ed Roy Emerson’s record of twelve Grand Slam titles by winning his sixth Wimbledon on July 4, 1999. That year, he also defeated Andre Agassi to win the year-ending ATP Tour World Championships for the fifth time. In the year 2000, Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon title setting a new record number of Grand Slam titles with thirteen. This year he lost his first match after thirty-one consecutive matches at Wimbledon. That was an excitingly, impressive streak of wins that had to come to end sometime. The newest addition to professional tennis is Andy Rod*censored* from Omaha, Nebraska. Born on August 30, 1982, he lived in Boca Raton, Florida where he recently graduated. His nickname is A-Rod like the professional baseball player, Alex Rodriguez. Rod*censored* is only nineteen years of age, and he has two older brothers. Rod*censored* has a good build for a tennis player. He is six foot, two inches tall and 180lbs. In 2000, Andy turned pro. Rod*censored*, a right-handed player, is the fresh face who brings excited emotions within his game. Although he is young, Rod*censored* is a ranked professional on the rise. He is currently ranked seventeenth in the ATP Tour. Moving up in the rankings as Rod*censored* competes, shows his will and strength to become a better player. He is the first American teenager in the top twenty since Michael Chang, another professional tennis player, in 1992. He has made several great accomplishments already. He made it to the second round of the 2001 U.S. Grand Slam Tournament, which was his first U.S. Grand Slam Tournament. Rod*censored* won a tournament in Waikoloa, Hawaii in January of this year. Also, in April, he was victorious in a tournament in Atlanta, Georgia. Pete Sampras influenced me the most to play tennis. I have watched him since he started his career. Although I have never played tennis in true competition, I consider myself a decent player. The first time I played w...
