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Tennis Players History

Boris Becker

Boris Becker was born on November 22, 1967 in Germany, in the city of Leimen, he was the only son of an architect who built the tennis center where Becker and Steffi Graf played against each other as children. On July 1, 1985, he became the first unseeded player, the first German, and the youngest man (17 years, 7 months) to win Wimbledon. Becker won 49 singles titles over the next 14 years, 15 titles in doubles, he won 2 Davis Cups and the 1992 Olympic Men's tennis doubles title with Michael Stich. His career prize earnings totalled $21,966,402. He plays on the Senior ATP Tour. Nowdays, Boris is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

 Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras was born on August 12th, 1971 in Washington, D.C, son of Greek immigrants.
From an early age, Pete showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. "Pete" discovered a tennis racquet in the basement and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. During 1978, his family moved to California and the warmer climate there allowed 7 year old Pete to play more tennis.

He started playing in the "Peninsula Racquet Club". At the age of 11 he had already learned the solid serve and volley tactic that has become the hallmark of his game. He turned pro in 1988 at the age of 16. His first victory in a Grand Slam tournament came at the US Open in 1990, when he defeated Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe among others to win. At only 19 years 28 days, Pete Sampras was the youngest tennis player ever to win the U.S. Open Men's title. The rivalry between the Andre and Pete lasted throughout the 1990s. Sampras dominated Wimbledon for much of the 1990s, taking the title there in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. In 1991 Pete won the IBM World Championship and 1n 1992 played in the team that won the Davis cup. Pete set a new ATP Tour record in 1993 when he became the first player to serve over 1000 aces in a season.

Whereas the grass courts of Wimbledon played to Sampras's strengths, his only real weakness was on clay, where the slow surface tended to negate his natural attacking serve-and-volley game, and he never progressed beyond the semi-final stage at the French Open. His businesslike attitude during play and cautious handling of the press led critics to bemoan his lack of charisma, but his natural talent and work ethic meant that Sampras was always able to let his results speak for themselves.

He was known for his good all-round game and a strong competitive instinct. He holds the record for the most wins in Grand Slam men's singles events, having won a total of 14 (7 Wimbledon, 5 US Open, and 2 Australian Open). Sampras led the world tennis rankings for six consecutive years, from 1993 to 1998. After a period of time during which he, by his own admission, lacked the drive and hunger needed to remain at the top, Sampras officially retired on August 25, 2003.

 Bjorn Borg

Bjorn Borg was born in June 6 of 1956, in the coty of Södertälje, sweeden. He won 11 Grand Slam singles championships, and a total of 62 singles tournaments during his career.
Borg was the number 1 ranked player during 6 different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totalling 109 weeks. He retired in 1983, at the young age of 26, and in 1987 was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Borg attempted a comeback in 1991, using his trademark wooden racquet (in Montecarlo against Jordy Arrese), but it was unsuccessful.

Bjorn Borg won 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980). He also won 6 French Open titles, in 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981. Borg's most famous match was probably his 5-set win in the 1980 Wimbledon final over John McEnroe, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3,6-7 (16-18), 8-6.

In 1975, Borg led the Swedish team to victory over Czechoslovakia 3-2 in the Davis Cup.

Borg was noted for his baseline style of play and great endurance, and dubbed "The Ice Man" for his calm court demeanor. Along with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, Borg elevated the game of tennis to new levels of popularity that were never before seen and have not been seen since.

Illie Nastase

Ilie Nastase was born on July 19, 1946 in Bucharest, Romanian: On of the most increbile and extravagant tennis player of 1970s, being twice number one in 1972 and 1973.

With 57 singles titles are the US Open in 1972 and the French Open in 1973, and in doubles he won at Wimbledon in 1973, the French Open in 1970 and the US Open in 1975. He was runner-up in the Wimbledon singles competition in 1972, playing in a classic men's final against Stan Smith. Nastase was famous for his good humour on court, but also had a reputation for gamesmanship, and acquired the nickname "Nasty" after several incidents where his temperament got the better of him.

Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi was born on April 29, 1970 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. As of 2004, he has won over $25 million in prize money and achieved a number 1 ranking on the ATP tour.

Agassi, an ethnic Armenian, was born and raised in Las Vegas, and still lives there when not on tour. His father, Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi, was a boxer for Iran in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics before emigrating to the USA When he became a U.S. citizen, he changed his name from Agassian to Agassi.

Mike Agassi was a tennis fanatic, to put it nicely, determined to turn at least one of his 4 children into a world-class player. He hung tennis balls over Andre's crib. He was given a full-sized racket when he was 2. Growing up, he and siblings had to hit 3,000 balls every day, 7 days a week. Mike had Andre practice with Ilie Nastase and Jimmy Connors. His sister, Rita, finally had enough of their father, and moved in with Pancho Gonzalez (their son, Skylar, played on Bishop-Gorman High School's tennis team). When he was 14, Andre was shipped off to teaching guru Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida. He surpassed $1 million in career prize money in December 1988, after just 43 tournaments -- the quickest player in history to do so.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981 in Basel, Switzerland.

Federer joined the ATP tour in 1998 at the age of 17. In 2001, he advanced to the quarterfinals at both the French Open and Wimbledon.

En route to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Federer beat Pete Sampras in the fourth round, ending Sampras's record of 31 consecutive wins at Wimbledon. This match marked the emergence of Federer as a prominent player on the tour.

In 2003, he won four Davis Cup games for Switzerland without losing a game. In addition, he won the Open 13, BMW Open, Dubai Open and Gerry Webber Open before participating at Wimbledon.

On July 6, 2003, he made history by becoming the first Swiss male to win the Wimbledon championship, defeating Australia's Mark Philippoussis by a score of 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

Federer won the Australian Open for the first time in 2004. He is currently the top ranked male player on the ATP tour.

On July 4, 2004, Federer again won the Wimbledon championship, defeating American Andy Roddick 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

Titles (19)

Grand Slams (3)
Australian Open - 2004
Wimbledon - 2003, 2004

ATP Masters Series (5)
Pacific Life Open, Indian Wells, USA - 2004
Hamburg, Germany - 2002, 2004
Toronto, Canada - 2004
Tennis Masters Cup, Houston, USA - 2003

ATP Tour (11)
Milan, Italy - 2001
Sydney, Australia - 2002
Open 13, Marseille, France - 2003
The Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 2003, 2004
BMW Open, Munich, Germany - 2003
Gary Weber Open, Halle, Germany - 2003, 2004
Swiss Open, Gstaad, Switzerland - 2004
Vienna, Austria - 2002, 2003

Rafael Nadal
   
His complete name is Rafael Nadal-Parera, he was born on June 3 of 1986 in Mallorca, Spain.He is the king of clay-court.

Rafael Nadal was 19 when he won Roland Garros 2005 French Open. He is A left-hander with a booming forehand, Rafa is well  known as a clay-court specialist, playing his first pro tournaments in 2001. He has an aggressive style, flowing hair and muscular build have made him a favorite with female fans. He won his first singles title in 2004, and had a breakout season in 2005, winning at Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona and Stuttgart as well as at Roland Garros. He won the French Open again in 2006, 2007 and 2008, defeating Roger Federer in the final each time. In 2008 he broke through at Wimbledon, beating Federer to win the men's singles title there.