Tennis Hits the Books
I eagerly anticipated the recent release of Steve Flink’s biography of Pete Sampras. It is not exactly a “hot take” to say that Sampras is the greatest male American player of all time. It is not even close. His fourteen grand slam championships tower above the 8 won by both Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi. He was ranked #1 in the world for an astonishing six consecutive years.
It is unfortunate that there was virtually no gap between the period when Sampras dominated the ATP tour and the dawn of the “Big Three” era. History did not grant the tennis universe any time to savor or fully appreciate the greatness of Sampras.
Sampras is arguably the greatest grass court player ever. Of his fourteen grand slam championships, seven came on the hallowed grounds of the All England Racquet Club. As the playing characteristics of the grass at Wimbledon have evolved — currently the grass plays more like a very fast hard court — it can be reasonably asserted that Sampras was the last of the true grass court competitors.
Flink paints an accurate portrait of Sampras. It is not a vivid portrait, because Sampras simply wasn’t that kind of guy. That fact is acknowledged in the forward penned by Chris Evert where she expresses annoyance that some people call him boring. While Sampras was the consummate gentleman of the sport, to some… he was simply bland.
It does not help the Sampras legacy that he played during the same time as Andre Agassi, one of the most dynamic characters to ever play the sport. As Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited was released, Nike endorsed players are wearing clothes from the Agassi throwback collection. The Sampras look from the same era will never be featured in the same way. It is simply not striking or memorable enough.
It is an odd observation to make for a site that does nothing other than discuss tennis, but there is a lot of tennis in Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited. So much detail is provided on the actual match play that I found myself wondering how the book would work as a companion piece to a complete re-watch of all of the Sampras championship runs and matches.
The final chapters of Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited examine how Sampras would have fared against the modern competition of the “Big Three,” Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. The perspectives are drawn from a wide variety of players and analysts that saw him play first hand.
It can be asserted that if Sampras had competed during current times, it might be known as the “Big Four” era. Sampras would likely have still dominated on grass. Nadal’s clay court results would not be impacted at all by a contemporary presence of Sampras. The hard court Grand Slams would have been an absolute melee between the four players.
As a player, Sampras let his racquet do his talking. It is much the same with this biography. It presents an accurate portrait of the man: All steak and no sizzle. Nevertheless, as the greatest male American tennis player of all time, Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited is worth the read.
 | Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited , Steve Flink |
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Just in case anyone is inspired to go back and watch a Sampras match, here is a link to the only head to head matchup against Federer.
