Sampras to be inducted into Hall of Fame
Pete Sampras is to be inducted into the tennis hall of fame tomorrow. Sampras is largely considered to be one of the greatest tennis players ever (definitely top two or three), holding the record for the most grand slam titles at 14. His only shortcoming was his inability to win the French Open. He won seven Wimbledons, five US Opens, and two Australian Opens. In addition he led the US to a Davis Cup title in 1995, with wins over Chesnokov and Kafelnikov. What makes those Davis Cup wins even greater, were that they were on clay (the Russians designed the courts to not suit Sampras’s game).
Sampras’s greatness is enlarged by the competition he had. He played at a time when tennis was extremely deep and he still had amazing results. He played against Andre Agassi, John McEnroe (near the end of McEnroe’s career), Jim Courier, Boris Becker, Goran Ivanišević, Patrick Rafter, Michael Chang, Carlos Moya (in his prime), Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, and Gustavo Kuerten.
Sampras is considered to possibly have had the best serve ever. He combined raw power (130+ MPH) with amazing accuracy. In addition he was able to hit different spins from the same motion. Finally he had a great ability to hit aces with his second serve on big points. Sampras also was one of the last true serve and volley players. He wasn’t as natural at the net as some (Patrick Rafter), but his net play was deadly thanks to his serve. If he didn’t ace his oppenent, the return was usually weak enough to put away. Sampras also had a fantastic forehand.
Sampras was a cool headed, quiet competitor in the game of tennis. He respected the sport and its fans and never had on court outbursts (McEnroe) or off court controversies (young Agassi). Some believe this made him uninteresting. This may be true, but its hard to find a problem with his respect for the game. He stepped up in big matches, and had a way of playing best-when it matter the most. He was 14-4 in grand slam finals.
Here are some of Sampras’s greatest moments on court:
Sampras defeating McEnroe as a 19 year old in the semifinal of the US Open:
Trademark Sampras “slam” dunk overhead
Great point against Agassi in the 1995 US Open
Highlights from a match against Rafter where Sampras played outstanding
July 15th, 2007 at 4:24 am
This was of course expected. As the current record holder of Grand Slam title (14) he HAS to be in the Hall of Fame.
The question now is: can Federer break this record?
Any by how much?
July 16th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Hey! Very well written. Good thing I have this bookmarked and can check up on Tim Brooks whenever I please. Hope the poker went well!