Pete Sampras-roger Federer Comparison-in Perspective

[psamp14]

i know this has probably been posted here before, but i will post it again

i know roger federer is great, he is on a record setting pace, and is now 1 slam ahead of pete sampras if you compare their respective careers

however i think federer, because of his cool looks and personality, also gets quite a bit of hype, as the players do today than say 10 years ago

this site compares the two players' respective careers as they are simply 10 years apart, and i just feel that pete sampras does not get the respect he deserves

i mean as good as roger federer is, you would say ok, he's got 45 titles...and he is only 25 years old...sampras retired with 64 titles...so its a no brainer that federer will crush that record, right? well he may, but sampras at the end of 1996, which is like the same as federer at the end of 2006 because both are 25, both are at the same point in their respective careers........anyways sampras at the end of 1996 had 44 titles

so from 1997 to 2002, he won only 20 titles...0 titles from 2000 till the 2002 us open

sampras did slow down a lot...but who is to say that federer will not slow down as well?

in all honesty i would actually like to see federer shatter records, because it would make history, and i would be able to see that history in my lifetime...but at the same time, you have to remember just how GREAT, the great PISTOL PETE SAMPRAS was...

i mean federer got called the "greatest ever" at the end of 2004...with just 4 slams...sampras was ahead pace-wise of federer until basically this year

end of 2005, federer had 6 slams...end of 1995, sampras had 7, after a very emotional year as well with the death of his coach

federer you will say is destined to be the greatest ever...but there are so many distinctive similarities between the two you just cannot ignore them, and cannot just say federer is way better than sampras

they both wield and wielded wilson racquets, both wore nike apparel, both are about the same height and weight, both have similar smooth, fluid and long-lasting playing styles

basically, roger federer is the modern day pete sampras, or slightly better...he has claimed the GOAT status in many young minds today and very well might go on to become that GOAT in tennis history

but i just think, not to anyone specifically, but in general, to not just push pete sampras aside,...not because i am a pete sampras fan, but because his name to the game cannot be altered

oh, btw, here's the site: http://www.tennis28.com/studies/Federer_Sampras.html

 

[Robbie_1988]

Wow those are pretty freaky similarities/comparisons there. Thanks for the site.

 

[ACE of Hearts]

U make a good point but remember one thing, Pete was great but he didnt care about the other tournaments, he only took the GSs serious.Thats the difference.Roger likes winning these small tournaments.I think thats a reason.

 

[psamp14]

ace of hearts, yes pete did put much more emphasis on the slams, but how can he not care as much about the smaller tournaments when they both have almost identical number of titles after 1996/2006?

45 to federer, 44 to sampras

maybe federer does like winning all the small tournaments he does..like basel for sure, and he'd like to win dubai next year like he's done like 1-2 times already

 

[roysid]

Points to consider:

1) They are almost equal at the end of 25th year (2006/1996) with Federer slightly ahead. 9 to 8 GS after playing the same no. i.e 30. No. of titles is 45 to 44 but playing less matches (608 to 641) which means playing less tournaments.

2) Pete started clicking early. He won first GS in 1990(US Open). Reached Finals and Semi Finals in 1992. Roger won first GS in 2003. That was also the first time he crossed QF in GS.

Pete won 4 titles in 1990, another 4 in 1991 (including Masters), another 5 in 1992. Roger won 1 title in 2001 and 3 titles in 2002.

The point is from 2003-2006 Roger's performance is unmatched. He has covered up all the earlier bad results and is now matching with Sampras(at 1996). Whom to give more credit, Roger or Sampras. I'll leave it to you

2) The deciding factor would be what happens next. Pete won only 20 titles from 1997-2002 (among them 8 in 1997 itself). He won 6 GS.
If Roger continues good, he will far surpass Pete. If he is unable to keep up, he will lag behind.

 

[dysonlu]

Points to consider:

1) They are almost equal at the end of 25th year (2006/1996) with Federer slightly ahead. 9 to 8 GS after playing the same no. i.e 30. No. of titles is 45 to 44 but playing less matches (608 to 641) which means playing less tournaments.

2) Pete started clicking early. He won first GS in 1990(US Open). Reached Finals and Semi Finals in 1992. Roger won first GS in 2003. That was also the first time he crossed QF in GS.

Pete won 4 titles in 1990, another 4 in 1991 (including Masters), another 5 in 1992. Roger won 1 title in 2001 and 3 titles in 2002.

The point is from 2003-2006 Roger's performance is unmatched. He has covered up all the earlier bad results and is now matching with Sampras(at 1996). Whom to give more credit, Roger or Sampras. I'll leave it to you

2) The deciding factor would be what happens next. Pete won only 20 titles from 1997-2002 (among them 8 in 1997 itself). He won 6 GS.
If Roger continues good, he will far surpass Pete. If he is unable to keep up, he will lag behind.

Good points. I was going to say Federer was a relatively late bloomer. But he managed to catch up in terms of number of titles in the last 3-4 years.

Albeit, comparing numbers is probably the only objective method comparing two athletes, I must say that in terms intangibles such the beauty of one's game and ability with the racquet, Federer is second to none.

 

[BaseLineBash]

All I have to say is Wimby '07...hehe

 

[roysid]

i know this has probably been posted here before, but i will post it again

i know roger federer is great, he is on a record setting pace, and is now 1 slam ahead of pete sampras if you compare their respective careers

however i think federer, because of his cool looks and personality, also gets quite a bit of hype, as the players do today than say 10 years ago

this site compares the two players' respective careers as they are simply 10 years apart, and i just feel that pete sampras does not get the respect he deserves

i mean as good as roger federer is, you would say ok, he's got 45 titles...and he is only 25 years old...sampras retired with 64 titles...so its a no brainer that federer will crush that record, right? well he may, but sampras at the end of 1996, which is like the same as federer at the end of 2006 because both are 25, both are at the same point in their respective careers........anyways sampras at the end of 1996 had 44 titles

so from 1997 to 2002, he won only 20 titles...0 titles from 2000 till the 2002 us open

sampras did slow down a lot...but who is to say that federer will not slow down as well?

in all honesty i would actually like to see federer shatter records, because it would make history, and i would be able to see that history in my lifetime...but at the same time, you have to remember just how GREAT, the great PISTOL PETE SAMPRAS was...

i mean federer got called the "greatest ever" at the end of 2004...with just 4 slams...sampras was ahead pace-wise of federer until basically this year

end of 2005, federer had 6 slams...end of 1995, sampras had 7, after a very emotional year as well with the death of his coach

federer you will say is destined to be the greatest ever...but there are so many distinctive similarities between the two you just cannot ignore them, and cannot just say federer is way better than sampras

they both wield and wielded wilson racquets, both wore nike apparel, both are about the same height and weight, both have similar smooth, fluid and long-lasting playing styles

basically, roger federer is the modern day pete sampras, or slightly better...he has claimed the GOAT status in many young minds today and very well might go on to become that GOAT in tennis history

but i just think, not to anyone specifically, but in general, to not just push pete sampras aside,...not because i am a pete sampras fan, but because his name to the game cannot be altered

oh, btw, here's the site: http://www.tennis28.com/studies/Federer_Sampras.html

The reason behind the great hype of Federer is that he achieved a lot more in the last 3 years. Sampras never had such phenomenal dominance throughout the year.