"Whole year's been pretty disappointing, but French Open was major deflation" - When Pete Sampras turned emotional after shocking loss to World No. 76

2001 marked one of the lowest points of Pete Sampras' career, a season that saw the American finish Slam less. After a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open, he lost in the second round of the French Open, falling to a shock loss against then World No. 76 Galo Blanco of Spain.

Heading into Roland Garros, Sampras was in a disappointing form as well, losing early in Miami, Rome, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. Even though he was expected to turn it around in Paris, the 14-time Grand Slam champion did not fare well and lost 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 against the unseeded Spaniard.

Speaking to the Guardian in a interview after that, Pete Sampras admitted that he was deflated after the loss at the Clay Major and that he felt very "down" in the following days.

"The whole year's been pretty disappointing, but [French Open exit] was a major deflation," Sampras said. "You know, I'd put a lot of energy, a lot of thought, really a whole year's focus on the one major I hadn't won. And I didn't play well, in fact I lost, and it really wasn't a good day to have a bad day."

"And I went home and I was just very down. Since then I've told myself to look forward, to move on, and over time I guess you do, but right now, you know, I've felt better."

At the same time, Sampras was not fully devoid of hope, quickly adding that the depression came only from the very high bar he set for himself time and again.

"Hey, I appreciate what I've done," Sampras said. "But I'm always trying to get better. I've never been one to sit back on what I've done. Great, you've done it, but the fact is I have a pretty high bar. You want to live up to that every time you play and in that way it hurts when you miss the target."

Pete Sampras spoke about why the French Open loss in particular hurt him a lot

US Open Tennis Championship - Source: Getty

Speaking in the aforementioned interview, Pete Sampras explained why he was particularly sad over the French Open loss. The American emphasized how it was the only Grand Slam he had not won, meaning it made him put a lot more focus on the tournament every year compared to others.

As a result, Sampras emotionally admitted, falling once again in Paris without taking home the title took its toll on him.

"Yeah, that's kind of it," Pete Sampras said. "It made the French thing stand out that much more that I'd not won it, I put that much more focus on it. So in a way that's why it's hurt me. When you put that much in, it's hard to get over it. All the sacrifice, all the training and to get nothing out of it."

After French Open, Sampras lost in the fourth round of Wimbledon that year, falling to Roger Federer, and at the US Open in the final, losing to Lleyton Hewitt.