I always knew that Sampras net game was massive but every time you watch these matches, you are still amazed how good his volleys were. From extremely difficult position.
What a beauty of a match, Safin was one of the best passers on the circuit, and Sampras' serve and volley were simply from another world, thanks for the video ♥
@@phantomaq mmm.. I don't know what to tell you, I think that from above it was just as difficult to beat Sampras at the net, he has a lot of size and is very good with smatch, he also loved the balloons to do his famous Smash with a jump, and with that hit All his rivals were afraid of him, I think that's why no one tried many lobs against him, they saw Sampras and the image of his Smash came to them hehehe anyway Safin passed him a lot of times both with diagonals crossed with the drive and with the backhand As with parallels, I was surprised that he passed it so many times, Alcaraz reminds me a lot of Safin in those passing shots.
@@Rauliki_U_u At this point, not many players were using the new string technology that allowed for more spin. Kuerten was, and it helped him reach number one. I would guess. Safin was, as well. That technology made the serve and volley game a lot more difficult. It would be interesting to see how Sampras’s game would hold up against returners like Medvedev and Nadal. Who return from ten feet behind the baseline. I would guess that Sampras would not be able to serve and volley so consistently. He would have to mix it up with rallying from the baseline
There was never any doubt in his overhead - you could tell he WANTED to hit them and it resulted in a great shot. If Djokovic had Sampras’s smash he’d be an even more complete player.
I love matches where the opponent can return his serve because it forced him to use his superb athleticism and volleys to win and we could see just how outstanding both were. Some of his indoor matches are a lot of fun to watch since he's forced to hit incredible first volleys by his knees that come back almost as fast as his serve. Pete could be a lot of fun to watch if you actually made him play.
Marat Safin was a great talent and if he had more mental control and focus he would have achieved alot more throughout his career. On his day one of a few players who could trouble peak Federer
I agree, he was very fun to watch when his game was on! I think he deserved more than just two grand slams throughout his career. Never forget his AO semi-final against Federer in 2005, one of the greatest matches of all time
I admire the way in which Sampras tried to win his matches as quickly as possible by opting for serve n volley in all his service games and also bravely approaching the net at the slightest opportunity in his return games. This shows Sampras' wonderful sense of anticipation. Sampras was a ruthless player who never entertained rallies nor the crowd. Pistol Pete's bullet-like serve was a joy to behold.
He tried to win the points as quickly as possible because he knew he didn’t have the stamina to go the long distance. Remember, he had a blood condition.
I haven't watched tennis for 20 years and in that time have changed careers, married and had a kid. Nothing about my life is the same, yet I still remember some of these individual points. Crazy.
I hear ya. These close battles that could've gone either way become historic markers in our lives. I can still remember where I was when I watched some of those nail-biters.
Such a great match. 2 heavy weights, Safin in some of his best form that part of the season. Shows that Pete's game would hold up in the modern game as well.
There's no such thing as the modern game, just a different game because the tennis authority tinkered with court surface and balls to slow down the game. Then racquet and string technology allowed players to generate so much spin, and you have a new generation of baseline sluggers. But this came with a price too. There are so much injuries now because average rally length had increased. Players also swing harder because they can generate so much more top spin.
@@tomsd8656athleticism and professionalism (scientific training, nutrition and recovery methods) increased in the early to mid 2000s, which also changed the game, but has plateaued since then. It’s for the same reason athletics records aren’t being broken as much now as they were in that time. Regardless, anyone who was a great athlete or skilled tennis technician back then would do well today.
@@HonkyMonky Are You a psychiatrist? If You are, did You ever analyze Safin? Safin had plenty of talent, he just didn't train as much as his competition. I know this because I know some off his competitors.
I wish they didn’t slow it down, this match was a great example of the variety players had in the early 2000s. Now a lot of players play a similar style from the baseline, mostly bashing the ball as hard as they can :/
Completely agree. This match was great as the playing styles differed but the court gave both a fighting chance. Court speeds since 2001 would have made Sampras style of play impossible to win with. Current court speeds have played a huge role in determining the relative success of the 3 recent greats.
@@poiuypoiuy8034 I agree with that - they had to slow the courts because Fed was going to win 2-3 slams every year for another 10+ years if they hadn't.
It's incredible how 1-2 punch tennis is almost extinct, there are so many neutral rallies these days in pro tennis, the days of someone like Sampras always attacking and pushing the initiative are sadly over.
I have never seen or heard of this match before, but this is probably the best match I've ever seen. Two masters with contrasting styles at 100% competence. Neither player daunted by the competition. And I wanted Sampras to win, but he didn't. Facts. Truth be told Sampras had the match twice but he couldn't go for the kill. This implies that he wanted Safin to give up mentally, but he wouldn't. Sampras just couldn't bring himself to humiliate Safin in front of all those people ;) Safin really never came up with any kind significant of tactical change to cope with Sampras' serve and volley technique. He just made sure to win his service games and exploited mistakes by Sampras. He probably should have lost.
Sampras volleying, that explosive rush to the net, net positioning - just wow... makes it look so so simple. Back then, I loved watching volleying skills of Edberg, Sampras, Stich, Krajicek and Rafter. They were all totally at home at the net.
Such exciting tennis! The execution from Sampras was magical throughout his career. Safin was a GREAT player, shame he didn't have more success but he loved to party
It's like a different sport altogether. Balls were much faster back then. It's amazing how much faster the game was, compared to today It was simply spectacular!! The powers that be killed it just for money.
I loved the 80’s and 90’s tennis games!! Served and volleyed and hit from the baseline too. But now only from the baseline back and forth and no net volleys anymore!! Sometimes it’s boring!!
@@YorgiGolfs what did I just say wrong here? It’s my opinion and you have your opinion. I did not say the whole tennis world was boring! I said, sometime it was boring because two guys hitting back and forth from the baseline! That is what I was saying. The word, sometimes okay! That’s big difference than the word ALL or WHOLE or EVERY ONE!!
people either have short memories or are ignorant. sampras, as much as i was not a fan, was freaking awesome. you put any of the current players in those racquets, those courts in those days against him, it'd be a tough day for them.
gosh tennis has gone down since these guys and some of the greats left... i wouldve LOVED to see this match live. sampras was playing amazing but safin was showing some early signs of developing weaponry as well! 😮
Despite Sampras losed, I enjoyed so much this game. No grunts, attacking tennis, covering the net almost perfect, nice serves... Miss a player with the timing and class of Sampras playing at net.
If Safin hadn't partied so much and took his career seriously he would have been a huge problem for everyone. In a short period of time he had multiple wins over Sampras including at the US Open. Sampras retired early so he was still in his prime while Safin was beating him.
Sampras era servicio y volea porque sus golpes de fondo eran regulares, su revés discreto en comparación a Federer y otros revés a una mano de otros jugadores.
Long time Sampras fan…. Wanted Sampras but his drop shot on this day covered beautifully by Safin…. Agreed both at the top of their game, safin respectable at net but mostly power game…. Safin easily had talent to dominate, but never demonstrated the mental focus and commitment to deliver results when he had the opportunity and the ability to collect trophies….. wonder if he regrets not doing it differently
I don't see anybody near the top of the ATP rankings at the moment with the volley touch of Sampras. Roger had it... it seems it's a thing of the past. Possibly the result of much more powerful strings and rackets.
Great match! Cannot see something like this these days! Now we have stupid endless points and boring players. Only Alcaraz is capable of something like this…
These tall heavy body guys have hard time with wear and tear on their joints, losing speed and hence concentration as it becomes a constant worry( Becker, Delpo, Safin) all their careers were 6-8 competitive years.
when anybody says the big three are the best...in my opinion Sampras towers over them...his 14 grandslams are worth more than Federers 20....the big three havent had a solid competition for two decades, thats why they divided so many slams between them...
Are you dense, you just contradict yourself in the same comment two times, Federer's slice alone is better than Sampras whole game, and you seem to have brain damage since you forgot that Federer played and beat them all.
