Sampras: "I'm similar to Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, because"

Before the advent of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the ATP Tour was largely dominated by the Greek-born American Pete Sampras. Winner of 14 Grand Slam titles (including 7 Wimbledon editions,a  record till Federer's 2017 win against Marin Cilic - ed.), the American led this special and prestigious ranking until the summer of 2009, when Federer overtook him winning the Roland Garros against Robin Soderiling and then Wimbledon against Andy Roddick.

During his career, Pete Sampras only missed the Roland Garros, in which he reached the semi-final in 1996, defeated in three sets by Evgeny Kafelnikov. Sampras was also the holder of the highest number of weeks spent at number one in the ATP ranking: 286, a record also surpassed by the champion from Basel, now standing at 310.

Novak Djokovic follows him at a very short distance: he is currently in second position at 282, with the certainty of overcoming him shortly. Pistol Pete has also triumphed five times in the ATP World Championships at the end of the year, as the Finals were called until the 1990s.

Pete Sampras on Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Nole Djokovic

In a biography on Pete Sampras written by Steve Flick, the American champion talked about the Big Three of the world of tennis and in particular about their relationship to the Grand Slam tournaments, in his opinion influenced by his career.

Pete Sampras said about it "I think I'm part of it. I never wanted to win the other tournaments, but I looked at certain things as if they were black or white and this was one of them. My year was based on Grand Slam results. If I had won eight tournaments, none of which a Major, mine would have been a good season, but not a great one.

I have been very open and honest about this. My year was measured on the Grand Slams. The game is not all about numbers, but being able to end my career with the most Majors was important for me."

As we all know, Sampras' Slam record was first surpassed by Roger Federer, then by Rafael Nadal and finally by Novak Djokovic. However, the former player from the US still holds the incredible record that saw him finish the season at world number one in the rankings for six consecutive years.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3gZ1mr7