NEW YORK, September 3, 2020 (New Chapter Media Press Release)
New Chapter Press, the world’s premier publisher of tennis books, announced on Tuesday the launch of its latest book, “Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited” by International Tennis Hall of Fame member Steve Flink.
“Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited” reviews the career and legacy of Sampras, who when he announced his retirement in 2003 was the most accomplished men’s tennis player of all time with a record 14 major singles titles. The Sampras career and legacy, however, became quickly overshadowed with the emergence of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, all of whom surpassed the Sampras mark in a span of just over 16 years. Flink’s book, launched on the 30-year anniversary of the historic first major singles title for Sampras at the 1990 U.S. Open, re-examines the Sampras era and reminds readers of his dominance and excellence, focusing primarily on each major singles victory.
For the book, Flink extensively interviewed Sampras, who provided insight and perspective decades after his triumphs on the Grand Slam stages. The book also features perspectives and commentaries from Sampras rivals, coaches and tennis legends, including Novak Djokovic, Stefan Edberg, Goran Ivanisevic, Jim Courier, Patrick Rafter, Tom Gullikson, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin, Paul Annacone and Todd Martin among others.
“I felt compelled to write this book about a singularly commendable champion who set the highest ethical standards throughout a magnificent career,” said Flink. “Sampras was inspiring to me as a journalist who deeply valued his craftsmanship and authenticity— and immensely admired how he established himself as a quietly ferocious competitor and sportsman of the highest order.”
“Steve Flink is a tennis purist,” said Sampras in support of the book. “He followed my career as closely as any journalist. In this insightful biography, he shares his deep knowledge of tennis and writes with great clarity about me and how I approached my profession. Steve’s understanding of my game, my personality and my priorities is extraordinary.”
Six-time U.S. Open champion Chris Evert contributed the foreword to the book and wrote, “Steve is a great writer and historian and in this book he puts Pete’s career fully into perspective. I am sure you will enjoy reading this enlightening and comprehensive account about Pete Sampras, a very graceful champion and one of the greatest players any of us will ever see.”
Thirty years ago in 1990, at the age of 19 years and 28 days, Sampras became the youngest U.S. Open men’s singles champion with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Andre Agassi. Ten years later in 2000, Sampras won his record-breaking 13th major singles title, eclipsing the record for all-time men’s singles majors held by Roy Emerson, by beating Patrick Rafter 6–7 (10), 7–6 (5), 6–4, 6–2 in the Wimbledon final. Sampras put an exclamation point on his career at the 2002 U.S. Open when he defeated Agassi 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4 to win his 14th career major singles title in a match which turned out to be the last of his career.
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Flink is a tennis journalist and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame who has covered more than 125 major tennis tournaments in his career. He is a columnist for TennisChannel and Tennis.com and also the author of the book “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time.” He is the former editor of World Tennis magazine and a former senior columnist at Tennis Week. He is a former varsity tennis player at Stetson University in Florida and now lives in Katonah, New York.
