TripleATeam
G.O.A.T.
I've noticed several things that are very close between Sampras and Djokovic, as the title says.
Similarities:
Sampras won his first Grand Slam in 1990- the US Open. 11 slams later, he breaks through to win his second.
Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in 2008- the Australian Open. 12 slams later, he wins his second.
Sampras won 9 slams between 1993 and 1997, winning 2 every year but 1996.
Djokovic won 9 slams between 2011 and 2015, winning 3 in 2011 and 2015, but only 1 in 2012-2014.
Sampras won 7 titles at Wimbledon, only missing 1 from 1993-2000.
Djokovic won 6 titles at the Australian Open so far, missing only 1 from 2011-2016, but 3 from 2008-2016.
Differences:
Djokovic won a French Open. Sampras did not.
Sampras has a second-favorite slam- the US Open, where he won 5 titles. Djokovic's second most favorite is Wimbledon, where he has 3 titles.
Wildcards: Djokovic has Nadal, Federer, and Murray during his time, Sampras had Agassi, Courier, and Edberg. How well these contemporaries did at certain points in their careers also affected Sampras' and Djokovic's own careers.
Beyond this point is pure conjecture- and even I don't believe it. But if were to say that Djokovic and Sampras are similar enough in their track records until this point, perhaps we can predict Djokovic's future based on Sampras' past.
If we take Sampras' we equate Djokovic's 2008 to Sampras' 1990 and equate Pete's run until 2000 with Djokovic's until 2018, we should expect to see Djokovic winning only 1 slam a year every year (in his favorite slam, no less) beyond 2015 until 2018, at which point he will mount a comeback and win 1 more slam in 2020.
However, Djokovic has won 2 slams in 2016. This could be a slight deviance from the trend, or it could be Djokovic saying that everything I've predicted is wrong.
Thoughts?
Similarities:
Sampras won his first Grand Slam in 1990- the US Open. 11 slams later, he breaks through to win his second.
Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in 2008- the Australian Open. 12 slams later, he wins his second.
Sampras won 9 slams between 1993 and 1997, winning 2 every year but 1996.
Djokovic won 9 slams between 2011 and 2015, winning 3 in 2011 and 2015, but only 1 in 2012-2014.
Sampras won 7 titles at Wimbledon, only missing 1 from 1993-2000.
Djokovic won 6 titles at the Australian Open so far, missing only 1 from 2011-2016, but 3 from 2008-2016.
Differences:
Djokovic won a French Open. Sampras did not.
Sampras has a second-favorite slam- the US Open, where he won 5 titles. Djokovic's second most favorite is Wimbledon, where he has 3 titles.
Wildcards: Djokovic has Nadal, Federer, and Murray during his time, Sampras had Agassi, Courier, and Edberg. How well these contemporaries did at certain points in their careers also affected Sampras' and Djokovic's own careers.
Beyond this point is pure conjecture- and even I don't believe it. But if were to say that Djokovic and Sampras are similar enough in their track records until this point, perhaps we can predict Djokovic's future based on Sampras' past.
If we take Sampras' we equate Djokovic's 2008 to Sampras' 1990 and equate Pete's run until 2000 with Djokovic's until 2018, we should expect to see Djokovic winning only 1 slam a year every year (in his favorite slam, no less) beyond 2015 until 2018, at which point he will mount a comeback and win 1 more slam in 2020.
However, Djokovic has won 2 slams in 2016. This could be a slight deviance from the trend, or it could be Djokovic saying that everything I've predicted is wrong.
Thoughts?