"I hated Wimbledon. I hated the surface"- When Pete Sampras commented on initial dislike for grass-court Major before 'owning it' for seven years 

Pete Sampras once said that he hated Wimbledon and grass courts early in his career.

Sampras is one of the greatest grass-court players of all-time and tasted immense success on the surface, especially at Wimbledon. However, the American wasn't an instant admirer of grass courts at first and hated Wimbledon because the surface felt uncomfortable.

“I didn’t like grass at all and when people ask me about grass and when I first went over there, I tell them I hated Wimbledon. I hated the surface. I loved Wimbledon and what it meant, but the surface felt uncomfortable," Sampras said.

"I just didn’t like it, I was a hard-court guy, a Californian kid. On hard courts, the ball is going to be just there, but with grass you have to adjust, so the first two, three years, I had to adjust and came out with a bad attitude," he added.

Sampras also stated that his former coach, the late Tim Gullikson, helped him improve on grass. The American said that later in his career, he owned the surface for seven years.

“He helped me. I had these long swings, and he shortened them up and told me my attitude had to be more positive at Wimbledon. Mentally, I felt better. By ’92, I felt really comfortable. I was the owner of the place for the next seven years."

Pete Sampras won seven singles titles at Wimbledon

Pete Sampras in 2014

Pete Sampras is among the greatest competitors to grace Wimbledon and won the tournament seven times, which was a record before Roger Federer broke it in 2017. He won 63 out of 90 matches in the competition.

The American's first win at the grass-court Major came in 1993 when he beat Jim Courier in the final. He then triumphed in each of the next two editions of the tournament before losing to Richard Krajicek in the quarterfinals in 1996.

Sampras followed this up by triumphing in each of the next four editions of Wimbledon, beating Cedric Pioline, Goran Ivanisevic, Andre Agassi, and Pat Rafter in the respective finals. His last appearance at the grass-court Major came in 2002 when he was seeded sixth.

Sampras reached the second round of the tournament after beating Martin Lee 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-3 in the opening round. However, he was beaten 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4 by lucky loser George Bastl. The American ended up winning the US Open that year, which eventually turned out to be his swansong in tennis.