Do You Still Think Federer Will Better Sampras In Terms Of Grand Slams Won?

Question

The furthest Sampras ever made it at the French Open was the Semifinals. But, he did make the quarters a couple other times.

Had it not been for Nadal, Federer would've won the French the past 4 years, and would've beaten the Sampras record. Too bad he had to face Nadal (who, except for Borg and Lendl, is the greatest clay court player ever). I think that Federer might still break the Sampras record for Grand Slams won, but I don't think he'll do it by winning the French. What do you guys think?

Answer 1

Of course I do. He's a great player, maybe even the greatest who ever played the game. He's just going through a slump right now and has a confidence bug. The best players get it and for sure he will break the record, whether he's #2 , #15 or #100. I still think he's got a shot at The French, I mean is Nadal going to be unbeatable there forever? And if he doesn't, so what?  At least he keeps trying. Right now he just needs to regroup and maybe adjust his play

Answer 2

He'll come back like Agassi did.

He'll win at least 3 more Slams yes.

Answer 3

even nadal is better than sampras.sampras is overrated  if he is so great and wonderful,how come Agassi and other got more career titles than him?there are also players who won more masters trophies than him too.

his 14 slams would fool you to think he was the best.

Answer 4

Honestly, I really don't know. If you'd have asked this question a year ago, I'd have said he would for sure. Now it no longer seems like a foregone conclusion. The year has been lousy so far for Roger: no majors won, regular losses to guys outside the top ten. If he stays at his current level, it would be very hard to imagine him winning even one more Major.

If, however, he can regain his motivation and confidence and the form that went with it, there is no reason that he could not eclipse Pete's record.

Basically, it is down him and how much effort he is willing to put in. The likes of Nadal and Djokovic are going to be tough but if he can put in the hard work, he can still break the record. He only has to win three more to do it and, at 26 years of age, he certainly has time on his side.  

Answer 5

Federer is already better than Samprass. First off, he beat him in 2001 when Sampras was still winning Slams. He made it to the French Open Finals 3x, which Sampras didn't even come close to doing. He beat so many records, that Sampras didn't come close to.  Federer could still win the French, but who knows. I think he should have won it last year in 07 when he actually gave Nadal a bagel on king of clay's surface. He sort of blew his chances twice and should have beat nadal at Roma too. .... BUT... that's getting into other topics now.

Roger can still win Slams. Give him time off to regroup, train better and face 09 healthy and fresh, and he'll be back on a roll.  btw, If they didn't change the grass at Wimby and left it as fast as it was in Samprass' day, then Fed would still be winning by miles.

He probably will do it anyway, but I would love it if he would take Agassi's coach.

Answer 6

Nadal has started reading Federer's moves so he has not been able to produce what he had before now so this show that Federer may beat sampras's record may be like in ten years or may be not

Answer 7

i am sure about it

Answer 8

absolutely! only 3 needed. even if Federer won't make it 15 gland slams. He is still better than sampras. right now, federer is better than sampras. Federer win more titles in total  by far and went to final far more than sampras. Federer by far is the best player in tennis history. I think Nadal will have no chance against federer anymore. in this year, federer has been sick condition.

Answer 9

Nope, no way!

Answer 10

Not unless he wins one next year.  This year, the coming US Open, is a write-off for him IMO.

Nadal is looking solid on hard courts.  Now Nadal looks like the best player on all surfaces.  Even when Federer was in his prime he was not the best on all surfaces

If he can somehow pick up a slam somewhere next year (I don't know where) he might have a chance.

If his 2009 is as bad as his 2008, I think he will retire!

Answer 11

I doubt that he'll win the french. I hope so but i don't think he will. Lately he hasn't been playing his 'a' game so now lower ranked players are beating him. He either needs to get rid of his new coach or change his tactic. I wouldn't be surprised if Nadal is number one by the end of this week. I don't think he'll better Sampras

Even if roger gets knocked off number 1 he'll still be the greatest player!

Answer 12

Sadly, I don't think that he will, but he could still surprise us as he is still a great tennis player that is just having some bad luck. Unless Nadal loses at the French (1st round to the semifinals), Roger will not win the French.

Answer 13

I think so...he may not dominate but I think he's going to do like Rafael has done the past 4 years.  Nadal won a lot but he didn't dominate until this season. Fed may do even better now that he doesn't have to worry about number one plus he doesn't have to defend much anymore.  

