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The celebrity magazines can have their turn with someone else.

"I think in my early 20s, people really didn't know me that well. I was a pretty shy guy," Sampras said during a recent interview at an ATP stop in Cincinnati. "I still am (shy) today. But over time, I think people kind of know what to expect from me. And I'm not a celebrity. I look at myself as an athlete."

Sampras holds this view, much to the chagrin of a population thirsting for him to show more personality -- as if personality can be readily defined.

Yes, Andre Agassi is a personality. He is a ham. He will play to the crowd. He will make blunt remarks. He will be both funny and sarcastic. He has magnetism.

Yet to be fair to Sampras, he is not without a strong wit or a sense of humor.

He has been nothing but a gracious statesman for the game. Now he is on the verge of passing Roy Emerson's record for Grand Slam titles. Should Sampras win the U.S. Open, he would break the mark of 12 he and Emerson share.

This year, he took a circuitous route toward this piece of history he values so highly. Instead of loading up his schedule early in the year, he chose to skip the Australian Open altogether and spend a few weeks off the tour.

Sampras turned 28 earlier this month. He envisions several more years of tennis. To uphold his high standard, guarding against burnout is as essential as substantial practice time.

He stands again at No. 1, where he normally resides. There have been temporary occupants of the position this year. From Agassi to lesser guardians such as Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Carlos Moya.

Yet Sampras will be the U.S. Open top seed based, in part, on another terrific summer. After an early exit at the one place that dogs him -- the clay court French Open -- Sampras took Grand Slam No. 12 at Wimbledon and continued with summer hardcourt titles at Los Angeles and Cincinnati.

"The run is not going to last forever," he said. "But I hope it can the next three or four weeks. I've been through stages of my career where I haven't been hot. I've won a number of tournaments and there are points where I've struggled through some months.

"When I play, I'm going to have my ups and downs. I take a lot of chances out there. And I'm not going to play well every time I step out. But I'm confident at the moment."

For the prospect of a dynamic U.S. Open, Sampras' confidence is a blessing. The men's field has a chance to compete with the women's side for interest. Sampras is at the top of the game just when Agassi, Kafelnikov and two-time defending champion Patrick Rafter are also hot.

The essence of his game is multi-dimensional. A tremendous serve that allows him to will himself past an opponent when in trouble. Great mobility. Athletic. The courage to take chances.

Agassi said on Sunday, after winning the ATP's Legg Mason Classic in Washington, that his best hope of beating Sampras at the Open should they meet in the final is if "I can convert the few opportunities I get against him."

Sampras defeated Agassi in the Wimbledon final, the final in Los Angeles and the semifinal at Cincinnati.

If there is a dangerous round for Sampras, it might be the fourth. Since 1992 he has reached the finals four times and a semifinal once, but his two early departures were fourth-round upsets. The most recent was a 1997 loss to Petr Korda.

But Sampras has long since mastered the delicate mental challenge of surviving a Grand Slam. Sometimes one's game is good enough only to barely survive, even if the player is the world No. 1.

"You're not going to play well every day," he said. "And in the course of seven matches over two weeks, you're going to win a couple tough matches.

Pete Sampras is ranked No. 1 in the world heading into the U.S. Open.(AP)

"That's really the key -- getting through the days that you really don't play well and just finding some sort of way of winning."

That's what concerns Sampras most. This is his general life view, too.

Not everyone agrees with the approach. Even some ardent admirers take him to task for not doing more to help the sport grow. He guards his privacy. He keeps public appearances to a minimum.

Sampras figures the best way to promote tennis is to play it the best.

"Especially the last couple of years, having won more Slams and staying No. 1 for a while, I've got more and more appreciation with the media and the fans. And it's been great," he said.

"There's only so much you can write about someone's personality," Sampras continued. "I've already been through that in my early 20s. Now I feel more flattery than anything, just being compared to (Rod) Laver and (Bjorn) Borg and being put in that league.

"If you withstand the test of time and you put up good results, that's really the answer to everything. And that's the way I've kind of approached it. And that's the way it's turned out."