Top Spin Blog » Sampras

Sampras-Agassi Hit for Haiti Feud

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:56:23 +0000

The old rivals turned ugly when Agassi mocked Sampras’ alleged stinginess Friday night in the charity match. Pete could have come back hard by miming a deep inhalation of crystal meth. Pete wasn’t about to take a sleazy shot, but it would have taken the smile off Andre’s face. Pete will always have the last laugh, though, with his 20-14 record over Andre, including dominance of him in Grand Slams and a win in their last match up.

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What Will the New Decade Hold for American Tennis?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:48:32 +0000

From Pete Sampras’ win in the 1990 U.S. Open to Andre Agassi’s win in New York in 1999, American men won 21 of the 40 Grand Slams of the decade. The following ten-year stretch started strong, with Sampras, Aggasi and Andy Roddick combining for six more through September 2003. However, since Roddick’s U.S. Open win seven years ago, only Andy has come close, but has not been able to seal one of the big four trophies. He’ll have more chances, but he turns 28 this year, and the game keeps getting tougher. I expect him to win one more before he retires, either in London or New York.

The two Americans on the rise are John Isner and Sam Querrey, and Isner is fresh off a hot streak with his first ATP win in Auckland and then a run to the fourth round of Australia where he held a set point against No. 5 seed Andy Murray, although he lost it and all three sets. In the offing, America’s top young players, including Ryan Harrison, Devin Britton, and Jordan Cox, could be the future of American tennis. But it’s way too early to tell.

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Greatest of All Time on the Line in French Open Final

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:55:26 +0000

When Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal step onto the red clay of Court Phillippe Chatrier on Sunday, Federer’s claim to be the greatest of all time—the GOAT, as Peter Bodo calls it—hangs in the balance. Because while this debate is one that will never have a definitive answer, I believe a player can only claim to be the greatest of all time unless he has won all four Grand Slams. If Federer wins, he will join Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Don Budge, Fred Perry and Roy Emerson as the fraternity that can claim each of the premiere titles.

Even if Federer wins five more Wimbledons in a row, his status as the GOAT is dubious without the French, just as Bjorn Borg’s failure to win the U.S. Open excludes him from the conversation, just as Pete Sampras’ failure to win the French hinders his argument. And what about Bill Tilden, winner of six U.S. National Championships (then the U.S. Open) in a row from 1920-26? Or Richard Sears, who in the 1880s won the U.S. title seven times in a row?

Laver, winner of two calendar-year Grand Slams, both as an amateur in 1962 and in the open, professional era in 1969, is still undoubtedly the GOAT to beat. Laver turned pro in 1963 and missed five years of Grand Slams. You can argue that Pancho Gonzalez and Jack Kramer who missed even more years might have surpassed Laver, Emerson and others in Grand Slam titles. We’ll never know, and that’s why the debate sometimes goes in circles and provides John McEnroe endless fodder to talk about instead of the match at hand. Laver’s record, however, is tangible and speaks for itself. He is, for now, the greatest of all time.

If Federer can beat Nadal at Roland Garros, he’ll have legitimate chops in the conversation. As Borg said in a press conference Saturday, “He definitely will be the greatest player ever to play the game.” But even with a win, Federer will have a career losing record against Nadal. He’s 6-10 going into Saturday’s play, including 2-3 in Grand Slam finals. I ask you this: Can you be the greatest of all time and still have a losing record to a peer in your era?

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