The greatest tennis players of all time - No. 5

Continuing with our series on the greatest tennis players of all time, here’s No. 5 on our list.

No. 5 – Pete Sampras

When a tennis player is nicknamed Pistol Pete, it does not take a genius to figure out that the prime weapon in his arsenal is a deadly serve. Often considered the best in the modern era, the Pete Sampras serve was a thing to behold. It did not consist of any unorthodox bodily contortions; instead, it was quite classical in approach. With a relaxed and circular windup, the motion was totally fluid, without any unwarranted pause or jerk. All the stored potential energy in that coiled body then worked its magic, and the ball was met with enormous power just at the point of contact. The opponent had to be either extremely good or exceptionally lucky to play a winning return shot. Yet it would be sacrilegious to label Sampras as a one-shot wonder. One does not win 14 Grand Slams just by being a one-shot wonder. Neither does one spend 286 weeks ranked No. 1 without having a fantastic all-round game.

Born in a Greek family in the U.S.A., Sampras embarked upon his fairy tale journey at the tender age of 3, spending hours hitting balls against the wall. No one who watched him play as a boy had any doubt whatsoever that the athletic kid would some day go on to play tennis at the highest level. Sampras entered the world of professional tennis at the age of 16 and climbed 800 ranks to break into the top 100 by the end of the year. He announced himself to the world at the 1989 US Open by beating defending champion Mats Wilander in the second round in a tense five-setter, though he was eventually eliminated in the fourth round. However, the US Open trophy could not elude him for long as he lifted it in 1990 at the age of 19 to become the youngest ever male US Open singles champion. He went on to conquer his home Slam four more times and established himself as one of the best hardcourt players ever by also winning the Australian Open twice.

But despite his dominance at New York, Pete’s most celebrated love affair was with Wimbledon. Starting from 1993, Sampras did not relinquish the Wimbledon trophy throughout the decade except for an aberration in 1996, and it took none less than a Roger Federer to end his reign in 2001. His chip-and-charge strategy, coupled with a booming serve that was one of the best in the business proved highly effective on the grasscourts. He eventually finished with seven trophies at the All England Club, a record that is yet to be surpassed. Perhaps the only missing piece in an otherwise perfect jigsaw would be the French Open title which he could never claim.

Two of the most enduring rivalries that Sampras was involved in were with Aussie Pat Rafter and fellow American legend Andre Agassi. He had the upper hand against Rafter, winning a majority of their battles, though the latter did get the better of Sampras in the 1997 and 98 US Open championships. Against Agassi, it was more of an even record, with almost all their matches being tightly contested affairs. Perhaps the most memorable one would be the 2001 US Open quarterfinals which Sampras won with a score-line of 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5). As the score suggests, neither player was unable to break the other’s serve, which resulted in some crackling tie-breakers.

The famous Sampras ‘slam dunk’

I would be doing a disservice to the great man if I attempt to portray his brilliance just by listing out his numerous records and achievements. What set Sampras apart from his contemporaries was his classical attacking technique which married power with great control and efficiency of movement. When serving, he was second to none, with almost equal venom in his first and second serves. He was a fine exponent of the serve-and-volley style of play and often attacked from the baseline when not serving. A recurring mode of attack was to finish a point at the net with a jump smash or more popularly the “slam dunk”, which was to become his signature shot. He also mastered the art of executing the running forehand, which yielded winners almost on demand.

Critics may point to the lack of a French Open trophy in Sampras’ glittering closet as a case against granting him the all-time greatest tag. However, the fact that Sampras was the king of the era that he played in is simply indisputable.

And now, here is a video that showcases his outstanding skills in a nutshell:

These are the other players who have made it to the list so far:

No. 20 – Venus Williams; No. 19 – Justine Henin; No. 18 – Ken Rosewall; No. 17 – Andre Agassi; No. 16 – Pancho Gonzales; No. 15 – Monica Seles; No. 14 – John McEnroe; No. 13 – Ivan Lendl; No. 12 – Jimmy Connors; No. 11 – Margaret Court; No. 10 – Billie Jean King; No. 9 – Rafael Nadal; No. 8 – Serena Williams; No. 7 – Chris Evert; No. 6 – Bjorn Borg

Read the detailed write-ups on all the players in this list here:

The greatest tennis players of all time