Who was glad to see Rafael Nadal "protect" the legacy of Pete Sampras by beating Roger Federer?

Question

I am not naive, I know that Federer will someday soon pass Sampras in Grand Slam tittles but it is nice to know that an American still on top just a little while longer...

P.S. I am in no way-shape-or-form a Sampras homer. Andre Agassi is my favorite player all-time so I rooted against Pistol Pete a great many times.

Answer 1

umm... i was under the impression that pistol pete referred to

Pete Marovich (sp?)... a revolutionally basketball player

i never heard sampras called pistol pete.

Answer 2

Not me.  Not even Pete Sampras.  Before wimbledon, Pete said that amongst all the current and new players, it would be Roger to break his record.  He would fly anywhere to watch Roger vie for his 15th Grand Slam Title.  Remember, everyone is comparing Roger now to the Roger of the past 4 years wherein he had such a grip on men's tennis he was winning everything week in and week out.  Remember, Sampras did not win Wimbledon 7 consecutive times.  Sampras was not No. 1 for 286 consecutive weeks.  Roger won Wimbledon 5 consecutive times, 1 more than Sampras' 4 consecutive times and Roger has spent 72 consecutive weeks more than the old record of 160 weeks of Jimmy Connors.  Even if Fed loses the No. 1 spot now, he still has several years to be No. 1, even if it is non-consecutive to equal Sampras.  as it stands, he is only 54 weeks shy of the Sampras record.

Answer 3

I maybe naive but Federer surpassing the Sampras record will be a big mountain to climb...

Answer 4

YOU!!!

Answer 5

nadal deserve to win it

Answer 6

Well, I was never a huge Sampras fan.  He actually reminded me a lot of Federer.  He tried to be nice and humble in his interviews, but couldn't help but to come across as arrogant.  It must be hard to do when you're the best player in the world.

I'm glad that Federer lost, and the legacy of Sampras is protected for now.  There are too many people out there saying that Federer is the better of the 2 hands down.   It's just too soon to make such a claim.  Federer needs to duke it out on the Tour for a few more years before he should be called the greatest.  He's only 26 years old, so I think all the hype that surrounds him is a bit pre-mature.

If you follow the NBA, it reminds me of all those people who are claiming that Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan.  We need to give it more time before we make such BOLD declarations........

Answer 7

Maybe I am naive, but I don't think Federer is going to beat Pete's record. I want him to, or should say wanted him to. It would have been nice.

Answer 8

Well, Pete was my favorite player of all time, but I guess records are made to be broken. Either way, I still think Sampras in prime would have beat both Federer and Nadal on grass. Even McEnroe picked Sampras over Federer on grass.

Answer 9

jjashie -   Sampras has been called "Pistol Pete" by some announcers in the tennis world. But you are right, that title is originally (and rightfully)  used in reference to the basketball legend Pete Maravich.  

Democrat-  I was an Andre Agassi fan too, because his style of tennis was entertaining and inspiring, just like I find Nadal's style to be. It will be interesting to see what happens when Nadal develops his game to suit the hard court.  I don't really care how long Sampras' record holds up. Take comfort in the fact that he retired eons ago but was still able to defeat Federer in an exhibition match 1 out of 3 times. (recently, like a year or two ago)

BDB -your answer is almost verbatim like something I would say! How did you get inside my brain? = )

Answer 10

I really wanted Federer to win, because he is a more all-arounder than Pete Sampras was.