Tennis’ greatest male players of all times: (Part Seven) Pete Sampras – Tennis Special
In the previous part of this series, we looked at one of the most flamboyant tennis legend of his era, Andre Agassi, and his achievements of sorts. The American ruled the tennis world all alone until the emergence of his fellow
compatriot in mid 90’s. Another American tennis ace rose to take on the challenge of Agassi and laid the beginning of one of the bitterest and most famous tennis rivalries of all times. These two Americans featured some classic encounters which are still remembered
by the tennis lovers.
Pete Sampras – the United States of America
Former world number one, Pete Sampras, took the ‘conventional’ tennis to a whole new level with his textbook style of playing. He was the one who broke the spell of Agassi’s dominance on tennis courts and took the world number
one spot from him to begin his own era of supremacy.
Statistics and the records set by Sampras are enough to speak for the man’s class and glory. His athleticism and physical fitness throughout his illustrious career is an example for all the professionals. Sampras was the only player
rarely seen out of action due to any sort of injury and was always fit s a fiddle to take on any of the top class opponent on any sort of playing surface.
Elegant stroke play and pin-point hitting were the most eminent features of his game play. His battles with Agassi were absolute treats to watch. Two of the different but extremely high quality playing styles battling hard on the
tennis courts to assert their authority over the game and surpass each other to become the world number one player; it was absolutely eye-startling to watch. Sampras was engaged with Agassi in 34 brawls and he led the head-to-head series by 20-14. These two
gladiators faced each other in 16 ATP championship finals, with Sampras winning nine and Agassi closely following him with seven victories.
It has become a norm that whenever the name of Sampras is called, his rivalry with Agassi always pops up into our minds. It is as if these two legends are so much linked to one another that they both are remembered together. However,
certain records and feats also come in mind as soon as Sampras’ name is cited. Records like the most number of Grand Slam titles won and reining the world number one spot for the most number of weeks, were the two mammoth records associated to the name of
Sampras for years. These feats in his era were deemed to be unbreakable but it was none other than the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, who broke Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles and 286 weeks of being the top ranked player in professional tennis.
Sampras never won a French Open crown in his career but bagged seven Wimbledon titles to set a record of sorts, eventually levelled by Federer again during 2012 season. Before Federer came to the professional circuit, Sampras was
proclaimed to be the king of tennis and the greatest of all times. But eh Swiss tennis genius destroyed his supremacy on the game, exactly similar to what he did to Agassi. However, Sampras shall be right there in the list of top tennis performers of all times.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: