Sampras a player who relied on his serve-and-volley finds today’s game one dimensional
Before Roger Federer came along and smashed all the records that were there to be broken, Pete Sampras was the hottest property in the tennis world. In fact, Federer himself wanted to be like him as he admitted on Sunday that he always idolised the former world No. 1; the Swiss, though, went on to do even better and broke Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
But Sampras is not complaining because no one but his “good friend” Federer surpassed him. “We are good friends and I think at some stage in his life as a junior growing up as he turned pro, he looked up to me but I am at a stage when I am looking up to him. He has done great things, he is a great role model and ambassador of the sport. If there was someone who I saw breaking my records, it was Roger because he is a good friend and a good man,” Sampras said here before his IPTl match on Monday.
Having done it all, Sampras is happy to be with his family now. He doesn't want any coaching or Davis Cup captaincy assignments that require travelling and weeks away from his kids.
“At the moment, not really (interested in coaching or captaincy). I don't see myself travelling on the tour or coaching. You know Boris' (Becker) kids are little bit older so they are open to travel. I am not into travelling at the moment. (It requires) At least more than a couple of weeks (of travel) a year. And the captaincy is not something that I am interested in either. I am not going to rule it out for the future but for the time being and for the next couple of years, I am happy just playing exhibition matches here and there and staying home,” he said.
We may have seen a few young challengers to the supremacy of ‘Big Three’ this year but Sampras feels comprising Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are going to continue their rule in the upcoming season.
“Novak is the obvious choice. Roger is very motivated to get to number 1. Rafa is certain with his health but once he is healthy, he'll be in the mix. (There are others) but I see these three guys dominating. I see guys threatening them but I see these guys in the second week of the Majors, in the semifinals and finals.
"(Stanislas)Wawrinka can have an interesting Australian (Open), defending his title. (Marin) Cilic is up and coming. It is going to be an interesting year but I still think, Roger, Novak and Rafa are the cream of the crop. They have the experience and when are playing well, they will be tough to beat,” he added.
Sampras ruled the tennis courts with his serve and volley game that no longer enjoys the confidence of players. Players these days prefer to stay at the baseline and play longer rallies.
“The kids growing up these days watching Novak and Rafa, all stay back. So that's what they want to do. When I was growing up, I watched McEnroe, Edberg and Boris serve and volley. So I became familiar with it. But these young kids you seeing today are all staying at the baseline.
“To be a good serve-and-volley player, you got to start young. To play serve-and-volley, it takes timing, it takes instinct, You just can't wake up as a 20-year-old and say I am going to serve and volley coming in. It doesn't work that way. With all the young kids looking at Rafa, Novak or even Roger, staying back is what they want to do,” Sampras said explaining why there are no good serve and volley players on the tour these days.
“lots of my generation (of players) played serve-and-volley. A little more contrast. I played Boris (Becker) one day, Andre (Agassi) the next, so every match was a little bit different. But these days, everyone plays the same. I was talking to Roger on the flight and he said the court speed has got quicker. So (the game) has been pretty one-dimensional. But it will be nice to see a little bit of contrast,” he said.