Considering the dominance of Federer presently and the matter that Pete is already a retired player people like me expected a white wash.But the way he fought back in the last 2 matches exhibits the fact that Pete is the best male player ever.Sampras had to fight with greatest players like Edberg,Becker,Agassi,Courier while no such players r there as opponents of Federer.So I believe Pete is greater than Federer.
sampras hit back at Federer winning 3rd match.. This match is like classic tennis vs Power tennis... For a few reasons; sampras is the better of the two...See the competition and level of classic tennis players who gave him a good fight...MOdern tennis all about power game and that is why only Nadal or Roddick can give a fight to federer...Federer has a touch of classical tennis but overall he is also a power tennis player...Sampras started with losing to Edberg in US open final in 1990 or so and kept getting better and better by winning different finalists in different tournaments like Agassi, Ivanisevic, Boris Becker, Edberg, Michael Chang, Jim Courier upto Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt.. If you see last few years;; almost Roddick, Nadal and may be Hewitt have come in all finals...THere is no real fun left in men's tennis... I vote for Sampras..If he can beat him now; he would have been way to ahead if both had played in same era...Federer is good;; but not good enough against Sampras..
Great match, but here are some observations worth noting. Sampras is a retired tennis playe who doesnt have to worry about the 2008 season. Federer DOES have to. If you notice, Sampras was serving much harder(as in striking the ball) and was basically, giving it his all. Federer was much more conservative, and only cranked up when needed, as Top Pros always would. IF Sampras tweaked a shoulder muscle, he has no worries since he's already retired. So he played a "What-the-Heck" game. Federer, inspite of serving well within himself, was able to produce some dazzling shots. That said, Sampras does has a lot of "game" left in the tank still. But I am not sure if he can consistently serve like this (as he would during the pro years). So once the serve is off, it would be a bit of an embarassment at the hands of any top-10 current pro. So since it was an Exhibition, it is meaningless to analyze the match beyond nostalgic interest. Of course, the quality of play on both sides was tremendous.
even though since last five years , he is not in touch he played superb , he played like a real champion,am sure he is still capable of rewriting the history...fedex is no doubt best but pet is always pet ....this debete always tempt people to compare the best in their era ... keep aside this enjoy their game ....feel luck enough to have seen both of them playing in their prime ...
Sampras is the greatest player ever and fiercely competitive. He was an all-rounder. He was the best in Serve and Volley and surely he is the best even today looking at the scoreline in the last match it looks he is the only one who can beat Federer. Only a serve and volley player can beat Federer. Sampras could play from the baseline as well. He used to beat Agassi from baseline becos he knew that Agassi could hit passing shots wherever he liked. Federer is not an all-round player and he is boring too.
RE:Sampras vs Federer
by aman randhawa on Nov 23, 2007 12:04 PM
you cant compare generations....who is best..sampras or federer...it is a baseless argument....its same as comparing todays australia with old windies....you can never find an answer.
competition remains always the same....to be world number 1, you have to play to a certain level IN YOUR ERA to achieve it.....it hardly matters who are or who were the opponents....
i am a big fan of sampras myself, but by no means is federer boring....he is as good as sampras, if not better
RE:Sampras vs Federer
by Venugopalan on Nov 23, 2007 12:22 PM
You have every right to state your views, but Federer by no means a weak player on any count. He is one of the all time best players, a TITAN by any measure. He is certainly not boring. At present only one or two players can challenge his position (on their days).(these are my views)
RE:Great Sampras would have been Ranked No 1
by shovon dasgupta on Nov 23, 2007 10:56 AM
Don't forget that Federer beat Sampras on his fav surface in Wimbledon when Sampras was in his prime form and Fedex was juz a novice..I think Federer has a better all round game than Sampras..
RE:Great Sampras would have been Ranked No 1
by King of India on Nov 23, 2007 11:08 AM
Well, I agree Sampras MIGHT have been no 1, had he played with Federer in his prime. What Federer meant is he would still be TOP 5 even though he's well past his prime now!
