If Sampras plays today, where would be ranked ?

tennisaddict · 02-08-2013, 02:40 PM

Everyone will agree Sampras is inferior to the top 4 in terms of all court game. He won most/ all of his majors mainly with his huge serve and S&V game.

If Sampras were to play today, would he be ranked 5th ? Will he be able to beat Ferrer ?

His serve will win him several matches, but given the strong returners we see today, I place him around 8-10 rank.

What do you all think ? what would be his realistic major count ?

I cannot see Prime Sampras beating both Novak and/pr Federer at USO consistently .

No way he gets Australian open with Fed, Nadal and Novak.

Clay, lesser said the better.

His only chances are at Wimbledon, where you would expect Fed to be favoured still when it comes to a final between the two.

I would have to say close to 5 majors just between Wimbledon and USO.

BeHappy · 02-08-2013, 02:41 PM

90's Clay · 02-08-2013, 02:41 PM

If he played today he probably would have an entirely different game and would have kept his two handed-BH so who knows.

tennis_pro · 02-08-2013, 02:43 PM

Sampras would have to change his game completely. That funny backhand would get him nowhere in the current era.

The serve would still be great, volleys as well (but he would use them less frequently for obvious reasons), he would have to cut down on the unforced errors on the forehand (back in the day he would have to hit 1 or 2 great forehands to either win the point outright or get to the net, nowadays he would have to hit 4 or 5 great shots to win the point), the backhand would need massive modyfing, probably change back to the double hander. Movementwise he would do fine but he would have to work out in the gym a lot more often.

Goosehead · 02-08-2013, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisaddict

Everyone will agree Sampras is inferior to the top 4 in terms of all court game. He won most/ all of his majors mainly with his huge serve and S&V game.

If Sampras were to play today, would he be ranked 5th ? Will he be able to beat Ferrer ?

His serve will win him several matches, but given the strong returners we see today, I place him around 8-10 rank.

What do you all think ?

SAMPRAS RETIRED 11YRS AGO.

this thread should be in the former players section

marc45 · 02-08-2013, 03:07 PM

"inferior to the top four in terms of all court game"

yeah, that pretty much ends any rational discussion there...i think everyone agrees with that

DropShotArtist · 02-08-2013, 03:27 PM

Sampras from the 90s wouldn't even be top 10 today.

NatF · 02-08-2013, 03:28 PM

Damn Sampras is underrated here...lol at Gasquet and Tipsarevic being ranked above freaking Pete Sampras.

Bobby Jr · 02-08-2013, 03:36 PM

I know people love to pay out Sampras' backhand but he would be a nightmare on return with that backhand. He was so good at blocking back big first serves and rushing the net. Whoever he faced in this day and age would need to be on their toes much more than usual - something many wouldn't be able to do imo - Having Sampras inside the service line before you're hitting your next stroke after the serve would put a lot of players off their game - finding a rhythm against him as most top players today thrive on could be a hard ask. Many would find themselves down 4-0 before they found a groove and, against Sampras, that means the set would be all-but gone.

His overall consistency wouldn't compare to today's playing styles but he wouldn't be the pushover some claim he would.

BevelDevil · 02-08-2013, 03:53 PM

I think he has an edge on Tsonga and Del Potro. And has a shot at Wimbledon. Not bad.

Also, keep in mind he would probably use a bigger racket and poly strings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goosehead

SAMPRAS RETIRED 11YRS AGO.

this thread should be in the former players section

OP could just rephrase to: "How would today's pros field fair against Sampras?"

papertank · 02-08-2013, 03:57 PM

If Sampras played in today's era I would picture him as Tsonga with the serve of Isner/Raonic. This being the case, I see him as a clear #5, but still loses to the top 4 most of the time because of their amazing defensive skills.

THE FIGHTER · 02-08-2013, 04:16 PM

Nadal has solely changed the way the game is played in in the last 5 years. so much so that it's incomparable to what sampras faced in the '90s. sampras would be lucky to be in the top 15. maybe, top 10 if his mentality is still as strong as before after receiving the inevitable losses in this era riddled with supreme defensive baseliners.

90's Clay · 02-08-2013, 04:17 PM

Sampras wouldn't adopt the same style as he did in the 90s.. Bottom line.. Its a moot point.. If they didn't slow everything down, Federer might still be a more error prone, attacking type player like he was pre 2004 and wouldn't be as consistent.

Its a moot point

TTMR · 02-08-2013, 04:23 PM

Pure hilarity.

If Sampras had been born in the mid to late 80s he would have never discarded the two-hander. He was an awesome, strong athlete and phenomenal mover. He'd have no trouble competing with players today. His development would have been different, yes, but he would easily be in the mix with Djokovic, Nadal and post-prime Federer.

Picture prime Roddick but with better speed, volleys and tactics. If that is not a fearsome player, I don't know what is.

THE FIGHTER · 02-08-2013, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Sampras wouldn't adopt the same style as he did in the 90s.. Bottom line.. Its a moot point.. If they didn't slow everything down, Federer might still be a more error prone, attacking type player like he was pre 2004 and wouldn't be as consistent.

Its a moot point

your selling federer's game short. his rise wasn't solely due to the slowing of the courts. much like his fall want solely due to the further slowing of the courts. you give a good assessment of pete's headstrong mentality though. i dont see him changing his style. but changing his style would be his only shot in this era. he either needs to become more proficient defensively to round himself out, or become more aggressive from the baseline and learn to hit through the court.

