Hitman
Bionic Poster
In 1998 Sampras prioritized completing his six year pursuit of not only having the most year ending number ones, but also breaking the record for the most consecutive year ending number ones.
Pete was on 11 slams, he was one slam away from catching Emerson and tying the all time grand slam record, in the fall of 1998, however back then, the GOAT wasn't just about who had the most slams.
Back in the 80s, when people discussed who should be the greatest, several players were given arguments. The player with most slams, Emerson, the player with the most weeks at number one, Lendl, the player with the most year ending number ones, Connors, and even the player with the most slams in the open era, Borg. When Sampras emerged he very openly said that he was going to end the debate for who is the GOAT, because he was going for all three records with equal passion....and so began the Sampras era.
In 1998, he was one slam away from the slam record, but post USO 98 he chose to play as much as possible in an already exhausting long season, and this after picking up a slight injury at the USO, to ensure he got that record breaking sixth world number one ranking. He knew with the amount he was putting in, he was sacrificing his chances to win AO 99, and tying Emerson...he however felt that the six year ending number ones was far more important for his legacy....basically saying that tennis is more than just about slams.
He broke the record, and due to exhaustion, he sacrificed a very strong chance to win AO 99. Later of course, he does equal Emerson at W 99, and ultimately breaks the record, but he knew what that record meant for him.
A slightly recent example that often goes by unnoticed was Nadal's pursuit of the number one ranking in 2007. Federer, unlike the previous years, where he had locked in the top spot for the rest of the year, didn't lock in the number one ranking for 2007 until Basel, very deep into the season. Nadal in the pursuit of gaining points, after a brutal campaign on the clay and grass, instead of deciding to rest his knees like others, went immediately back to play on Stuttgart on the clay to win it and catch Federer up....the mileage ultimately caught up with him, when he collapsed to the ground during his 4th round match against Ferrer in USO holding his knees. Instead of resting and trying to get a very deep run at USO, he put in extra mileage for the number one ranking, which ultimately hurt him, Nadal, was unable to make up the ground and had to wait another year to get the number one ranking.
Pete was on 11 slams, he was one slam away from catching Emerson and tying the all time grand slam record, in the fall of 1998, however back then, the GOAT wasn't just about who had the most slams.
Back in the 80s, when people discussed who should be the greatest, several players were given arguments. The player with most slams, Emerson, the player with the most weeks at number one, Lendl, the player with the most year ending number ones, Connors, and even the player with the most slams in the open era, Borg. When Sampras emerged he very openly said that he was going to end the debate for who is the GOAT, because he was going for all three records with equal passion....and so began the Sampras era.
In 1998, he was one slam away from the slam record, but post USO 98 he chose to play as much as possible in an already exhausting long season, and this after picking up a slight injury at the USO, to ensure he got that record breaking sixth world number one ranking. He knew with the amount he was putting in, he was sacrificing his chances to win AO 99, and tying Emerson...he however felt that the six year ending number ones was far more important for his legacy....basically saying that tennis is more than just about slams.
He broke the record, and due to exhaustion, he sacrificed a very strong chance to win AO 99. Later of course, he does equal Emerson at W 99, and ultimately breaks the record, but he knew what that record meant for him.
A slightly recent example that often goes by unnoticed was Nadal's pursuit of the number one ranking in 2007. Federer, unlike the previous years, where he had locked in the top spot for the rest of the year, didn't lock in the number one ranking for 2007 until Basel, very deep into the season. Nadal in the pursuit of gaining points, after a brutal campaign on the clay and grass, instead of deciding to rest his knees like others, went immediately back to play on Stuttgart on the clay to win it and catch Federer up....the mileage ultimately caught up with him, when he collapsed to the ground during his 4th round match against Ferrer in USO holding his knees. Instead of resting and trying to get a very deep run at USO, he put in extra mileage for the number one ranking, which ultimately hurt him, Nadal, was unable to make up the ground and had to wait another year to get the number one ranking.