You forget the 90s were replete with clay court specialists, especialy from the spanish guys, I could name ten of them, adding from Sanchez, Bruguera, Corretja, Clavet, Mantilla, Albert Costa, Carlos Costa, Berasategui, Moya, etc...to Courier, Agassi, Muster, Kuerten, Rios....imagine if you are the big three and have to overcome these guys on clay...😂😂 forget about 14 slams for Rafa, forget about one RG from Federer...😂
Not sure if there was anyone in men's tennis who played better at the net than Pete Sampras. However, even back then his backhand and backcourt game were mediocre, and now it's a hole. Well, how much older was Pete Sampras in appearance even than Nadal and Djokovic, who were 37-38 years old... He already looked heavy. But I really like his lack of emotion and focus on the game, in contrast to the unpleasant manner of today's tennis players to celebrate almost every point won.
Safin and Delpo hovered around Six-Six. In the late 70s there predictions that guys like Safin and Delpo would dominate tennis but it seems the wear and tear on the bodies of these giants curtailed that thinking. Sinner and Zeverev are a lot thinner.
@@aaronaragon7838 I think in tennis, being tall gives some advantage, until a certain level, maybe the ideal size is between 1.84 and 1.95. Short players or taller than 1,95 very seldom win big tournaments. The 3 big are around 1.85-1.86- Rod Laver in this epoch would not be very succesful. Zverev overpasses the limits, he gets injuries. Delpo only won one, Slam, (maybe without his wrist injury he could have won 2 or 3 more). Karlovic and others very tall never won a Slam. I think having the ideal height in tennis is like having punch in boxing, it is a good advantage.
Yeah, you're correct, sir...Laver, Rosewall, Borg, Connors, wouldn't win at all in the 2020s. I played in the wood racket 70s and wood blunted a big man's power. The Big 3 had the perfect size for their Era. Carlos Alcaraz has trouble with the taller Sinner but lets see who has the longest career.
That selfish style of sampras.... Nnnnooooah! It cannot simply be compared to Fe-Na-Djo era... These three guys were entertaining, if not teaching, the public. Sampras was just putting money in his pocket. :)
This is real tennis - baseline + attacking at the net. Modern tennis is boring to watch. Every point is just robotic baseline hitting and praying your opponent makes a mistake. Hitting winners > unforced errors
1:00 can any pro hit this volley today? Difficult low forehand volley caressed right into the corner. And Sampras wasn’t even the best volleyer in his era
My god. Safins talent was off the charts. Effortless strokes. Moved very fast for 6 ft 4 frame. Sampras obviously had the discipline to train harder. Although that Sampras backhand is so ugly.
Becker and Laver swung the best backhands out of the serve n volley era. The goal was get into the net after one or two strokes, so ground strokes weren't necessary. Borg and Connors exploited the weakness of that style, but it wasn't till graphite rackets made it all but impossible to rush the net and not have good ground strokes.
![Roger Federer vs Marat Safin - Australian Open 2009 [HQ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ZEGHJj8IEg/mqdefault.jpg)
![Roger Federer vs Marat Safin - Australian Open 2009 [HQ]](/img/tr.png)
This may be the best match I never knew about. Thanks for uploading this hidden gem 💎!
I always knew that Sampras net game was massive but every time you watch these matches, you are still amazed how good his volleys were. From extremely difficult position.
What a beauty of a match, Safin was one of the best passers on the circuit, and Sampras' serve and volley were simply from another world, thanks for the video ♥
I think Safin should have used many more moon balls because Sampras was very hard to pass on the net.
@@phantomaq mmm.. I don't know what to tell you, I think that from above it was just as difficult to beat Sampras at the net, he has a lot of size and is very good with smatch, he also loved the balloons to do his famous Smash with a jump, and with that hit All his rivals were afraid of him, I think that's why no one tried many lobs against him, they saw Sampras and the image of his Smash came to them hehehe anyway Safin passed him a lot of times both with diagonals crossed with the drive and with the backhand As with parallels, I was surprised that he passed it so many times, Alcaraz reminds me a lot of Safin in those passing shots.
