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Posted on 10/02/2002 10:38:15 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Pete Sampras, who won a record 14th Grand Slam singles title in September at the U.S. Open, has withdrawn from the remaining ATP tournaments in which he was entered this year.
Sampras, 31, one of the greatest men's players ever, won for the first time since July 2000 when he beat long-time rival Andre Agassi in four sets last month. He improved to 27-17 for the season and captured his 64th career title.
He is 12th in the ATP Champions Race, ending a streak of 12 straight years in the top 10. Jimmy Connors (16) and Ivan Lendl (13) are the only men with longer streaks. Sampras finished in the top three in nine consecutive years before dropping to 10th at the end of 2001.
His wife is pregnant with the couple's first child and he spoke about retirement after winning the U.S. Open.
"I'm going to have to weigh it up in the next couple months to see where I'm at," he said last month. "I still want to play. I love to play, but to beat a rival like Andre in a major tournament, it might be nice to stop. I still want to compete. (I'll) see where I'm at in a couple of months, where my heart's at and my mind."
Sampras is the only man to finish No. 1 in six consecutive years (1993-98), breaking Connors' previous record of five (1974-78).
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