2008 Nadal vs 1998 Sampras on 2008 grass: who wins?

[JennyS]

Poll is up.

BTW here is how they performed in those events:

R128 Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) 46 W 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
R64 Mikael Tillstrom (SWE) N/A W 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4)
R32 Thomas Enqvist (SWE) 17 W 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(3)
R16 Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) 117 W 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Q Mark Philippoussis (AUS) 28 W 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4
S Tim Henman (GBR) 18 W 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
W Goran Ivanisevic (CRO) 25 W 6-7(2), 7-6(9), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

Nadal:
R128 Andreas Beck (GER) 122 W 6-4, 6-4, 7-6
R64 Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 48 W 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-3
R32 Nicolas Kiefer (GER) 32 W 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3
R16 Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 17 W 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Q Andy Murray (GBR) 11 W 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
S Rainer Schuettler (GER) 94 W 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-4
W Roger Federer (SUI) 1 W 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7

 

[AndyArodRoddick]

Because its slower, i can see Nadal getting some Pete's volleys back..so it's a tough one to compare Nadal and Pete at their prime, but i will go with Nadal in 5.

 

[TMF]

1998 wasn't Pete's best performance, and rafa was playing his best which he will never duplicate it again. Also the current grass is slow, high bounce that favors baseliners. So I have to go with rafa.

 

[Anaconda]

Pete Sampras will beat Nadal on any grasscourt. Whether it is slow,medium or fast.

 

[mtr1]

Sampras. One of the greatest serve & volleyers, playing at Wimbledon against a baseliner? I don't think the speed of the grass would affect Pete too much if the serve is working well, Nadal's return would not be good enough to break the Sampras serve 3-4 times in the match.

 

[President of Serve/Volley]

Grass is all about holding serve, and Pete does that better than anybody...

Pete wins, Nadal doesn't not return as good as Pete.

 

[coloskier]

One big factor affecting this is: Is this on 1998 grass or 2008 grass? On faster 1998 grass, Pete wins in straight sets. Nadal never sees his serve, let alone returns it. On 2008 grass it goes 5 sets and the win could go either way. Also something that changes the variables... Is this with 1998 equipment (rackets) or 2008 equipment? 1998 balls (which were a lot faster and bounced lower) or 2008 balls? Since Nadal uses Duralast string, which was available in 1998, string is not a factor. I am also assuming that you are comparing the fitness of Sampras at 1998 skill level vs Nadal at 2008 skill level.

One quick question? When is the last time Nadal has faced a big server (Roddick, Soderling, Karlovic) at Wimbledon? I don't consider Fed a big server, although he is accurate. I don't think he has ever faced one.

 

[mtr1]

Another thing against Nadal is that he has never had someone of the quality of Sampras coming in point after point after point, regardless of whether he gets passed or not. Even if he gets some serves back into play, Nadal won't be able to sustain the level of passing shots needed to beat Sampras at the net.

 

[LiveForever]

Incomparable.

 

[NamRanger]

I think Sampras on both types of grasses, although Nadal stands a significant chance of winning on the new grass.

 

[World Beater]

federer is better than all the player but together in 1998.

sampras was not that impressive going 5 sets against goran.

 

[Dark Victory]

Sampras would beat Nadal in 1998 grass (decisively) and 2008 grass (a little closer).

In fact, looking at the draw, I wouldn't be confident in picking Rafa to beat Flipper and Henman in 1998 grass, and it wouldn't be a gimmer either for Nadal if he played the younger versions of both even in 2008 grass.

 

[kishnabe]

If I had to say sampras in 4: 7-6(6),7-5,3-6,6-3