THE FIGHTER · 02-08-2013, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TTMR

Pure hilarity.

If Sampras had been born in the mid to late 80s he would have never discarded the two-hander. He was an awesome, strong athlete and phenomenal mover. He'd have no trouble competing with players today. His development would have been different, yes, but he would easily be in the mix with Djokovic, Nadal and post-prime Federer.

Picture prime Roddick but with better speed, volleys and tactics. If that is not a fearsome player, I don't know what is.

he would still need to develop something from the baseline though. it's such a baseline dependent game now. i feel like his running forehand would get eaten up by djokovic.

90's Clay · 02-08-2013, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE FIGHTER

your selling federer's game short. his rise wasn't solely due to the slowing of the courts. much like his fall want solely due to the further slowing of the courts. you give a good assessment of pete's headstrong mentality though. i dont see him changing his style. but changing his style would be his only shot in this era. he either needs to become more proficient defensively to round himself out, or become more aggressive from the baseline and learn to hit through the court.

Fed became more consistent because he developed a safer, lower risk baseline game. When you are an attacker, big hitter, net rusher you a player more error prone high risk game which results in more errors, and more upsets etc.

Under faster conditions, there really was NO WAY to be a consistent baseliner and see year round success such as the 90s for instance

NatF · 02-08-2013, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 90's Clay

Sampras wouldn't adopt the same style as he did in the 90s.. Bottom line.. Its a moot point.. If they didn't slow everything down, Federer might still be a more error prone, attacking type player like he was pre 2004 and wouldn't be as consistent.

Its a moot point

What a joke of a post. Yes Federer's dominance was slowly the result of all the courts on tour slowing down at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004...Federer was pretty aggressive all throughout his prime years. If you hadn't noticed out of the current top 4 guys Federer is the one who enjoys faster conditions the most. Was the US Open slower in 04 compared to the early 00's where Sampras made 3 straight finals? Did they slow the AO down that year too?

You're so full of crap.

fed_rulz · 02-08-2013, 04:37 PM

the clowns who are quick to announce that "Pete would play a different game if he played today" don't give the same courtesy to Nadal or Djoker or anyone else from this era and make stupid claims like "Pete would crush Nadal on 90s grass.."

Sards are the worst hypocrites in this forum.

BauerAlmeida · 02-08-2013, 04:38 PM

It's impossible to know. With his 90's game he wouldn't be so succesfull in this courts. So I say he would be ranked 5.

But he would play completely different than he did.

02-08-2013, 02:40 PM	#1
tennisaddict Professional Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 994	If Sampras plays today, where would be ranked ? Everyone will agree Sampras is inferior to the top 4 in terms of all court game. He won most/ all of his majors mainly with his huge serve and S&V game. If Sampras were to play today, would he be ranked 5th ? Will he be able to beat Ferrer ? His serve will win him several matches, but given the strong returners we see today, I place him around 8-10 rank. What do you all think ? what would be his realistic major count ? I cannot see Prime Sampras beating both Novak and/pr Federer at USO consistently . No way he gets Australian open with Fed, Nadal and Novak. Clay, lesser said the better. His only chances are at Wimbledon, where you would expect Fed to be favoured still when it comes to a final between the two. I would have to say close to 5 majors just between Wimbledon and USO. Last edited by tennisaddict : 02-08-2013 at 06:03 PM.

02-08-2013, 02:41 PM	#2
BeHappy Hall Of Fame Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 4,444	__________________ shazaam!!!

02-08-2013, 02:43 PM	#4
tennis_pro G.O.A.T. Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 11,716	Sampras would have to change his game completely. That funny backhand would get him nowhere in the current era. The serve would still be great, volleys as well (but he would use them less frequently for obvious reasons), he would have to cut down on the unforced errors on the forehand (back in the day he would have to hit 1 or 2 great forehands to either win the point outright or get to the net, nowadays he would have to hit 4 or 5 great shots to win the point), the backhand would need massive modyfing, probably change back to the double hander. Movementwise he would do fine but he would have to work out in the gym a lot more often. __________________ "By the Nalbandian logic, I could beat Federer when I'm "in form". Nalbandian is only a threat to linesmen." - pvaudio Last edited by tennis_pro : 02-08-2013 at 02:49 PM.

02-08-2013, 03:36 PM	#9
Bobby Jr Hall Of Fame Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 4,537	I know people love to pay out Sampras' backhand but he would be a nightmare on return with that backhand. He was so good at blocking back big first serves and rushing the net. Whoever he faced in this day and age would need to be on their toes much more than usual - something many wouldn't be able to do imo - Having Sampras inside the service line before you're hitting your next stroke after the serve would put a lot of players off their game - finding a rhythm against him as most top players today thrive on could be a hard ask. Many would find themselves down 4-0 before they found a groove and, against Sampras, that means the set would be all-but gone. His overall consistency wouldn't compare to today's playing styles but he wouldn't be the pushover some claim he would. __________________ Original Pro Staff 85, leaded to 370g, hybrid poly/syn gut set-up, 48-52-ish lbs. Last edited by Bobby Jr : 02-08-2013 at 03:39 PM.

02-08-2013, 03:57 PM	#11
papertank Professional Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 815	If Sampras played in today's era I would picture him as Tsonga with the serve of Isner/Raonic. This being the case, I see him as a clear #5, but still loses to the top 4 most of the time because of their amazing defensive skills. __________________ Federer in 2