Wimbledon 2008. Rafael nadal vs Roger Federer, they say this 5 setter was the best final ever to be played in All England Lawn Tennis. Well the king of clay court, Rafael Nadal won in an epic 5 sets.

Do u think Federer is the best player to have ever played the game?

I think it's by far Pete Sampras. he won 7 wimbledons, 4 Us opens, the youngest to have ever won US open. A total of 13 grand slams. His rivalry with Agassi was well known, Federer might one day break his record. But I still believe Sampras was god to tennis. What u say?

Pete Sampras........definately is the best player in my opinion......and then its Agassi........and in the womens..whats her name????? Steffie Graph???? ya her and  higgins........im bad with tennis playes name......hardly follow that sport anymore bro.

I think Rodger is the best

He will break the all time grandslam winner in the near future just two short of Pete Sampras

 

Let me first correct the facts : Sampras has won 14 grand slams. He won 7 wimbledon and 5 US open singles. The last was one of my favs, I saw that live Agassi vs Sampras in 2001. What a final that was.

Federer has 12 slam singles. 3 Australian, 5 wimbledon, and 4 US open.

Why I am raising this topic here is Federer and Sampras both have a lot of similarities. They both are king of grass courts. They both have never ever won any single title in French opens where Borg or Nadal or even Agassi  have won. Both belong to the now extinct serve and volley game. Remember  Agassi was a great baseline player, so he did really well in clay courts. Nadal is kind of a power player like Marat Safin. With Federer the classic serve and volley game will be gone for ever. These days its more of powerful stroke than the skills of Sampras or Federer.

To me # of grand slams won is just a number. I have watched both play, but the CLASS of Sampras was out of the world. Federer has to be one of the best probably best for a lot but he can never match that Sampras show in 1999 when Sampras won against Agassi in 3 straight sets.

That day, Agassi played really well, but  Sampras took tennis to the level never seen before. That's why Agassi said that day " HE WALKED ON WATER TODAY".

I kind of bear an analogy in cricket though, in their peak Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Charles Lara were the best batsmen of 1990s or for that matter of our gneration but given a choice I will always watch Lara first just because of that audacity and grace of his batsmanship. In his peak Tendulkar was the best batsman in the earth, but Lara was the best batsman in the universe, he would take his game to heights mortals can only dream of, even someone as great as Tendulkar.

So my friends numbers are just numbers. Skillwise, charismawise,  I still rate Sampras slightly ahead of Federer.

 

I also watched that classic between sampras and agassi.  but at 26 with 12 grandslam titles, i think federer is best ever.  look at his consistency, he's been no 1 for a long time now.  he has dominated tennis for a long time. 

Who do u think , hypothetically though, would have won AAA bro ? if today's Federer had played with Sampras of mid 1990s.

I believe post 2000, standard of tennis declined. The art disappeared and power game took over. Sampras era was full of many superstars. He literally crushed them when they were still at their top ( at that time Sampras held many records which seemed unimaginable to surpass ) but I believe in Federer's time Sampras was way past his best. Agassi was fading and none others looked any good as those early 90s players.

Steffi Graf, The Greatest Tennis Player Ever :=)

Golden Slam!!!! That says it all

In whatever I have seen in last 15 years Pete Sampras and Roger Federrer are the best Tennis player ever considering both on and off the court performance. They both have played the game with true sportsman spirit and have created a positive impact by their game and their behavior. For example, I cannot remember a single incident where Pete Sampras or Roger Federrer have displayed their personal emotion during or after the game. They played the game in true spirit and regarded the opponent at very high level. They have never got into any kind of controvery on and off the court and have maintained the true dignity of sport.

I truely admire them as role model.

Sampras is great tennis player but Federer is the best. Sampras has no touch like federer. Not only that he cannot play from baseline. He cannot play more than 9 shots rally. He won so many GS because Wimbledon court were very fast. There were no more than 5 shots rally. Wimbledon has lost viewers interest so they slow the court to  see some baseline rallys. That is why Sampras has reached only one Roland Garros semifinal on the other hand Federer has reached one semifinal and 3 finals. He lost all the time with Rafa.

 

Clay court specialists like Vilas, Bruguera don't think Sampras a great player because Sampras cannot play from baseline. They think he is good but not a great. On the otherhand they think Federer is the greatest ever. He can play from baseline. He can serve and volley and he has unbeaviable shots. He is so dominent in the history of tennis. He has reached 10 finals straight. 17 GS Finals. The closest is 9 so far. He was unlucky in Finals with Nadal. If he had converted those break pts, he would have won in 3 sets. He didn't win early like Sampras because he was vegetiration before. He didn't get enough energy. If Sampras plays today, I am sure he won't win 14 slams. He knows that. Thesedays not only Wimbledon but US Open is slower than before. That is why though Roddick has the biggest serve in the history of tennis, though Roddick lost with Federer all the time. Fed knows how to handle big serve. Therefore, there is no comparision between Fed and Sampras.

