Tennis Special Feature: Top Ten Most Intimidating Players in the History of the Open Era Part IV
In the first three installments of this special edition, players Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova were discussed. We shall now move on to the next two players in this list:
4. Petros “Pete” Sampras (United States)
Pete “Pistol” Sampras is another candidate for the Greatest of All Time, and he is frequently regarded as one of the best tennis players to ever step on to a court. He dominated tennis in the 1990s, becoming a force to be reckoned
with. The former World No.1 spent 15 years on tour, debuting in 1988. During this time, the Greek American amassed 14 Grand Slam titles and even concluded his career with a Majors victory over long-time rival Andre Agassi (at the 2002 US Open). He retired
with the greatest number of Grand Slams won by a male player, until Roger Federer shattered his record in 2009. He participated in 93 Grand Slam events, and emerged with a win/loss record of 203 victories to 38 losses. In addition to his Slams, he also shares
his record of five ATP World Tour victories with Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl. Sampras is the last American male player to win Wimbledon, which he did in 2000, and the ATP World Tour Finals (a feat he accomplished in 1999). He also won seven Wimbledon singles
titles, in addition to spending a record 286 weeks on top of the ATP No.1 ranked players.
The Greek player from California could play superbly. His serve, his net-charging style and running forehand made Pistol Pete the most feared player on the courts in the 1990s. While every player wanted to win tournaments, the
problem with playing them was that they would eventually have to face Pete Sampras. Like a roadblock in the way of success, he would crush every opponent’s games and dreams. Matches like these increased his own confidence, and had the opposite effect on that
of his opponents’.
While he may not have had the most intimidating personality, he was a rare exception: a player whose tennis was more than enough to frighten his opponents into playing the worst games of their careers.
3. Serena Williams
(United States)
Serena Williams is the epitome of aggression. The former World No.1 has been given the world’s top position on five different occasions by the Women’s Tennis Association. She is currently World No.4 in the singles rankings,
and No.5 with Venus Williams in doubles.
Serena Williams is the reigning Champion in singles and doubles play at the Australian Open, the Wimbledon singles and the French Open women’s doubles. She has won a magnificent 27 Grand Slams, which puts her 9th on
the all-time record list with 13 singles, 12 women’s doubles and 2 mixed doubles titles. Serena Williams is the most recent player (male or female) to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles at the same time, and she is also only the fifth woman in the
history of tennis to achieve this. Her 13 Grand Slam singles victories put her 6th on the all-time list. The only players to have won more titles than her are Steffi Graf, who won 22, and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 each. In total,
she has won more singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles in the Grand Slams than any other non-retired female tennis pro.
The two words that best describe this American pro are power and dominance. They are what set her apart from other players on the court. She has also created the “Serena Slam”, by winning 4 consecutive Grand Slam titles.
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