Catters 070911
Club Legend
- Oct 13, 2017
- 2,270
- 2,101
- AFL Club
- Geelong
I wondering how many here view Pete Sampras's legacy?
I get the feeling that him never winning a French Open tarnishes his record, so he is not talked about as a great as much as Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Bjorg etc.
Yet he won his first Grand Slam at 19, and won his last in his last match, so he was winning Grand Slams his entire career.
He has gone to fourth on the Grand Slam records, but beat a record which stood for forty years previously.
I always remember at the Australian Open, where he played Jim Courier. Courier was two sets up, and during the change of ends, Sampras sat in his chair and starting bawling. People wondered why. He had found out that his coach, who had been like a father to him, was dying from cancer, and Sampras wept. Everyone was shocked with the usually stoic Sampras showing such raw emotion. He continued to play the match, wiping away tears as he served, and came from behind to win the next three sets and the match.
I think that Sampras isn't at the front of everyone's thoughts because he didn't put himself out there publicly like Agassi did, he was seen as being a bit robotic and boring, and he didn't win at Roland Garros (Yet Lendl gets a lot of accolades, and he never won Wimbledon).
So, where do you rate Pete Sampras in this conversation?
I get the feeling that him never winning a French Open tarnishes his record, so he is not talked about as a great as much as Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Bjorg etc.
Yet he won his first Grand Slam at 19, and won his last in his last match, so he was winning Grand Slams his entire career.
He has gone to fourth on the Grand Slam records, but beat a record which stood for forty years previously.
I always remember at the Australian Open, where he played Jim Courier. Courier was two sets up, and during the change of ends, Sampras sat in his chair and starting bawling. People wondered why. He had found out that his coach, who had been like a father to him, was dying from cancer, and Sampras wept. Everyone was shocked with the usually stoic Sampras showing such raw emotion. He continued to play the match, wiping away tears as he served, and came from behind to win the next three sets and the match.
I think that Sampras isn't at the front of everyone's thoughts because he didn't put himself out there publicly like Agassi did, he was seen as being a bit robotic and boring, and he didn't win at Roland Garros (Yet Lendl gets a lot of accolades, and he never won Wimbledon).
So, where do you rate Pete Sampras in this conversation?