Agassi on Sampras and Federer

[ATPballkid]

"Pete was great, no question. But there was a place to get to with Pete, you knew what you had to do. If you could do it, it could be on your terms. There's no such place like that with Roger", Agassi concluded.

Of course, Federer is told this, and even he is stunned. "Agassi saying that I'm better than Sampras, I'm little surprised", said Federer. "But, he says what he thinks is right. I don't think he would be lying in here."

This means more to Federer than you think. In his interview he talks about playing not just people on court, but in the history books. That people is mostly Pete, and he articulates it. No disrespect is meant to Agassi, but Federer says: "For me, I've always looked much more up to Sampras than to Agassi ... For me, Sampras' career is quite extraordinary."

 

[AJK1]

Well Agassi should know. I'll take his word for it

 

[oberyn]

Well Agassi should know. I'll take his word for it

Mixing my sports up here, but it reminds me a little bit of when they ask a boxer to compare two fighters who both beat him up. They're always a lot more polite about answering the question than I'd probably be.

 

[quest01]

Agassi would be the perfect person to ask in determining who is better. He has played both Federer and Sampras in there prime so if Agassi says Federer is better then id believe it. Personally i do think Federer is more talented. Sampras may have more slams but he wont when its all said and done with Federer. Federer will be the best ever, that is without a doubt.

 

[deluxe]

Baseliner

Federer is a better baseliner than Agassi, and Agassi doesn't have another gameplan but bang away from the baseline. Agassi feels he can beat Pete from the baseline, so he always had a hope that if he could just return serve well enough, there was a chance.

 

[quest01]

Federer is a better baseliner than Agassi, and Agassi doesn't have another gameplan but bang away from the baseline. Agassi feels he can beat Pete from the baseline, so he always had a hope that if he could just return serve well enough, there was a chance.

Federer is a better baseliner then Agassi and Sampras but Agassi is a better baseliner then Sampras.

 

[Wondertoy]

Agassi was past his prime when he played Federer. And as Deluxe said, Federer is a much better baseliner than Agassi so there is no hope for Agassi. Borg beat Vilas 17-5 although they had very similair games.

 

[Feña14]

Agassi would be the perfect person to ask in determining who is better. He has played both Federer and Sampras in there prime so if Agassi says Federer is better then id believe it. Personally i do think Federer is more talented. Sampras may have more slams but he wont when its all said and done with Federer. Federer will be the best ever, that is without a doubt.

Yeh that's pretty much on the money. Agassi is probably the only one who can determine who is the better of the two at the moment, it would of been easier for Andre to say Pete was better after losing to him in alot of important situations back when they were both the top dogs.

To say there is someone even better than his destroyer on many occasions would be pretty hard for Agassi to admit. I am taking his word on this one. If Rogers confidence could possibly get any greater.. it just did

 

[superman1]

No one is a much better baseliner than Agassi. Federer is a slightly better baseliner than Agassi, and that's only because he moves better. Agassi has a better forehand/backhand combo than Federer or anyone else.

Obviously Federer is a better player than Sampras. It's quite evident. Sampras at his best was untouchable, but Sampras wasn't always at his best.

 

[BigboyDan]

Agassi, in his prime, was a much better baseliner than Federer is now, are you kidding?!?!?!

 

[Mick]

federer is probably a better player than sampras was but sampras had a better net game. federer seems to prefer playing from the backcourt, unless he is pushed.

 

[superman1]

Agassi, in his prime, was a much better baseliner than Federer is now, are you kidding?!?!?!

If you knew how to read English properly, you'd know that I never said that. Agassi even at his prime did not move like Federer, so no, he was not a better baseliner than Federer even back then, but he was pretty damn close.

 

[laurie]

"Pete was great, no question. But there was a place to get to with Pete, you knew what you had to do. If you could do it, it could be on your terms. There's no such place like that with Roger", Agassi concluded.

Of course, Federer is told this, and even he is stunned. "Agassi saying that I'm better than Sampras, I'm little surprised", said Federer. "But, he says what he thinks is right. I don't think he would be lying in here."

This means more to Federer than you think. In his interview he talks about playing not just people on court, but in the history books. That people is mostly Pete, and he articulates it. No disrespect is meant to Agassi, but Federer says: "For me, I've always looked much more up to Sampras than to Agassi ... For me, Sampras' career is quite extraordinary."

What's the point bringing up a quote that's over 12 months old?

 

[deluxe]

Sampras at his best was untouchable, but Sampras wasn't always at his best.

Nor is Federer. I seem to recall him getting beaten by Murray recently. And against Nadal at the FO? 9 backhand winners/forced errors against 35 unforced errors?

Mr. Yandell wrote: "Those are the most lopsided numbers for a single stroke I have ever charted in a pro match. In fact Federer's backhand numbers for this match were lower most all of the junior players I've charted, and that's included some matches that, shall we say, were not played at the highest of levels."

 

[BluBarry]

Agassi was past his prime when he played Federer. And as Deluxe said, Federer is a much better baseliner than Agassi so there is no hope for Agassi. Borg beat Vilas 17-5 although they had very similair games.

For what it's worth, I agree with your statement about Agassi's level at the time he finally started playing Roger. Within the past couple of years, both Roger and Nadal can easily be considered better baseliners than Andre.

BUT .. when the dust settles as much as I love Agassi and everything he stands for, Pete Sampras' A-Game was better than Andre's A-Game. I've seen it time and again in matches of the most important.

Andre states that there was a place you could get to with Pete. Problem is, Pete never let you get there when he was on his game. I'm certain there is a place you can get to with Roger but no one on the Hard/Grass Courts have found it yet.

 

[kaiotic]

Agassi, in his prime, was a much better baseliner than Federer is now, are you kidding?!?!?!

drink a beer to that. seriously, i can;t think of anyone else who hits the ball as unreservedly as Agassi.

 

[tennis_hand]

Sampras serve and volley is definitely the best, and better than Federer's.
Federer is a all-rounder, and his other skills are better than Sampras', probably in exception of the "running forehand". Federer seldom shows his running forehand, because he can move to position so fast.

Federer's serve and volley is certainly not as good as Sampras', but good enough to beat the guys currently on tour. Sampras just hammered everyone on the head using his punishing serves.

 

[stormholloway]

I don't think Sampras' A game was better than Andre's, and especially not on slower surfaces. Pete just wasn't as formidable on the slower court.

Andre took Roger to 5 sets two years ago at the open, well past Andre's prime. Andre could hang with Roger from the back. There's no question.

 

[superman1]

Federer just had an extra zip to his game that allowed him to beat Andre. But Agassi was with him every step of the way. Some of the best baseline rallies you'll see were between those two. The two best baseliners ever. Federer's insane movement allows him to be more of an all-court player; unlike Agassi, he can play defense with the best of them (just run around and slice it back and get back into position...so hard to pass), and he can finish points at net easily. He also has the advantage of a better serve. But Agassi could still punish him from the back court. Most of their matches were very tight. Their two US Open matches and their match in the '05 Miami semis stand out for me.

If we could see '95 or '99 Agassi vs Federer...wow. That would be something.

 

[laurie]

Now that Agassi is retired and one day may have the guts to have a look at a couple of Sampras Agassi matchups on DVD, do you think he might change his assessment?

After all, Sampras said how McEnroe was commenting that people forget how great Sampras was when they were showing a rerun of the 02 US OPen final during a rain delay in America? Sampras was very pleased to hear that.