@@Rauliki_U_u At this point, not many players were using the new string technology that allowed for more spin. Kuerten was, and it helped him reach number one. I would guess. Safin was, as well. That technology made the serve and volley game a lot more difficult. It would be interesting to see how Sampras’s game would hold up against returners like Medvedev and Nadal. Who return from ten feet behind the baseline. I would guess that Sampras would not be able to serve and volley so consistently. He would have to mix it up with rallying from the baseline
unbelievable match. we just don't get matches like this anymore. incredible stuff.
There are plenty of unbelievable matches recently
Both players play superbly. Sampras' overhead is a thing of beauty.
There was never any doubt in his overhead - you could tell he WANTED to hit them and it resulted in a great shot. If Djokovic had Sampras’s smash he’d be an even more complete player.
Sampras' volleys are out of the stratosphere 😮
I love matches where the opponent can return his serve because it forced him to use his superb athleticism and volleys to win and we could see just how outstanding both were. Some of his indoor matches are a lot of fun to watch since he's forced to hit incredible first volleys by his knees that come back almost as fast as his serve. Pete could be a lot of fun to watch if you actually made him play.
I watched him win the Nasdaq Open 2 times in Key Biscayne
No compares con Alcaraz.
his baseline to me was better than safins too! it blew me away how good it was considering it didnt seem to be his strong suit as we both know
@@antoniopj4714 Both Safin and Sampras at this level could beat Alcaraz on fast courts.
Marat Safin was a great talent and if he had more mental control and focus he would have achieved alot more throughout his career. On his day one of a few players who could trouble peak Federer
I agree, he was very fun to watch when his game was on! I think he deserved more than just two grand slams throughout his career. Never forget his AO semi-final against Federer in 2005, one of the greatest matches of all time
Have they ever played against each other? Federer vs safin😮
@@airkuna absolutely, Federer beat Safin to win the 2004 Aus Open final then Safin beat Federer in the semi finals of 2005 Aus Open
Wow.. so safin was a really good player.. he's old school feeder was new school that time..@@AdamManning-f8n
@@airkunaplayed quite few times. Semi of the masters in Houston was great, one of the longest WST tie breaks in the second set
I admire the way in which Sampras tried to win his matches as quickly as possible by opting for serve n volley in all his service games and also bravely approaching the net at the slightest opportunity in his return games. This shows Sampras' wonderful sense of anticipation. Sampras was a ruthless player who never entertained rallies nor the crowd. Pistol Pete's bullet-like serve was a joy to behold.
He losses the match,so I think that you miss the qualities of the opponent.
A great physical shape too, not to mention the strength of his serves
He tried to win the points as quickly as possible because he knew he didn’t have the stamina to go the long distance. Remember, he had a blood condition.
I haven't watched tennis for 20 years and in that time have changed careers, married and had a kid. Nothing about my life is the same, yet I still remember some of these individual points. Crazy.
I hear ya. These close battles that could've gone either way become historic markers in our lives. I can still remember where I was when I watched some of those nail-biters.
@@valsainking same
Such a great match. 2 heavy weights, Safin in some of his best form that part of the season. Shows that Pete's game would hold up in the modern game as well.
There's no such thing as the modern game, just a different game because the tennis authority tinkered with court surface and balls to slow down the game. Then racquet and string technology allowed players to generate so much spin, and you have a new generation of baseline sluggers. But this came with a price too. There are so much injuries now because average rally length had increased. Players also swing harder because they can generate so much more top spin.
@@tomsd8656 maybe they are not swinging harder nowadays, it only looks harder.
@@tomsd8656athleticism and professionalism (scientific training, nutrition and recovery methods) increased in the early to mid 2000s, which also changed the game, but has plateaued since then. It’s for the same reason athletics records aren’t being broken as much now as they were in that time. Regardless, anyone who was a great athlete or skilled tennis technician back then would do well today.
When tennis was this good!!! ❤❤❤❤
It's better now.
Safin had so much talent. It's a shame he didn't train properly because he should have won at least 10 major titles.
He trained properly, he was just too "insane" to do it
@@HonkyMonky Are You a psychiatrist? If You are, did You ever analyze Safin? Safin had plenty of talent, he just didn't train as much as his competition. I know this because I know some off his competitors.
Safin was over weight for Tennis
Classic match. Two best players of that year.
