Apparently, Sampras still thinks he's the GOAT!!!

[fed_rulz]

So I talked to a guy who I’ve seen at many tennis as well as basketball events and I asked him if he got any interesting replies to his question at the Legends event at the Garden last month regarding his “Who’s The Greatest?” line. And he said yes. He said that Sampras basically said that he is the greatest because he subdued his greatest rival, Agassi, in every slam he faced him except one or two, and Federer has been beaten time and again in slams by his greatest rival, Nadal.
I pointed out that Sampras and Agassi were separated by one year while Fed and Rafa are divided by five, but Sampras apparently shook his head when probed similarly and said, it doesn’t matter. You can only be considered the greatest if you have beaten your greatest rival.

http://www.tennis-prose.com/bios/who...as-says-he-is/

Granted, this is not a quote from the horse's mouth, so it could be fabricated. OTOH, he has made such statements in the past, so I wouldn't put it past him to come up with such nonsense.

If he indeed still thinks that, someone needs to remind him that he was the one who came up with the "slams are what determine the GOAT" crap.. Sorry Pete, you're not in reckoning anymore.. My new year wish for 2013 is for Federer to erase more of your records, and for Nadal to surpass you sometime in the future.

[kishnabe]

Sampras true opinion which is good to hear.

To the cameras and press he would say Federer is GOAT.....but to ofans he would say himself!

[NatF]

Beating the field counts the most and Federer did it alot better than Sampras ever did.

[veroniquem]

Other than his domination of Agassi, there is really no credible argument supporting the thesis of "goat Sampras" at this point. Poor Sampras doesn't even have most WTF titles anymore nor # of weeks at #1. His # of master titles is also way below other top players in open era.

[TMF]

It would be fine had he said it back in 2002, but not today.

That is like Mark Spitz saying he's the greatest swimmer(better than Phelps).

[NatF]

Sampras was a fantastic player, no doubt about it. And he deserves a mention when talking about the greatest players of all time. However Agassi himself said Federer is the best player he's faced. Besides that Nadal is only dominant on clay. Everywhere else it's a mostly even rivalry. Nadal and Federer's peaks never overlapped. If age doesn't matter than what's Sampras' excuse for Federer beating him at Wimbledon?

[pringles]

I'm afraid Sampras has missed the bus. He should've focused on 1 or 2 French Opens instead of racking up Wimbledons where could just serve his way to the championship. The only time he got deep at the FO (beating a choking Courier in his last good major tournament) he got destroyed at Wimbledon.

Unlike the top 3 today who reach the FO/Wimbledon semis for fun.

Sampras is just mad that he's a complete non-factor in the GOAT conversation, since his only big records (weeks at no 1 and number of majors) have been broken.

Oh and Nadal has a better case for being the GOAT than Sampras has, I won't even mention Federer who is 2 leagues above Sampras in the discussions.

[NatF]

Nadal doesn't have a better case for being the GOAT than Sampras. Let's not get carried away. When Nadal dominates the tour for several years at the very top then he can be compared to Sampras.

[Agassifan]

Some guy talk to some guy who allegedly spoke to Pete. LOL

Even if true, LOL

[veroniquem]

Nadal is the GOAT on clay. Undisputed. For the rest, not sure, it seems to be mostly between Fed and Laver. No one else would have enough achievements.

[6-1 6-3 6-0]

Did Sampras ever win slams on clay, grass or hard-court all in a calendar year?

Did Sampras ever win the career grand slam?

Is Sampras the king of ANY slam?

Did Sampras ever win slams on all three surfaces TWICE?

[TMF]

Originally Posted by pringles

I'm afraid Sampras has missed the bus. He should've focused on 1 or 2 French Opens instead of racking up Wimbledons where could just serve his way to the championship. The only time he got deep at the FO (beating a choking Courier in his last good major tournament) he got destroyed at Wimbledon.

Unlike the top 3 today who reach the FO/Wimbledon semis for fun.

Sampras is just mad that he's a complete non-factor in the GOAT conversation, since his only big records (weeks at no 1 and number of majors) have been broken.

Oh and Nadal has a better case for being the GOAT than Sampras has, I won't even mention Federer who is 2 leagues above Sampras in the discussions.

Some day the reporter will ask Sampras about who's the greater player between him and Nadal. I wonder how Pete will react.

[TMF]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

Nadal is the GOAT on clay. Undisputed. For the rest, not sure, it seems to be mostly between Fed and Laver. No one else would have enough achievements.

What about Sampras and Nadal, who's greater?

[kishnabe]

Originally Posted by TMF

Some day the reporter will ask Sampras about who's the greater player between him and Nadal. I wonder how Pete will react.

He will then start lauding aboud Djokovic owning Rafa.....7 matches in a row.

[pringles]

Originally Posted by NatF

Nadal doesn't have a better case for being the GOAT than Sampras. Let's not get carried away. When Nadal dominates the tour for several years at the very top then he can be compared to Sampras.

Sampras never dominated the tour. The only tournament he dominated was Wimbledon and mostly thanks to his great serve and the courts being extremely fast. Nadal not only dominated 1 major but an entire surface while Sampras never cared for any grass warm-up tournament. Rafa has at least 2 seasons better than any season that Sampras had in his career (2008/2010).

Sampras never had a rival who could constantly challenge him, Agassi was gone for at least 3 of Sampras' prime years. Nadal since 2005 has been better and better while Federer got older. Nadal had to CONSTANTLY FACE 2 OTHER GOATs in his career while Sampras faced who again? Old Becker in one year. Rafter in another. Pioline in another.

It's not even comparable. If Nadal wins another major or 2 (and I'm sure he will), Sampras will be even more forgotten.

[veroniquem]

Originally Posted by TMF

What about Sampras and Nadal, who's greater?

On clay??? You're joking, right? On hard?? I'm sure you're joking too

[TMF]

Originally Posted by veroniquem

On clay??? You're joking, right? On hard?? I'm sure you're joking too

I'm talking about overall achievement.

[kalyan4fedever]

stupid sampras and his ego, Federer is true GOAT and he knows it, just because nadal has a leading h2h does not mean federer is not GOAT, he could not even win a single french open lol and he is greatest please !!! {if he said that ofcourse} Fed should stop saying things like pete is my hero. The whole things sounds bs

[NatF]

Originally Posted by pringles

Sampras never dominated the tour. The only tournament he dominated was Wimbledon and mostly thanks to his great serve and the courts being extremely fast. Nadal not only dominated 1 major but an entire surface while Sampras never cared for any grass warm-up tournament.

Sampras never had a rival who could constantly challenge him, Agassi was gone for at least 3 of Sampras' prime years. Nadal since 2005 has been better and better while Federer got older.

He won 2 slams a year 4 times. He had 286 weeks as the world #1 and 6 YE #1's. He also won the YEC 5x to Nadal's 0. Plus he has 3 more slams...

Sampras > Nadal by a big margin at the moment.

[gregor.b]

Originally Posted by NatF

Sampras was a fantastic player, no doubt about it. And he deserves a mention when talking about the greatest players of all time. However Agassi himself said Federer is the best player he's faced. Besides that Nadal is only dominant on clay. Everywhere else it's a mostly even rivalry. Nadal and Federer's peaks never overlapped. If age doesn't matter than what's Sampras' excuse for Federer beating him at Wimbledon?

And Hewitt beating him at U.S Open.