He was the only player to beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon for eight years and went on to win the tournament

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Pete Sampras was dominant at Wimbledon in the 1990s, winning seven titles in eight years.

In 1993, Sampras won his first Wimbledon title, defeating his fellow American Jim Courier in the final.

One year later, Sampras defended his Wimbledon crown with a win over the big-serving Croatian, Goran Ivanisevic.

A third consecutive title followed in 1995, before Sampras suffered a rare defeat in 1996.

The American quickly returned to form, winning four straight titles to take his tally to seven, then a Wimbledon record.

Between 1993 and 2000, Sampras won 53 of his 54 Wimbledon matches (98% win rate), but who was the one player who beat him?

Richard Krajicek stunned Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 1996

Travelling to Wimbledon as a two-time defending champion, Sampras was a heavy favorite to win his third title in a row in 1996.

He started strongly at the All England Club, winning his opening four matches without too much trouble, booking his place in the quarterfinals.

• 1996 Wimbledon 1R – Pete Sampras beat Richey Reneberg, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
• 1996 Wimbledon 2R – Pete Sampras beat Mark Philippoussis, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
• 1996 Wimbledon 3R – Pete Sampras beat Karol Kucera, 6-4, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6
• 1996 Wimbledon 4R – Pete Sampras beat Cedric Pioline, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

Standing between Sampras and a place in the semi-finals was Dutch star Richard Krajicek, who was competing in his first Wimbledon quarterfinal.

In a rain-delayed match that ended 30 hours after it started, Krajicek stunned Sampras in three sets, 7-5, 7-6, 6-4.

Suffering his first Wimbledon defeat in 25 matches, Sampras gave credit to Krajicek after the match.

“It’s tough with all these rain delays. You really never feel like you’re into the match. You just feel like it’s so sporadic that you don’t feel like you have any rhythm,” he said.

“But my hat is off to Richard [Krajicek]. He played flat-out better than I did the past couple of days. He seemed a lot more relaxed than I did. I was a little more uptight and felt the pressure more. It’s tough to swallow.”

Krajicek often had the better of Sampras during their ATP Tour meetings, and ‘won’ their head-to-head 6-4.

Securing the win over Sampras in the quarterfinals, Krajicek immediately set his sights on the title.

1996 Wimbledon semi-finalists

• Richard Krajicek [17]
• Todd Martin [13]
• Jason Stoltenberg
• MaliVai Washington

Krajicek beat Jason Stoltenberg, and MaliVai Washington took down Todd Martin to set up an intriguing clash between two first-time Major finalists.

In a contest best remembered by some for the streaker who interrupted the pre-match ceremony, Krajicek dominated Washington in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the title.

Dropping just one set all tournament, the big Dutchman won his first-ever Grand Slam title at the age of 24.

Did Richard Krajicek ever come close to winning another Grand Slam?

Krajicek’s Wimbledon title defence wasn’t a success, as he lost in the fourth round of the 1997 tournament to Tim Henman in four sets.

He did, however, return to the semi-finals in 1998, where he suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Ivanisevic.

After fighting back from two sets down, Krajicek levelled things up, before the pair began a marathon fifth set.

It was the Croat who prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-7, 15-13, in a match that lasted over three hours on Centre Court.

Krajicek continued to make sporadic quarterfinal appearances at Grand Slam events over the next few years, before doing so one final time at SW19 in 2002.

Competing at the All England Club for the last time in his career, Krajicek advanced to the last eight, where again he lost a thriller, falling to Xavier Malisse 7-9 in the fifth.

Krajicek retired from tennis in 2003 as the only Dutchman to win a Grand Slam singles title, reaching a career-high ranking of number four in the world.