Technical perfection and very watchable. Todays tennis is ridicoulus moaning and incredible one way backline boring shit
Yea watching a serve and volley bot either get passed or put away a volley is SO GOOD. Sampras was a bore.
Safin is my favourite tennis player of all the time
Man i forgot how amazing the sampras serve and volley was
Two of the best survers on the tour ever.
On seeing old matches why they have reduced the court speed. Tennis looks so good on fast paced court
I wish they didn’t slow it down, this match was a great example of the variety players had in the early 2000s. Now a lot of players play a similar style from the baseline, mostly bashing the ball as hard as they can :/
Totally agree. They killed top tennis.
Completely agree. This match was great as the playing styles differed but the court gave both a fighting chance. Court speeds since 2001 would have made Sampras style of play impossible to win with. Current court speeds have played a huge role in determining the relative success of the 3 recent greats.
@@MW-od5wp Federer would have 30+ slams if they wouldn't slow the courts. He is the ultimate fast court player
@@poiuypoiuy8034 I agree with that - they had to slow the courts because Fed was going to win 2-3 slams every year for another 10+ years if they hadn't.
Great tennis- both players were extremely talented.
It's incredible how 1-2 punch tennis is almost extinct, there are so many neutral rallies these days in pro tennis, the days of someone like Sampras always attacking and pushing the initiative are sadly over.
The way Sampras picked up those low volleys… not to mention his overhead smashes. Still amazing to watch.
So powerful!!! These guys are monsters ! Incredible
I have never seen or heard of this match before, but this is probably the best match I've ever seen. Two masters with contrasting styles at 100% competence. Neither player daunted by the competition. And I wanted Sampras to win, but he didn't. Facts. Truth be told Sampras had the match twice but he couldn't go for the kill. This implies that he wanted Safin to give up mentally, but he wouldn't. Sampras just couldn't bring himself to humiliate Safin in front of all those people ;)
Safin really never came up with any kind significant of tactical change to cope with Sampras' serve and volley technique. He just made sure to win his service games and exploited mistakes by Sampras. He probably should have lost.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The Greatest of All Time ❤❤❤
Did you also stop watching tennis in 2000?
@@YorgiGolfs I continue to see it but with sadness in my heart. I only support Carlos, Grigor and Lorenzo...
Really miss characters like them.
Pure joy to watch them playing.
I love Sampras game so beautiful!
Match MERAVIGLIOSO. immenso Pete❤
Thanks for uploading this.
What tennis what beautiful tennis
Sampras was a great tennis player!
Sampras volleying, that explosive rush to the net, net positioning - just wow... makes it look so so simple. Back then, I loved watching volleying skills of Edberg, Sampras, Stich, Krajicek and Rafter. They were all totally at home at the net.
Such exciting tennis! The execution from Sampras was magical throughout his career. Safin was a GREAT player, shame he didn't have more success but he loved to party
Thanks for the upload!
It's like a different sport altogether.
Balls were much faster back then. It's amazing how much faster the game was, compared to today
It was simply spectacular!!
The powers that be killed it just for money.
Pistol Pete Sampras is on the Mt. Rushmore of tennis greats!
I loved the 80’s and 90’s tennis games!! Served and volleyed and hit from the baseline too. But now only from the baseline back and forth and no net volleys anymore!! Sometimes it’s boring!!
If you think Alcaraz Sinner is boring then you're just delusional to nostalgia
@@YorgiGolfs what did I just say wrong here? It’s my opinion and you have your opinion. I did not say the whole tennis world was boring! I said, sometime it was boring because two guys hitting back and forth from the baseline! That is what I was saying. The word, sometimes okay! That’s big difference than the word ALL or WHOLE or EVERY ONE!!
Serve&volley by Sampras is alien level😮😮😮
Classic match!
people either have short memories or are ignorant. sampras, as much as i was not a fan, was freaking awesome. you put any of the current players in those racquets, those courts in those days against him, it'd be a tough day for them.
Que nivel extraordinario de tenis.
Tienen que volver las canchas rápidas.
