Patrick Michael Rafter is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He reached the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking on 26 July 1999. His career highlights include consecutive US Open titles in 1997 and 1998, consecutive runner-up appearances at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001, winning the 1999 Australian Open men's doubles tournament alongside Jonas Björkman, and winning two singles and two doubles ATP Masters titles. He became the first man in the Open Era to win Canada Masters, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open in the same year, which he achieved in 1998; this achievement has been dubbed the American Summer Slam. To date, only two players have followed this feat: Andy Roddick in 2003, and Rafael Nadal in 2013. Rafter is the third man in the Open Era to reach semifinals or better of every Grand Slam tournament in both singles and doubles, after Rod Laver and Stefan Edberg, and remains the last man to date to accomplish this. Rafter is also the only player to remain undefeated against Roger Federer with at least three meetings, though the meetings took place early in Federer's career. He is also the only player with a winning record over the Swiss on all the three main surfaces: hard, clay and grass.
Petros "Pete" Sampras is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, his professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating his longtime rival Andre Agassi in the final. Sampras won 14 major singles titles during his career, which was an all-time record at the time of his retirement: a then-record seven Wimbledon titles, two Australian Opens and a joint Open Era record five US Open titles. He won 64 singles titles in total. He first reached the world No. 1 ranking in 1993, and held that position for a total of 286 weeks, including an Open Era record of six consecutive year-end No. 1 rankings from 1993 to 1998. A right-handed player with a single-handed backhand, his precise and powerful serve earned him the nickname "Pistol Pete". In 2007, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The 1991 ATP Tour World Championships was the men's tennis season-ending tournament. The singles event was also known as the IBM ATP Tour World Championships and was played on indoor carpet courts at the Festhalle Frankfurt in Germany. The doubles event, also known as the Standard Bank ATP Tour World Doubles Final, was played on indoor hard courts in held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Both competitions were held between 12 November and 17 November 1991. Sixth-seeded Pete Sampras won the singles title and John Fitzgerald with Anders Järryd won the doubles title.
The 1998 ATP Tour World Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courtss. The surface was called "GreenSet On Wood" which had a wood base coated in synthetic material and provided a medium-pace surface. It was the 29th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 25th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and both were part of the 1998 ATP Tour. The singles event took place at the EXPO 2000 Tennis Dome in Hanover, Germany, from 24 November through 29 November 1998, and the doubles event at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, from 18 November through 22 November 1998.
The 1997 ATP Tour World Championships were men's tennis tournaments played on indoor hard courts for the singles event, and indoor carpet courts for the doubles event. It was the 28th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 24th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and both were part of the 1997 ATP Tour. The singles event took place at the EXPO 2000 Tennis Dome in Hanover, Germany, from November 11 through November 16, 1997, and the doubles event at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, from November 17 through November 23, 1997. Pete Sampras won the singles title.
The 1996 ATP Tour World Championships and the Phoenix ATP Tour World Doubles Championships were men's tennis tournaments played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 27th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 23rd edition of the year-end doubles championships and both were part of the 1996 ATP Tour. The singles tournament took place at the EXPO 2000 Tennis Dome in Hanover in Germany from November 19 through November 24, 1996, while the doubles tournament took place at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States from November 13 through November 17, 1996.
The 1994 ATP Tour World Championships were men's tennis tournaments played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 25th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 21st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and both were part of the 1994 ATP Tour. The singles event took place at the Frankfurt Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany, from November 14 through November 20, 1994, and the doubles event in Jakarta, Indonesia, from November 21 through November 27, 1994. Pete Sampras won the singles title.
The 1994 Paris Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Paris Masters, and is part of the ATP Championship Series, Single-Wee of the 1995 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 31 October to 7 November 1994. Eighth-seeded Andre Agassi won the singles title.
The 1999 Stella Artois Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Queen's Club in London in the United Kingdom and was part of the World Series of the 1999 ATP Tour. It was the 97th edition of the tournament and was held from 7 June through 14 June 1999. Second-seeded Pete Sampras won the singles title, his second at the event after 1995.
The 1996 Sybase Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California in the United States. It was part of the World Series of the 1996 ATP Tour. The tournament ran from February 12 through February 18, 1996. Second-seeded Pete Sampras won the singles title.
The 1996 Eurocard Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 1st edition of the Stuttgart Masters and was part of the Mercedes Super 9 of the 1996 ATP Tour. It took place at the Schleyerhalle in Stuttgart, Germany from 21 October through 27 October 1996. Sixth-seeded Boris Becker won the singles title.
The 1995 Newsweek Champions Cup and the State Farm Evert Cup were tennis tournaments played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Indian Wells Masters and was part of the Championship Series, Single Week of the 1995 ATP Tour and of Tier II of the 1995 WTA Tour. They were held at the Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, California, in the United States, with the men's tournament played from March 6 through March 13, 1995, while the women's tournament took place from February 27 through March 5, 1995.
The 1995 Canadian Open, also known by its sponsored name Du Maurier Canadian Open, was a men's and women's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts that was part of the Championship Series, Single Week of the 1995 ATP Tour, and of Tier I of the 1995 WTA Tour. The men's event took place at the Jarry Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from July 24 through July 31, 1995, and the women's event at the National Tennis Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from August 13 through August 20, 1995. First-seeded Andre Agassi, the defending champion, and Monica Seles won the singles titles. It was Seles' first tournament back after being stabbed during a match at the WTA Hamburg in April 1993.
The 1992 Cincinnati Open, known by the corporate title of the Thriftway ATP Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 91st edition of the tournament and was part of the ATP Super 9 of the 1992 ATP Tour It took place in Mason, Ohio, United States, from August 10 through August 17, 1992.
The 1999 Great American Insurance ATP Championships, also known as the Cincinnati Open, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor Clay courts. It was the 98th edition of the tournament previously known as the Thriftway ATP Championships, and was part of the ATP Super 9 of the 1999 ATP Tour. It took place in Mason, Ohio, USA, from August 9 through August 16, 1999. The singles title was won by first-seeded Pete Sampras.
The 2001 Mercedes-Benz Cup was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, California in the United States and was part of the International Series of the 2001 ATP Tour. The tournament ran from July 23 through July 29, 2001. Third-seeded Andre Agassi won the singles title.
The 1998 Sybase Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California in the United States and was part of the ATP World Series of the 1998 ATP Tour. It was the 110th edition of the tournament ran from February 9 through February 15, 1998. Unseeded wildcard-entry Andre Agassi won the singles title.
The 1999 Mercedes-Benz Cup was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor Hard at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, United States that was part of the World Series of the 1999 ATP Tour. It was the 72nd edition of the tournament and was held from 26 July through 1 August 1999. Second-seeded Pete Sampras won the singles title, his second at the event after 1991, and earned $46,000 first-prize money.
The 1992 AT&T Challenge was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Atlanta, Georgia, United States that was part of the World Series of the 1992 ATP Tour. It was the eighth edition of the tournament and was held from April 27 through May 3, 1992. Second-seeded Andre Agassi won the singles title.
The 1991 Prudential-Bache Securities Classic was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Orlando, Florida, United States that was part of the ATP World Series of the 1991 ATP Tour. It was the seventh edition of the tournament and took place from April 1 through April 7, 1991. First-seeded Andre Agassi won the singles title, his second at the event after 1989.
Pete Sampras [1] 
Sébastien Lareau / 