Sampras met in 2019.