This is when Sampras knew his days were numbered. Racquet tech was changing, and string technology was too!.
gosh tennis has gone down since these guys and some of the greats left... i wouldve LOVED to see this match live. sampras was playing amazing but safin was showing some early signs of developing weaponry as well! 😮
Gotta love when the serve volley guy gets it but yeah, those are some great volleys 👏🏻
Sampras played a very efficient game. It lacks the aesthetics of Federer’s but the game as a beauty on its own.
Despite Sampras losed, I enjoyed so much this game. No grunts, attacking tennis, covering the net almost perfect, nice serves...
Miss a player with the timing and class of Sampras playing at net.
Que torneos. 👍🏻🏆
Аж дух захватывает, вот это шоу!!
Sampras ist my No1, Safin in my top 20...😊
Марат - красавчик.
Вытянул этот матч на таланте и морально-волевых.
Based on this highlight reel, it seems the majority of Safin's points came from his serve. Sampras, on the other hand, had a better overall game.
The style of play is very similar to grass. Harcourt tennis has changed quite a bit since that era.
If Safin hadn't partied so much and took his career seriously he would have been a huge problem for everyone. In a short period of time he had multiple wins over Sampras including at the US Open.
Sampras retired early so he was still in his prime while Safin was beating him.
Sampras era servicio y volea porque sus golpes de fondo eran regulares, su revés discreto en comparación a Federer y otros revés a una mano de otros jugadores.
Safin achieves what Agassi cannot with a bigger serve and not reluctant to move forward and finish the point
Long time Sampras fan…. Wanted Sampras but his drop shot on this day covered beautifully by Safin…. Agreed both at the top of their game, safin respectable at net but mostly power game…. Safin easily had talent to dominate, but never demonstrated the mental focus and commitment to deliver results when he had the opportunity and the ability to collect trophies….. wonder if he regrets not doing it differently
Супер матч. Уровень игры слёта у Сампраса запредельный. Но и сам Пит не любил когда у сетки соперник оказывался раньше него 😂
10:54 - Safin’s low backhand straight shot ⚡️
Marat is huge! Pete is 6ft tall and Marat towers above him.
High level of tennis on display here.
Sampras always was mentally strong. This gave him the edge to win over difficult players.
Классный матч. Браво обоим.
I don't see anybody near the top of the ATP rankings at the moment with the volley touch of Sampras. Roger had it... it seems it's a thing of the past. Possibly the result of much more powerful strings and rackets.
Wow Safin was Ossam
Great match!
Cannot see something like this these days! Now we have stupid endless points and boring players.
Only Alcaraz is capable of something like this…
Absolute magic. Nothing like modern fuckry
Thanks a lot
No problem!
Si safin huboese jugado con esa cabeza y ese estado fisico casi toda su carrera su historia seria otra, quizas la del big 3 tambien
You're correct! Sadl, Safin wasted all of that talent. He should have won at least 10 major titles.
Pete Sampras was the last big serve and volley. Then Federer took over and changed the game.
4:12 is incredible.
It would be great to see prime Sampras play Medvedev or some of the other modern players. I wonder how his game would hold up….
The two bros were basically destroying the balls
seems they stand on the baseline to return serve... now the players seem to stand a couple feet behind the baseline ?
No Mary. Great !
Very fast game.
These tall heavy body guys have hard time with wear and tear on their joints, losing speed and hence concentration as it becomes a constant worry( Becker, Delpo, Safin) all their careers were 6-8 competitive years.
Yeah, agreed. The tall guys like Sinner are skinny in today's game. Coaches noted what happened to Delpo, Safin, Beck...
3:14 Nice "bandeja" from Pete
when anybody says the big three are the best...in my opinion Sampras towers over them...his 14 grandslams are worth more than Federers 20....the big three havent had a solid competition for two decades, thats why they divided so many slams between them...
Are you dense, you just contradict yourself in the same comment two times, Federer's slice alone is better than Sampras whole game, and you seem to have brain damage since you forgot that Federer played and beat them all.
Completamente deacuerdo con ud hermano así es
😂😂😂
Silly
Sampras never had to play with molasses speed playing conditions unlike Federer. He could avoid clay and play attacking tennis most of the year.
