Love, Balls and Courting: Tennis V

[allezfred]

Even though I could take him or leave him as a person, there is no denying his athletic ability and that he should now be considered the greatest male tennis player of all time.

 

[Cachoo]

Even though I could take him or leave him as a person, there is no denying his athletic ability and that he should now be considered the greatest male tennis player of all time.

Certainly by wins but with the eye test it is hard to go against Roger in his prime. His play was beautiful to behold.

 

[tony]

Certainly by wins but with the eye test it is hard to go against Roger in his prime. His play was beautiful to behold.

Yes it may have been beautiful, but even while Roger was still in his prime, Djokovic was pretty much breaking even with him in head-to-head. Overall it's 27-23 Djokovic winning 6 of their last 7 meetings.

And who knows how much more Novak has in him. Certainly he can make a run at Flushing Meadows.

 

[allezfred]

Certainly by wins but with the eye test it is hard to go against Roger in his prime. His play was beautiful to behold.

I am a big Federer fan, but this is tennis. Doesn’t matter how beautiful your backhand is if you haven’t won the most Grand Slams innit.

 

[Cachoo]

I suppose so….

 

[nylynnr]

Nadal GOAT on clay, Sampras GOAT on grass, Fed GOAT on hardcourt. Djokovic 2nd best on all surfaces and GOAT overall.

 

[Desperado]

Canadian Milos Raonic making a return at the Libéma Open after 2yrs, looking in fantastic physical and mental form, beating the tournament’s 5th seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4.

 

[jlai]

I am a big Federer fan, but this is tennis. Doesn’t matter how beautiful your backhand is if you haven’t won the most Grand Slams innit.

He did...until he didn't.

Someone will come along and break Novak's record, just not tomorrow, or may be not for years.

 

[caseyedwards]

Canadian Milos Raonic making a return at the Libéma Open after 2yrs, looking in fantastic physical and mental form, beating the tournament’s 5th seed Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4.

I was watching this. There were 15 aces and 7 double faults. So the serve was very strong but not totally Wimbledon final level

 

[jlai]

So I did a quick search of the history of male grand slam winners.

Tilden had the most slams at 10 for decades. Then Roy Emerson broke the record in the 60s and had the most grand slams at 12 for decades until Sampras broke it in 2000 at 13 (he finished at 14). He was considered the greatest until Federer broke his record 9 years later at 15 slams, then he held the most grand slams for 13 years, until Nadal broke it last year. his record held for only one year and now Novak broke it. Of course we will see how many more those two bring. So who knows how long these records hold? May be decades or maybe only years

 

[SidelineSkater]

It's been hard for the last 15-20 years for anyone to break through the big 3 (or 4 if you want to include Murray), to start their GS win lists. So I think it would have to be one of the younger players or someone not even on tour yet to start winning to challenge the current record.

 

[skipaway]

Sally Jenkins Article about Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova

 

[sk9tingfan]

Nick Kyrgios is out of Wimbledon!

https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1675612556453453824

https://twitter.com/Olly_Tennis_/status/1675610553945825283

 

[Seerek]

Sally Jenkins Article about Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova

This article will undoubtedly win journalism awards regardless of subject (should the Washington Post submit it).

 

[allezfred]

Sampras broke it in 2000 at 13 (he finished at 14). He was considered the greatest

The only thing Sampras was considered the greatest at was boring people with his game.

 

[jlai]

Boring or not, he held the record for 9 years. His record was so short lived. In a decade, everyone was all about Federer.
Federer's record lasted 13 years. If Nadal never passes Novak again, then Nadal only has the record for a year.

 

[caseyedwards]

Nick Kyrgios is out of Wimbledon!

https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1675612556453453824

https://twitter.com/Olly_Tennis_/status/1675610553945825283

Too bad! Waiting to see who is picked to replace him from the losers in qualifying.

 

[allezfred]

Boring or not, he held the record for 9 years.

The boring thing really wasn’t a question. He was the Zoueva (circa 2010-2014) of tennis.

Outside of the US, Sampras was never a star draw the way Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have been for tennis worldwide. It really has been a golden era of men’s tennis.

 

[jlai]

I doubt anyone prior can compete with the big three in much of anything

 

[caseyedwards]

Sally Jenkins Article about Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova

Fantastic article!!!!!!! I would buy a book version of this!! So rich with character and history and drama and realism and emotion!!!!!!!

 

[airgelaal]

The only thing Sampras was considered the greatest at was boring people with his game.

As a fan of Pete, I don't understand how his game could seem boring.

 

[Sylvia]

"Lucky Loser" (think he replaced Kyrgios?) USA's Michael Mmoh upset 11th seeded Canada's Felix Auger Aliassime at Wimbledon just now!

ETA: Hungary's Fabian Marozsan replaced Kyrgios. FAA is returning from injury:

Felix Auger Aliassime My Wimbledon 2023 | ATP Tour | Tennis

Felix Auger-Aliassime talks about coming into Wimbledon without any grass court matches and reflects on what he loves about the The Championships.

www.atptour.com

 

[Sylvia]

5-time Wimbledon champ Venus Williams, 43, received a wild card and lost to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 4-6 3-6 (gave birth to a daughter last October with Gael Monfils) on Centre Court today.

Ladies' singles draw: https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws/ladies-singles/full

Gentlemen's singles draw: https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws/gentlemens-singles/full

 

[Fiero425]

As a fan of Pete, I don't understand how his game could seem boring.

Pete's game wasn't boring! It was more about him and his personality; or lack thereof! I was always terribly entertained watching him dissect players like Chang, Courier, & Agassi playing defensively as he runs them from side to side!

 

[airgelaal]

Pete's game wasn't boring! It was more about him and his personality; or lack thereof! I was always terribly entertained watching him dissect players like Chang, Courier, & Agassi playing defensively as he runs them from side to side!

Yeah, he wasn't a showman. But that's exactly what I liked about him.

 

[allezfred]

Pete's game wasn't boring!

It was to me. There are only so many aces I can watch.

Plus he never even reached a final at the French Open so not really an all-round player like the three greats of the current era.

 

[Fiero425]

It was to me. There are only so many aces I can watch.

Plus he never even reached a final at the French Open so not really an all-round player like the three greats of the current era.

Back in 2000 everyone was desperate to be part of history by anointing Sampras as the GOAT even though he never even played a FO Final! We had no idea the record 14 Majors would only hold up to Federer got 15 @ '09 Wimbledon!

 

[caseyedwards]

It was to me. There are only so many aces I can watch.

Plus he never even reached a final at the French Open so not really an all-round player like the three greats of the current era.

But it is true he beat two French open winners one year! I mean that’s something. When he beat Jim Courier and Sergi Bruguera that meant that he had the skills to beat the best of clay on clay. He just didn’t win the French open.

 

[airgelaal]

It was to me. There are only so many aces I can watch.

Plus he never even reached a final at the French Open so not really an all-round player like the three greats of the current era.

I look at it differently. If he had played in this trio's era, they would all have far fewer fast court titles.
Pete's playing style gave him an advantage on fast courts. He chose the bird in his hand. Pete was always a pragmatist.

 

[jlai]

Why are we comparing Pete Sampras to the big three? That's not even a good comparison in more ways than one.