I just think about how I didn't expect to see Serena and Venus win more slams and then they did.  

Answer 14

He will, definitely he will. He'll complete 20 Grand Slams, I tell you.

Answer 15

of course just because he isn't gonna be #1 doesn't mean he can't better sampras... never count him out!!

Answer 16

He should break Sampras's record by 2012, his personal timeline to retire. I can't imagine Rafa winning 8 straight titles and going 56-0 at the French though it looks inevitable right now. But I don't think Roger will be the one to break Rafa's streak. It could be Del Potro or Djokovic.  But anyway, Federer is still the top on grass and now shares that distinction with Rafa. So, he could definitely win another 2 in the next 4 years. Also, he is good enough to win at least one more GS on hard court. I think, he will retire as soon as he gets 15 unless he gets them quickly which seems unlikely.

But who would have guessed that Roger will be without a masters or GS title 8 months into 2008? Each year is different. Now that his pressure to hold No.1 or win wimbledon 6-in-a-row is gone, he can play more freely next year with lesser expectations. But I agree with you, he probably won't win the French to become the all-time greatest player. It would be slam no. 15.        

Answer 17

it will be hard, i think federer has one wimbledon and one other slam left in him

Answer 18

Golden slam coming up!!! Olympic Gold, US Open, Aussie Open, then back to back wins over Nadal in the finals of the French and Wimbledon

Never lose faith!!!

Answer 19

Yeah ofcourse he can. Ppl who count roger out are idiots.  

Answer 20

Absolutely. Federer has already exceeded past Sampras in terms of showing that he quite frankly the greatest tennis player that ever lived. How many times did Sampras get to the French Open finals? None How many years did Federer go to every single grandslam final? 2 straight years. Sampras never did that. Federer is just having a bad year. the guy is only human and he was bound to have one bad year, give him a break. I believe not only will he break that Sampras record but he will destroy it. Fed has beaten Rafa before on clay and there's no reason why he can't do it at the French.  I'm never one to doubt Rogie but I'm unsure how he'll do at the US Open and he could virtually end up slamless this year (I don't care I'm still picking him to win that and the Olympics LOL.) I have this feeling that this bad year could be serious motivation for Federer, and he could make 2009 the best year of his entire career.

Answer 21

The thing that kept Sampras going was this one grandslam that he knew he could win almost at will - Wimbledon. And of course his amazing serve meant he didn't have to work that hard to win points and matches. The same is sadly not true with Federer. He does not have a Sampras like serve. And there is no longer any tournament that is guaranteed for him. Rafa is better at the French, by far. Rafa is now his equal if not better on grass. And Rafa has done better on hard courts this year. Federer's best chance at winning grandslams in the future is for Nadal's game to fall off. It's either that or he'll have to raise his level. And he has not shown us anything to convince us that he will do that.

Honestly I don't know where Federer's next grandslam title is going to come from. I suspect that if he is to win future grandslams, it's going to be like one here, one there. If he has to break Sampras' record, he will more likely crawl past the finish line rather than burst the line in a blaze of glory.

I'm hoping that I"m just being unnecessarily pessimistic because Federer is my favorite player. If he meets Nadal in the final of the US, how could you bet against Nadal winning?

Answer 22

Nope, Federer's reign is over.  He might be able to get one more and he might have a slight chance of getting another one, but he is not going to pass it.

Answer 23

I doubt Roger will beat the record. He is not the same as he used to be. He must be getting burnt out from his career. I don't think he can win the French Open or any more slams in his career.

Answer 24

i agree he wont do it in clay and now its hard to tell cause nadal is starting to like grass if u no waht i mean and djovkic and murry are starting to kick some *** in the austriliian the only thing left for fedder is the us open

Answer 25

It's going to be very, very tough for Federer to reach now, though I believe he can still do it. The difference now is that he has Djokovic to contend with at the Australia and US Open, and Nadal at the French Open and Wimbledon. They are not going to make it easy at all for him, especially with Nadal improving on hard courts as well. There's no doubt that he has more talent and skill than any other tennis player ever, but now he has adversity.

Federer is the greatest player of all time, you can simply tell from watching him play, and not only based off tournament results. Though, I'm a Nadal fan because he's young and you can see all the effort and fire he puts into every shot. Federer is such a near-flawless player, but Nadal always plays the role of a contender, hungry for the win, even if he has been the winner of that tournament before.