You forget the 90s were replete with clay court specialists, especialy from the spanish guys, I could name ten of them, adding from Sanchez, Bruguera, Corretja, Clavet, Mantilla, Albert Costa, Carlos Costa, Berasategui, Moya, etc...to Courier, Agassi, Muster, Kuerten, Rios....imagine if you are the big three and have to overcome these guys on clay...😂😂 forget about 14 slams for Rafa, forget about one RG from Federer...😂
Safin would have been more of a beast if he grew up with poly.
I wish we got to see Nadal and Djokovic try to play on this surface lol
Not sure if there was anyone in men's tennis who played better at the net than Pete Sampras. However, even back then his backhand and backcourt game were mediocre, and now it's a hole.
Well, how much older was Pete Sampras in appearance even than Nadal and Djokovic, who were 37-38 years old... He already looked heavy. But I really like his lack of emotion and focus on the game, in contrast to the unpleasant manner of today's tennis players to celebrate almost every point won.
Safin, so young strong and handsome ..., but did not have that " champion " thing.
Safin must have been a giant, Sampras was not short but looks small compared to Marat
Safin and Delpo hovered around Six-Six. In the late 70s there predictions that guys like Safin and Delpo would dominate tennis but it seems the wear and tear on the bodies of these giants curtailed that thinking. Sinner and Zeverev are a lot thinner.
@@aaronaragon7838 I think in tennis, being tall gives some advantage, until a certain level, maybe the ideal size is between 1.84 and 1.95. Short players or taller than 1,95 very seldom win big tournaments. The 3 big are around 1.85-1.86- Rod Laver in this epoch would not be very succesful. Zverev overpasses the limits, he gets injuries. Delpo only won one, Slam, (maybe without his wrist injury he could have won 2 or 3 more). Karlovic and others very tall never won a Slam. I think having the ideal height in tennis is like having punch in boxing, it is a good advantage.
Yeah, you're correct, sir...Laver, Rosewall, Borg, Connors, wouldn't win at all in the 2020s.
I played in the wood racket 70s and wood blunted a big man's power.
The Big 3 had the perfect size for their Era.
Carlos Alcaraz has trouble with the taller Sinner but lets see who has the longest career.
Sampras could barely see some cannon balls by Safin on serrve
Safin crushed sampras later in US open...He was good..
When Safin and Delpo were on, there wasn't much opponents could against those monsters.
@@aaronaragon7838 Agree.., he took down Fed in Aussie semis in 5 setter.. It was incredible. (same goes with delpo few years later in final of US)
And Pete returned the favor in 2001 US OPEN SF
@@qnelson1000 Safin wasn't the same in 2001.. Hewitt was on fire that year...
For as great as he was, the Sampras backhand is absolutely pathetic
Wow.
That selfish style of sampras.... Nnnnooooah! It cannot simply be compared to Fe-Na-Djo era... These three guys were entertaining, if not teaching, the public. Sampras was just putting money in his pocket. :)
This is real tennis - baseline + attacking at the net. Modern tennis is boring to watch. Every point is just robotic baseline hitting and praying your opponent makes a mistake. Hitting winners > unforced errors
Safin, like Delpo, was a load.
I don't understand return game & baseline plays in this period...
Not as aggressive as modern 2020s
1:00 can any pro hit this volley today? Difficult low forehand volley caressed right into the corner. And Sampras wasn’t even the best volleyer in his era
la mayor parte de lo puntos de este compilado los gana sampras y resulta que es quien pierde el partido
Pistol Pete
My god. Safins talent was off the charts. Effortless strokes. Moved very fast for 6 ft 4 frame. Sampras obviously had the discipline to train harder. Although that Sampras backhand is so ugly.
Сампрас более техничный игрок
Safin was too fragile mentally.
Скйчас теннисисты посильнее играют
😢😢😢😢
Its crazy how poor Sampras BH is.
Becker and Laver swung the best backhands out of the serve n volley era. The goal was get into the net after one or two strokes, so ground strokes weren't necessary. Borg and Connors exploited the weakness of that style, but it wasn't till graphite rackets made it all but impossible to rush the net and not have good ground strokes.
Safin the best!!!