Sampras vs Safin 2002 Australian Open Highlights

[zagor]

Originally Posted by quest01

Sampras forehand looked kind of funky in this clip. Also Sampras struggled against Safin when playing from the baseline on a slower court. I don't know if he would have competed well in this era. I'm a big fan of Sampras though.

Everyone would struggle with an inform Safin on a slower HC, not to mention that Sampras was well past his prime when most of their meetings occurred (heck in this match guy was one year away from retirement).

You don't know if he would have competed well in this era? He won USO the same year (he lost this match) and that was only slightly more than a decade ago, I'll never understand people who think tennis becomes a completely different sport after 10 years (as long it isn't involves some drastic equipment change like wood to graphite or something similar).

I don't know how many times I repeated this but slow HC doesn't = clay ( compare Nadal and Pete's performances on clay and slow HC for example) and slower Wimbledon grass of today still rewards big serving and aggressive all-court play.

[zagor]

Originally Posted by President

You think Safin moved better than Sampras? Really?!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this coming from you, you also believe Safin moved better than Monfils

Yeah, Sampras was a better mover but it's still amazing how well Safin moved compared to other players of his height/build, the guy really is an underachiever considering his all-around ability (not saying that people don't overrate him at times).

[tennisaddict]

If Sampras hits those loopy backhands to Nadal, he would have had one major or two, not 14.

[Anaconda]

Originally Posted by President

You think Safin moved better than Sampras? Really?!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this coming from you, you also believe Safin moved better than Monfils

Monfils is more athletic. Do you not play tennis to realise court positioning, weight distribution and foot coordination are the elements in actually foot work?; Foot speed is not foot work. Monfils is just fast period (although Safin was quick too). Safin's coordination, distribution and positioning are far superior to Monfils.

Being rapid around the court doesn't mean you have efficient foot work. Anyone with half a brain or just plays tennis knows that court coverage does not make for superior movement.

Originally Posted by abmk

eh,no , safin would have trouble vs the sampras first serve unless he was absolutely zoned in ala USO 2000 ...... and he's in no way a superior mover to sampras ...

also , while safin was a good passer, unless absolutely zoned in, he wasn't close to the likes of agassi/hewitt/federer/nadal in that dept ...

as far as in-form play is concerned, safin beats sampras on slow HC/clay, sampras easily beats him on grass, edges him out indoors (HC/carpet ) ..... medium-to-fast HC would be a tossup ...

Uh, Safin is known to have some of the best passes ever. I see the myth that Safin can only play tennis on 'zoned in days' is still alive and kicking. Oh well, it's clearly obvious some people have absolutely no clue what they are talking about; You being one of them.

[pjonesy]

Originally Posted by zagor

Always loved Pete-Safin matches, they had some great ones.



Actually Johansson ended up winning this tournament, this is 2002 AO not USO.

LOL!! My bad.

Nevermind

[abmk]

Originally Posted by Anaconda

Uh, Safin is known to have some of the best passes ever. I see the myth that Safin can only play tennis on 'zoned in days' is still alive and kicking. Oh well, it's clearly obvious some people have absolutely no clue what they are talking about; You being one of them.

never said or implied remotely that safin could play tennis only on zoned in days .. just that consistently day in day out, he wasn't close to how well agassi/hewitt/federer/nadal pass .......

when playing well, he passed really well, but otherwise, quite a bit below these guys ...

and yes, sampras/monfils are clearly better movers than safin , not just footspeed, overall movement ( even though safin moved exceptionally well for his size )

its just the safin fanboy in you thinking/speaking otherwise ...

[Anaconda]

Originally Posted by abmk

and yes, sampras/monfils are clearly better movers than safin , not just footspeed, overall movement ( even though safin moved exceptionally well for his size )

its just the safin fanboy in you thinking/speaking otherwise ...

You believe Monfils has better coordination/balance/court positioning/efficiency than Safin? Absolute rubbish. Go and ask anyone who plays tennis, they will tell you that coverage and foot speed does not equate to good footwork. Safin's footwork around the net is also superior. You clearly have never lifted a racket to claim Monfils moves better than Safin.



In your opinion, how does Monfils have better footwork than Safin?

[abmk]

Originally Posted by Anaconda

You believe Monfils has better coordination/balance/court positioning/efficiency than Safin? Absolute rubbish. Go and ask anyone who plays tennis, they will tell you that coverage and foot speed does not equate to good footwork. Safin's footwork around the net is also superior. You clearly have never lifted a racket to claim Monfils moves better than Safin.

In your opinion, how does Monfils have better footwork than Safin?

monfils' advantage in speed is more than enough to cover up for everything else ... his footwork is also pretty good ..his main problem is his court positioning & passive play ...but when he's not clowning around ... he consistently gets to balls that safin never did/could ...

I never said monfils is better in all aspects, just that overall he's better than safin as far as movement is concerned ...

[TheFifthSet]

I think what held Safin back game-wise (not including lack of commitment and injuries), was his return, which wasn't very good for such an otherwise great player.

[Anaconda]

Originally Posted by abmk

monfils' advantage in speed is more than enough to cover up for everything else ... his footwork is also pretty good ..his main problem is his court positioning & passive play ...but when he's not clowning around ... he consistently gets to balls that safin never did/could ...

I never said monfils is better in all aspects, just that overall he's better than safin as far as movement is concerned ...

Thanks for confirming you know absolutely nothing about tennis.

[pjonesy]

Originally Posted by TheFifthSet

I think what held Safin back game-wise (not including lack of commitment and injuries), was his return, which wasn't very good for such an otherwise great player.

I'm not sure I totally agree with that. His return of Sampras' 2nd serve is what won him the US Open. On grass and clay, I think you might have a point. I think that Safin moved pretty well. He moved very similarly to the other Russian players like Medvedev and Kafelnikov. Looking very stiff, but all got into position well enough to hit the 2 hander with great power and consistency. I honestly believe that Safin suffered from the same issues as Roddick, Courier and maybe Wilander. They just did not improve their weaknesses and develop their games enough to play beyond their perceived limits.

[NadalAgassi]

Monfils has amazing raw speed in a track runner sense but it doesnt translate to great tennis movement really. His footwork is pretty bad, and his balance isnt that great either, and in fact he often looks clumsy out there. If he were really that great an overall mover and defender he would have done alot more, even with his ridiculously overly passive play (considering he can hit a huge serve and forehand). Look at Nadal who while he is capable of ferocious and very heavy groundstrokes often plays overly passively, and even lets his groundstrokes land inside the service box, and even some of thoses times he still sweeps through a tournament by beating all the big 3 or 4. Monfils would not be capable of this.

[droliver]

Originally Posted by tennisaddict

If Sampras hits those loopy backhands to Nadal, he would have had one major or two, not 14.

Truer words never spoken

[slowfox]

Originally Posted by tennisaddict

If Sampras hits those loopy backhands to Nadal, he would have had one major or two, not 14.

Often wondered why Sampras hit those loopers later in his career. When he won his first USO he was blasting drive backhands winners over and over.