Davis Cup Star has 13 Grand Slam Titles
February 7, 2002
Is Pete Sampras the greatest men's tennis player of all time? Many say yes, but anytime you try to compare athletes from different eras, you get arguments.
Was Hank Aaron better than Babe Ruth in baseball? Was Wilt Chamberlain better than Shaquille O'Neal in basketball? Compare Walter Payton and Barry Sanders in pro football.
There is substantial data to support Sampras as the best men's player in history, making this weekend a rare opportunity for local tennis fans who get a chance to see Sampras play in Davis Cup matches at the Cox Business Services Convention Center, formerly the Myriad.
Sampras has won a record 13 Grand Slam singles titles, is the all-time money winner with more than $42 million, was ranked No. 1 in the world six straight years in the 1990s and is playing when tennis is loaded with great players.
Patrick McEnroe, U.S. Davis Cup captain and brother of the legendary John McEnroe, says only one statistic keeps Sampras from being the undisputed best ever.
"If he had won the French Open he would be the best of all time," Patrick McEnroe said Wednesday. "The way it is, he's right up there. You can make a case for Pete being one of the top three. Rod Laver won all four Grand Slams in two different years (1962 and 1969).
"Pete Sampras at his best was better than Jimmy Connors at his best. John (McEnroe) was right around Connors. Sampras was able to do what he did through the last decade."
Pam Shriver, recently inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, is in town doing ESPN telecasts of Davis Cup matches and casts a qualified vote for Sampras.
"I have a hard time naming one player as being the best of all time, but Pete should be in a group of the top three or four," Shriver said Wednesday. "His entire career has been in the post-open era. Six years as No. 1 and winning 13 majors stands out above anyone else (since the advent of the open era).
"Not winning the French doesn't detract that much. If he could exchange one of his Wimbledons for a French, he wouldn't jump up in my ratings."
"When Sampras' game is on, you'd have to find somebody with everything in their package if they are going to beat him."Jim Courier is assistant coach of the U.S. Davis Cup team and won four Grand Slam titles.
"Sampras is the best player in the past 20 years," Courier said. "It's not too strong a statement to say he is in the mix when talking about the best. It's open to debate on that one.
"When Sampras' game is on, you'd have to find somebody with everything in their package if they are going to beat him."
Roy Emerson won 12 mens' Grand Slams and that record held from 1967 to 2000, when Sampras won his seventh Wimbledon.
"Sampras is the greatest of all time, and I have to give him a pat on the back for getting there, because the tournaments are a little deeper these days," Emerson said after the 2000 Wimbledon finals.
Players respect Sampras and look forward to playing him.
Jan Kroslak is the No. 1 Slovak Republic player and he was asked about playing Sampras this weekend.
"It is very exciting for me to get to play Pete Sampras," Kroslak said. "You never know how long he is going to play more. Every match with him is an experience. I do not play him Friday and hope it is not 3-0 going into Sunday."
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