Aggassi is media favourite. He knows how to work with media. But Fed and Sampras are way better than him. He himself said if he plays against Sampras in final, he cannot win. He has never won against Sampras in Final. He  has won in small tournment and quaterfinals of GS but not in Slams. He said Fed is better than Sampras. He said he knows how to play with Sampras but not with Fed.

 

So correct Deshbhakta nepali bro,

Sampras and Federer both are true role models for any kids who r growing up. They never smashed rackets, never yelled at others.

Don't u think Federer is now the last of that breed of  serve and volley  game which Sampras so aptly showed in his time.

Another name deserves great mention is Bjorn Borg. He was so good on and off court that even a rowdy ( extremely popular though ) John Mcenroe liked him as a person. Sampras and Federer simply walked on his footsteps.

But I believe every sports has some heroes who r sometimes bigger than the game..people go to see them more than they go to see sports..like Mohammad Ali to boxing, Tiger woods to golf, Don Bradman to cricket and Michael Jordan to basketball.  ( Rajanikanth to kickboxing..lol..)

In that context I think Pete Sampras is to tennis what they r to those other sports. I m sure Federer must have learnt a lot growing up when he watched Sampras crush opponents after opponents in those days of 1990s when there was only one rising star in Tennis..Pete Sampras.

A very subjective topic this is but in my opinion Roger Federer is the best tennis player ever.

Unlike many other team game sports, tennis being an individual game, it is a lot easier for us to measure a professional's greatness. And one of the prime determinants to do just that is the tally of the number of Grand Slam Tournaments won by a player. Pete Sampras is leading the way in that category with 14 Grand Slams, while Roy Emerson has Federer(still active) has 13 and 12 respectively. I have never seen Roy Emerson play so I will go about comparing Federer and Sampras.

Both of them are very similar players adorned with great footwork, finesse, forehand, sharp one handed backhand and has used the serve and volley game (more Sampras than Federer) to their advantage. As mentioned before, Sampras leads the number of Majors won but Federer is just two behind and remember he is only 26. Despite recent losses, Federer still owns the Top Ranking and I would be really surprised if he fails to win three more Majors to go past Sampras. Also, Federer has proved his versatility by reaching the French Open Finals consecutively for three years which Sampras was never able to boast of in his illustrious career.

It's pretty obvious that yesterday's marathon match victor Rafael Nadal(only 22) has already showcased his potential of being a contender in all surfaces. He is truly on the rise, and can very well be the next player to complete a Career Grand Slam. More importantly, he has a head to head match up advantage over Numero Uno Federer But with only 5 Majors, he still has a lot more to prove(and has plenty of time to do so) before he can be mentioned in the same league as Sampras and Federer.

 

Very informative mta 177. thanks.

I still wonder why Sampras couldn't do as well in Australian Open though. French I can understand coz of clay courts where people like Gustavo Kuerten would keep winning games.

 

If you ask me, currently Roger Federrer and Nadal is to tennis what Tiger woods was for golf and Mike Tyson was for Heavy weight in 90s. They have literally kept the sports of Teniss alive and reenergized the fan face of Tennis as a sports. Post 2000, if you take Federrer and Nadal out of the picture you will not find a single Tennis player who were able to creat a broader fan face and sustained for long. They were the reasons why people continued watching the sports. And they did that with true grace.

The post match performance by Federrer yesterday after losing the game is unforgetable. He won my heart despite losing the game.

"The post match performance by Federrer yesterday after losing the game is unforgetable. He won my heart despite losing the game."

Yes, Deshbhaktanepali, After such a tough loss it was really great to see Federer accept defeat so gracefully and take a whole round to acknowledge the crowd. Probably one of the best sport moments.

The wonderful game of tennis is really blessed to have such noble and great characters in Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as its best players.

are we talking about Best Male Tennis Player? Then it has to Rod Laver. Did you guys see him smack green balls if you didn't ask your grandpa ;)

Now we regard Nadal as one of the best or another Pat Cash in making???

Actually the best tennis player ever irrespective of gender. Yes, Rod Laver was # 1 but he stopped playing in 1969. So I can't say much about him coz haven't seen him playing. In this case u have to pay much attention and respect to what former greats like John Mcenroe says - " this was the best final ever".

Much as I never saw Pele play but saw Maradona. Never saw Bradman bat in 1930s and 40s but saw Viv Richards and Brian Lara bat.

Pete and womens Steffie

BORIS BAKER

My Fav was Patrick Rafter

of course steffi graf,,,,,,,