I'm Still Mourning The Great Ones...sampras And Agassi!

maneater · 02-17-2007, 07:50 AM

Although we probably have the best player in the history of tennis today (R.Federer) i dont think i'll ever be as excited with the game as i was when i was younger watching these 2 legends play and compete with one and other...i think it was because they were more challenging to watch, both the best 2 players of their time,and its was always so close against them. now its just predictable its almost certain that u can bet your life that Rogers gonna win everything, although Nadal has the upperhand over him, thats really only limited to clay, so we got nothing to get excited about till clay season...is it just me or does anyone else feel this way?...

Nick Irons · 02-17-2007, 08:17 AM

My sentiments are similiar. I tend to go through up's and down's in terms of 'really being stoked' on tennis. As a child, I remember watching Connors and Mac and Evert and Navratilova and especially being inspired with Connors 1991 U.S. Open run

But I have a fondness for the year 1994 (and the U.S. Open)

The Top 13 consisted of 5 Americans

1 Sampras, Pete (USA)
2 Agassi, Andre (USA)
3 Becker, Boris (GER)
4 Bruguera, Sergi (ESP)
5 Ivanisevic, Goran (CRO)
6 Chang, Michael (USA)
7 Edberg, Stefan (SWE)
8 Berasategui, Alberto (ESP)
9 Stich, Michael (GER)
10 Martin, Todd (USA)
11 Kafelnikov, Yevgeny (RUS)
12 Ferreira, Wayne (RSA)
13 Courier, Jim (USA)

And Agassi won it unseeded.

I guess, I am kind of waiting for another surge in my fandom of the pro game. Other great periods for me are Andre's 1999/00 of 3 of 4 Slam Finals, Jennifer Capriati's 2000/01 and anytime we saw a Seles / Graf showdown

VGP · 02-17-2007, 12:03 PM

I'm missing tennis from then too. I grew up watching tennis in the late-80s early 90s....

Plus, I've got the VHS tape of the 2002 USO final playing as I'm typing this.....

Sampras vs. Agassi was a great rivalry. Contrast in playing styles. Contrast in life styles.

They played each other as juniors and as pros in finals of grand slams. They married during their playing days and had kids as well.

As much as I appreciate Federer and I expect him to surpass Sampras as winning the most GS singles titles, his dominance is, well frankly speaking, getting boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm still taping his matches and enjoying his play, but more for reference than anything else.....just in case some other yet unnamed 16 year old won't come through ten years from now. The media is really hyping up the Federer-Nadal rivalry and it was great last year, but it's cooled of late.

Federer-Nadal isn't as interesting to me as Sampras-Agassi or throw in the Chang, Courier, Martin, Becker, Ivanisevic, Edberg, McEnroe, Rafter, etc.....plus the Graf-Seles era on the women's side. Overall, players today are fitter, stronger, hit bigger, miss less, blah, blah, blah......but I think personalities wer bigger and players were hungrier back then. Less willing to settle for second best.

Now with all the entourages and big prize money it's obvious that players are settling or conceding to Federer.

I'm just waiting for someone to burst the Federer bubble and chip away at his air of invincibility.

Sampras struggled more than Federer. I don't care if that means that Federer is "better" than Sampras. It sure was more interesting. I think Sampras has showed how much more fight he has than Federer has had to show to this point. Sampras showed it in success and in defeat. He fought hard but still lost to Yzaga in the '94 USO, fought through tears in the '95 AO qf against Courier, fighting through pain in the '00 Wimbledon final against Rafter, all throughout the '02 USO.....plus many other times.

Perhaps Federer's hardships had come earlier and in a more private manner than Sampras'. I'm speaking of the deaths of their respective coaches. Those seemed to focus their games and become champions.

Sampras spoke of losing motivation after fighting to be #1 for six years in a row. I just wonder if Federer will continue to fight once his reign at the top comes to an end. Will he be like Connors and McEnroe and continue to fight or will he be like Wilander and drop off the face of the planet?

To come back to topic, I too miss the recently retired tennis greats.

maneater · 02-17-2007, 01:08 PM

yea i totally agree with both u guys!
im only 21 and ive been a huge tennis fan since...well put it this way i cant ever remember not being a tennis fan! i think one of the best matches ive ever seen in my life was the uso 2002 as you said, i remember crying cos i thought i was going to miss it so i made my dad order it on cable, lol, what a match! what an era of tennis...amazing!

