#1. Pete Sampras
And Surprise, Surprise! As hard to believe it, Pete Sampras did not complete a Career Grand Slam. Known for his accurate serve, Sampras was at the top of the ATP rankings for a total of 286 weeks.
Sampras won a total of 64 career titles during his career including a then-record of fourteen Grand Slam Singles titles that consisted of two Australian Open titles in 1994 and 1997, a joint-record of seven Wimbledon titles in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, and five US Open titles 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002.
However, as seen with many top players such as Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, “Pistol Pete” was never able to capture a single French Open throughout his career with his best performance being a semi-final appearance in 1996.Clay was Sampras’ worst surface and his performances at the surface were relatively subdued. Despite a disappointing showing at the Australian Open, Sampras was seeded first at the French Open and reached his first Roland Garros semi-final after beating two-time champion Jim Courier in a tough five-set quarter-final.
However, his semi-final opponent Yevgeny Kafelnikov was just too much for him as the Russian beat Sampras 7-6, 6-0, 6-2. Kafelnikov later went on to win the tournament by defeating German Michael Stich in the final, thus winning his first of two Grand Slam titles.
Sampras, however, wasn’t even to cross the third round ever since and still remains one of the greatest players not to have achieved a Career Slam.