"The kind of tournament a kid would invent in a fantasy": When Pete Sampras cherished his maiden Grand Slam win after beating Lendl, McEnroe & Agassi

Pete Sampras is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and enjoyed a stellar career during which he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles -- a record in men's tennis until Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic surpassed him.

The first of Sampras' Majors came at the 1990 US Open, where he was seeded 12th. The American booked his place in the final with wins over Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

He faced his future rival Andre Agassi in the title clash and beat him 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to become the youngest male champion in the history of the US Open at 19 years and 28 days.

Sampras wrote about his triumph in his book, "A Champion's Mind" and stated that the tournament was a fairy tale that only a child could invent in their fantasy for him as he beat the likes of Lendl and McEnroe. The former World No. 1 also spoke about how he made Andre Agassi move around a lot during their final, himself in awe at the level of tennis he managed to produce on the night.

"After the wins over Lendl and McEnroe, I was utterly at ease with the situation and with my game. I had lived a fairy-tale U.S. Open, the kind of tournament, really, that a kid would only invent in a fantasy. It was a saga that deserved a thrilling ending, an incredible see-saw battle, moments of realization, twists and turns in the flow of the match," Pete Sampras wrote.

"But it wasn’t like that at all. The match, at my end, was played in a fog of inevitability and invincibility. With my ground strokes working well, the final piece had fallen into place. I was in contact with the Gift. From the start, I was making Andre move around a lot, and he was missing quite a bit," he added.

Sampras added that at championship point, he felt he had all the time in the world to go for his shots, a testament to how zoned in he felt during the encounter.

"I reached match point with Andre serving at 2–5 down in the third set and stood at the threshold of becoming the youngest U.S. Open winner in history. I looked across at him and he looked very small, very far away. Yet the balls I was swinging at looked as big as grapefruits, and I felt I had all the time in the world to make my shots," the former World No. 1 wrote.

"Andre hit a good serve, and I returned with the backhand. It was a defensive, fend-off return that fell kind of short. He moved in to take a relatively easy forehand and he flubbed it, driving the ball into the net. I put my arms in the air, and looked over at the player guest box," he added.

Pete Sampras won five US Open titles

Pete Sampras at the 2014 Australian Open

The 1990 US Open triumph was the first of Pete Sampras' five titles at the New York Major. He won the tournament in 1993 after beating Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

Pete Sampras' third US Open title came in 1995, when he beat Andre Agassi 6-4. 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 in the title clash. He successfully defended his title in 1996 by triumphing 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(3) over Michael Chang in the final.

Sampras' final US Open crown came in what turned out to be his last professional match against Andre Agassi in the 2002 edition of the Grand Slam. He beat his rival 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.