Last week, Sneaker Report remembered Pete Sampras' second Wimbledon men's singles win in 1994. The retired legend would go on to win five more Wimbledon titles, repeating with a win in 1995 and then winning four years consecutively in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. The championship in 2000 would be the last Wimbledon win for Sampras, and it's also the last time an American has won men's singles title at the grass court tournament.
In the finals, Sampras squared off against Australia's Patrick Rafter. But Rafter wasn't Pete's only opponent; Sampras was suffering from tendonitis in his right shin and a serious back injury. Although the odds were against him, Sampras stepped up and ousted Rafter in four sets with a score of 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. This would mark Sampras' 13th Grand Slam title, which set a record at the time, and also his eighth straight Grand Slam win in tournaments where he had reached the finals. From there, Sampras didn't win another Grand Slam until the 2002 US Open, which was the final of his career. His 14 titles currently stand as the second highest of all time, behind Roger Federer with 17.
Sampras was known for his Nike sponsorship, but the sneakers he was wearing around this time weren't exactly an easy sell. As the story goes, it was 1996 and Sampras had no interest in changing his current model. Designer Tinker Hatfield persuaded him to try out the Nike Air Oscillate by challenging him to a game of pick-up basketball. Sampras loved the shoe's performance, and in turn began wearing the model during his matches.
In fact, he loved the Air Oscillate so much that when Nike unveiled the Air Oscillate 2 in 1999, Sampras reverted back to the OG model. And that's not all—Pete's Air Oscillate was one of the rarest PE's around, but not because of its flashy colorways or special materials. Nike provided Sampras with the Air Oscillate in a size 10.25, which, for the general public, simply doesn't exist. Now that's #VeryRare.
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