Tears as Sampras bows out

In the end, it was all too much for him. As Pete Sampras said an emotional farewell to tennis early today, his lower lip quivered and the tears poured forth.

Flanked by his wife and young son - as well as fellow tennis titans John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Jim Courier - the record-breaking seven times Wimbledon champion told a hushed, packed Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadow: "I know in my heart that it is time to say goodbye."

Then New Yorkers gave a five-minute standing ovation to the man who first won the US Open as a teenager to become the youngest champion - and then gained a famous victory last year and became the oldest. Inbetween, Sampras won 12 other Grand Slam titles and was declared one of the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century.

McEnroe, Becker and Courier all poured praise on the 32-year-old multimillionaire, acknowledging he was the best opponent they had faced.

Watched by his wife Bridgette and nine-month-old son Christian, Sampras could not conceal his tears and buried his head in his hands.

He paid tribute to the fans who had supported him through his greatest years as well as the leaner times when his almost robotic skills began to fail him.