August 2007
Sampras through the years,
as seen by his friends and rivals
Andre Agassi
"He's a good pressure point player. He senses the important times of a match and puts pressure on you, then elevates his game. So he can play for an hour where you don't even break a sweat sometimes because he's just taking the rhythm out of the match. He's playing quick points, getting in, missing a few. Then all of a sudden he plays a good game and he's off."
"I've had the privilege of watching him from the other side of the net so many times, to compete against him, to be pushed by him. So many memorable matches. He's truly deserving of everything that's come his way, especially this, enjoying his family and moving on from the sport."
Andy Roddick
"He was just one of the most graceful player of all time, one of the most quietly competitive people of all time. And when I think of him, I think of him as one of the best pressure players of all time. It seemed like the bigger the match was, the better that he played. You know, he just did it all in his own time. He didn't really make a big fuss about things. He just made his name by winning."
Todd Martin
"I think what his legacy will be is how much he won, how many grand slams he won especially. As a player, I think his legacy will be his serve and his athleticism. And I think that's an injustice to him. Pete knew when to play, when to play better, how to play better, and more than anybody I've ever met. I think that's a skill and a talent that was too often veiled by the accolades that he got for his physical talents. But, you know, at 4-all deuce, he knew what to do and he did it, time after time after time. Boy, it would be nice to walk in those shoes once in a while."
Tim Henman
"He was someone I got to know pretty well over the course of my career and I played him in some pretty big and important matches over the years. There is no doubt in my mind that the combination of his first and second serves --- you put them together --- that is the best I have ever played against.
It's true that Federer is a more complete player but he is playing in a different era to Pete and is difficult to compare eras. If they played 10 matches in today's conditions then I think Federer would have the edge. But if they played them in the quicker conditions that were around in the mid 90s, then I think it would be pretty even. With a serve as big as that, you are always going to give people trouble."
Billie Jean King
"Sure, it's disappointing he didn't win the French Open but you cannot deny he is the best ever... Rod Laver says he is the best ever... and if he says Pete's the best, then he is the best."
Lindsay Davenport
"I think he's been the greatest men's player in the last I don't know how many years. His record's been amazing. I think he was always compared to, and locked into a group with, Andre, Jim Courier and Michael Chang. But all his results and all his grand slam titles can speak volumes of what a consistent, great player he was. I think what an unbelievable ending he had, after everyone had written him off for probably two years, he just is so tough and just showed everone wrong."
Paul Annacone
"People are always looking for something there. He's just like your friend from down the road. He doesn't understand why, for instance, people are interested in what he had for dinner last night. He's just substance. With Pete, what you see is what you get."
John McEnore
"I'll tell you, and I'm not kidding, I would still seed him in the top five in Wimbledon without a doubt. Name five guys that would be going to beat this guy at Wimbledon? I'd be hard pressed to name a couple. The guy absolutely just cranks the ball still, and just makes you so uncomfortable and uneasy.
You forget until you see him because he hurts you with one shot. It's like the opposite of Nadal. Nadal you just feel like you can't get the ball by. This guy just hits winners from anywhere and goes for second serve aces and hits the outside of the line. You're just like, 'who even tries that?'"
Pat Rafter
"That's one hell of a serve --- awesome, can't read it, can't pick it. When you serve as well as that, you know, you take a lot of pressure off the return. But he has to come up with the returns. He does have a complete game, but having an awesome serve like that just takes a lot of pressure off each game."
Goran Ivanisevic
"Maybe toughest player I ever play is Pete because he is the guy that gives you only one, two chances per match, and if you don't take those chances, you're finished. Usually with all these guys, you get more chances. With him, two, three, if he's generous. I think with him it was the toughest for me to play."
"Not making No. 1, that's maybe only thing I can regret in my career. But to be No. 2 behind Pete Sampras, for me that's biggest honor because he is the best player in the history of tennis. And that year when I was No. 2, he won three grand slams, so I didn't have any chance to be No. 1 --- only if I shoot him, and I couldn't do that. So was tough. But to be No. 2 against such a guy, that's for me like being No. 1."
Jim Courier
"Pete's a good actor, let's put in that way. Some people put up a front that they're tough, Pete tends to put up the front that he's hurting. But he still seems to fire those aces... He's tough, he's really tough, I don't pay attention to him when he's tired... You play for 3, 31/2 hours and you've got the guy by the neck the whole time and he just keeps firing. I must be missing something. My eyes are deceiving me if he can keep playing at that level looking likes's he's looking. I swear, I'm not blind. You know he's tired, but it doesn't leally matter because he's got a great heart. He really has a very strong heart and he's going to leave it on the court."
Martina Navratilova
"If he's not the all-time greatest, he's up there with Rod Laver, the two of them. God, that would have been a hell of a match: Laver against Sampras. He's up there as one of the all-time greats. I don't care if he's never won the French Open, doesn't really matter. He could have, if he put his mind to it."
Boris Becker
"Unfortunately, he owns the Center Court now. I used to own it a couple of years ago. Now he owns it. What he's done here [Wimbledon] is something really special. This is a guy who doesn't say anything, never show his emotions on the court, and maybe that's why he's so good. Over time, perhaps, people will truly appreciate him.
Right now everyone talks about Andre Agassi and all the attention he gets.
But if there's one role model in tennis, it's Pete Sampras."
Roger Federer
"Many people take away things from Sampras because he never won the French, saying his career was not complete, which I totally don't agree with.
I think he had the best career of any player ever.
So to say his career is not complete, that is not fair."
Carlos Moya
"Pete was a class apart.
Federer and Nadal are good, but not in his league."