Mick · 02-17-2007, 01:11 PM

don't worry. pretty soon both will be playing in the senior tour.

maneater · 02-17-2007, 01:14 PM

lol, who watches that ...its never tellevised

ACE of Hearts · 02-17-2007, 01:41 PM

Come on, great ones leave the game.I am a Fed fan and i would love to see Fed vs Nadal rise to the ocassion but Nadal hardly makes finals and meet him there.

maneater · 02-17-2007, 02:56 PM

yea, i used to hate clay, but now its one of the most exciting seasons vcos its the only one where federer may lose...dont get me wrong, the guy is incredible...but a little more competition a little less prediction please...all this federer winning aint satisfactioning me...lol (Elvis rulz!)

02-17-2007, 08:17 AM	#2
Nick Irons Semi-Pro Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cape Fear Posts: 577	My sentiments are similiar. I tend to go through up's and down's in terms of 'really being stoked' on tennis. As a child, I remember watching Connors and Mac and Evert and Navratilova and especially being inspired with Connors 1991 U.S. Open run But I have a fondness for the year 1994 (and the U.S. Open) The Top 13 consisted of 5 Americans 1 Sampras, Pete (USA) 2 Agassi, Andre (USA) 3 Becker, Boris (GER) 4 Bruguera, Sergi (ESP) 5 Ivanisevic, Goran (CRO) 6 Chang, Michael (USA) 7 Edberg, Stefan (SWE) 8 Berasategui, Alberto (ESP) 9 Stich, Michael (GER) 10 Martin, Todd (USA) 11 Kafelnikov, Yevgeny (RUS) 12 Ferreira, Wayne (RSA) 13 Courier, Jim (USA) And Agassi won it unseeded. I guess, I am kind of waiting for another surge in my fandom of the pro game. Other great periods for me are Andre's 1999/00 of 3 of 4 Slam Finals, Jennifer Capriati's 2000/01 and anytime we saw a Seles / Graf showdown __________________ Prince Shark Mid Plus - Strong 4.0 Counterpunching Pure Ball-Striking Attacking Baseliner that is not afraid of playing the net. - Spadea ain't afraid of ya'

02-17-2007, 12:03 PM	#3
VGP Legend Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Location: Location Posts: 6,309	I'm missing tennis from then too. I grew up watching tennis in the late-80s early 90s.... Plus, I've got the VHS tape of the 2002 USO final playing as I'm typing this..... Sampras vs. Agassi was a great rivalry. Contrast in playing styles. Contrast in life styles. They played each other as juniors and as pros in finals of grand slams. They married during their playing days and had kids as well. As much as I appreciate Federer and I expect him to surpass Sampras as winning the most GS singles titles, his dominance is, well frankly speaking, getting boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm still taping his matches and enjoying his play, but more for reference than anything else.....just in case some other yet unnamed 16 year old won't come through ten years from now. The media is really hyping up the Federer-Nadal rivalry and it was great last year, but it's cooled of late. Federer-Nadal isn't as interesting to me as Sampras-Agassi or throw in the Chang, Courier, Martin, Becker, Ivanisevic, Edberg, McEnroe, Rafter, etc.....plus the Graf-Seles era on the women's side. Overall, players today are fitter, stronger, hit bigger, miss less, blah, blah, blah......but I think personalities wer bigger and players were hungrier back then. Less willing to settle for second best. Now with all the entourages and big prize money it's obvious that players are settling or conceding to Federer. I'm just waiting for someone to burst the Federer bubble and chip away at his air of invincibility. Sampras struggled more than Federer. I don't care if that means that Federer is "better" than Sampras. It sure was more interesting. I think Sampras has showed how much more fight he has than Federer has had to show to this point. Sampras showed it in success and in defeat. He fought hard but still lost to Yzaga in the '94 USO, fought through tears in the '95 AO qf against Courier, fighting through pain in the '00 Wimbledon final against Rafter, all throughout the '02 USO.....plus many other times. Perhaps Federer's hardships had come earlier and in a more private manner than Sampras'. I'm speaking of the deaths of their respective coaches. Those seemed to focus their games and become champions. Sampras spoke of losing motivation after fighting to be #1 for six years in a row. I just wonder if Federer will continue to fight once his reign at the top comes to an end. Will he be like Connors and McEnroe and continue to fight or will he be like Wilander and drop off the face of the planet? To come back to topic, I too miss the recently retired tennis greats. __________________ "The secret is to find your motivation every single time - your inner motivation - so I always want to improve myself..." - EV

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