Pete Sampras on dominance of the "Big Three": "I think I'm part of it"
Pete Sampras was once the most successful tennis player in the world with 14 major titles. Today the "Big Three" are sometimes clearly in front of him, but the American is not entirely uninvolved, as a book about his career shows.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Aug 16, 2020, 06:27 pm
When Pete Sampras transformed the match point in the final of the US Open in 2002, defeated Andre Agassi and celebrated his 14th Grand Slam triumph, it was thought that this was a record for the ages, nobody will win so many major titles anytime soon can. Today, 18 years later, this turns out to be completely wrong, with the "Big Three", with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, there was already a generation at the gates, the 20, 19 and 17 Grand Slam today Titles in this comparison can be found well before Pete Sampras.
Steve Flink, journalist and author of numerous books on white sport, published the book "Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited" this year, in which he takes a closer look at the American's career - and takes a deep look at the thinking of the 14th century -fold Grand Slam champion there. Because in addition to the achievements of Sampras, a long, detailed conversation with the American is the content of this book.
"I think I'm part of it"
When asked, for example, whether Sampras would have had an influence on the careers of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, he said: "I think I'm part of it. I never wanted to criticize the other tournaments, but I have certain things in black. White, and that was one of those black and white things. I built my year on what I did in the majors, "said Sampras. An attitude that the "Big Three" have adopted for themselves.
Accordingly, a season in which he could celebrate eight titles, none of them in a Grand Slam, would have been a good one, but not a great one. "I was very open and honest about this. My year was measured by the slams. This game is not just about numbers, but having the chance to finish my career with most of the majors was important to me," he said Americans.
Six years en suite at number one in the world
An achievement that Sampras succeeded in doing, but no longer lasts. On the other hand, upright is another feat that Pete Sampras achieved during his career. Between 1993 and 1998, the giant from America was number one in the world for six years in a row at the end of the year, more often than anyone before or after him.
"The way I saw it, I only had this one chance in 1998 and I was obsessed with it. It was my only chance to break one of the toughest records ever. I know how hard it is to stay # 1, and to make it six years in a row is an exceptional achievement, "says Sampras. Because although the "Big Three" are now well ahead of the American in terms of Grand Slam titles, none of them could even come close to this record.