Prologue Part 1 of this series looked at how Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have won 44 of the 96 majors held since 1990. If Rafa, Roger and Pete don’t add any majors in 2014, they will have won 44% of the Grand Slam events held since 1990. That is a remarkable accomplishment…
Tag: Pete Sampras
44 Majors Since 1990 by the Numbers: Australian Open
Pete Sampras won his first Grand Slam at the 1990 US Open and eventually broke a long standing record for the most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis in 2000. Sampras added one more slam in 2002 to set his total at 14. Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras’ record in 2009 and tallied an additional…
3 Phases of the GOAT Discussion
GOATs on our Mind Tennis GOAT discussions and debates have been good for fans and the press because we’ve always got something to contemplate. Here is my breakdown of events that amped up GOAT debates: Career slams and Pete chasing Emerson get the credit or blame Andre Agassi completing the career Grand Slam in 1999…
Top 10 Gentlemen’s Championship Matches #7 – #5
7. 1998 Pete Sampras d. Goran Ivanisevic 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 If only breaking Sampras were always that easy Pete won due to shots like these Goran also lost the 1994 Wimbledon Final to Sampras, but this was a much better match. Both men served exceptionally well. Pete survived a scare in the second…
Top 10 Gentlemen’s Championship Matches #10-#8
This Top 10 List is Based on Matches I have actually seen. I was four years old and did not see McEnroe vs. Borg in 1980 therefore I can’t rate it. This is also purely subjective as each of these matches have their merit. 10. 2000 Pete Sampras d. Patrick Rafter 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2…
My Problem with the Federer Post Mortems
My Starting Point I will put my bias out there and state that Roger Federer has been all-time my favorite tennis player to watch since 2003. I like his game, his balance, his shot making etc. I also will bluntly say that Roger is not playing near his career best 2006 level, or his 2004-2007…
Who Needs a 5th Major?
Four or Five or? The Indian Wells-Miami section of the tour is a great stretch for tennis fans. Most of the top players on the ATP and WTA play both events and great matches abound. It also leads to talk of a “Fifth Major” status for one or the other event. This talk is not…
Tennis Impersonations: A History
Alpha? Omega? The recent controversy about Caroline Wozniacki’s impersonation of Serena Williams got me thinking about the history of impersonating a player’s ticks or idiosyncrasies. My mind initially thought that Jonas Bjorkman was the progenitor of this fad. His rain delay US Open fodder of lighthearted imitations did indeed pave the way to Djokovic’s 2007 US Open impersonation tour….
Sampras Turns 41 and Federer Turns 31
Familiar Faces By some luck for tennis junkies, Pete Sampras was born on August 12, 1971 and Roger Federer was born on August 8, 1981. The two men are almost exactly 10 years apart in age. Tennis fans waited from Borg’s retirement to Sampras’ ascendency to see a player win over 10 slams in his…
Who is the Greatest Male Grass Court Player of the Open Era? (POLL)
Martina Navratilova seems to have locked up the female honor here. Consider the following cases before voting and of course comment below. Bjorn Borg – 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles, 1 Wimbledon runner-up finish, 6 consecutive Wimbledon final rounds reached, 2 Wimbledon quarterfinal finishes Pete Sampras – 7 Wimbledon titles, 7-0 in Wimbledon finals, 1 Wimbledon…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 