Sampras Beats Federer... So?
Pete Sampras beat Roger Federer in the third of their Asian tennis exhibitions. But does it really prove anything? The main point that anyone watching all three exhibition matches learned was that a very strong serve can take you a long way - even against current World Number One, Roger Federer. Pete Sampras hit a few impressive groundies, serve returns and volleys, but generally looked a bit rusty on all aspects of his game and seemed a step or two slower. Nonetheless,
Sampras’ serve is still overpoweringly awesome. In his prime, what distinguished Sampras’ serve was not just his first serve aces, but even more often it was his heavy second serve. Against Federer, Sampras’ serve was clearly still very difficult to read at times and that was enough to carry Sampras through almost all of his service games during the three exhibition matches. Should Sampras rejoin the ATP Tour? Can he compete with the rest of today’s best pro tennis players? A strong serve can carry you pretty far, but it’s also very tough to compete in three out of five sets and on consecutive days at Grand Slams. Would coming back and making the quarters and semis be enough for a legend such as Sampras? It’s unlikely. Therefore, although Sampras’ best tennis is still very, very good, it would make more sense for him to enjoy his current retirement rather than venturing back onto the pro tennis Tour again. Nonetheless, I’m sure a return to the Tour is very tempting for a competitive player such as Sampras…
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