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Peter the Great Sampras' Grand Slam titles a pedestal in greatness debate
WIMBLEDON, England (CNN/SI) - At the place he has called his second home, Pete Sampras is certainly the king, with seven Wimbledon titles in eight years. Now, the debate is whether or not he is the greatest tennis player of all-time. With an emotional victory Sunday against Patrick Rafter, Sampras earned his seventh Wimbledon title, making him the unchallenged all-time grasscourt king. The title was his 13th in a Grand Slam tournament, breaking the men's record he shared with Roy Emerson. But a history of irregular participation in major tournaments taints the significance of that record. Before the open era began in 1968, only amateurs could play in Grand Slam events, diluting the competition and costing such great pros as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad many chances at major titles. Emerson's 12 Grand Slam championships stood as the record for 33 years, but few considered him the game's greatest player. "No disrespect to Emmo at all, but a lot of his were generated before the advent of open tennis,' said Ted Schroeder, Wimbledon champion in 1949. "You look at the field in which he competed and the field they're competing in now, and there's not really any comparison." Laver - who was Sampras' idol - won nine Grand Slam titles even though he didn't play any major tournaments for five years after turning pro. Some former players say Laver might have won 20 Grand Slam titles if he had remained an amateur. "Pick your number," Schroeder said. 'You take all the criteria - longevity, playing on grass and clay, amateur, professional, his behavior, his appearance - in all criteria, Laver's the best player of all time." Sampras, 28, has his supporters as the best ever. They include Laver's contemporary and fellow Australian, Tony Roche, who is now Rafter's coach. "It's an unbelievable achievement to break Roy Emerson's record," Roche said. "Sampras will go down as the greatest player of all time." He's clearly the best of his generation. Andre Agassi, 30, ranks a distant second among active players with six major championships. And Sampras may add several more titles to his total, because he expects to play several more years. But detractors point to the one glaring gap in his accomplishments. Unlike such peers as Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang, he has never won the French Open. In fact, he's never reached the final at Roland Garros, and this year he lost in the first round. Because he struggles on clay, Sampras has been unable to complete a so-called career Grand Slam - winning all four majors - while Laver twice achieved the Grand Slam in a single year. "For Pete to be the greatest of all time - he probably is, but to seal it, he'd have to win the French, I think," Rafter said. 'I think he knows that, as well." "Obviously the French is the one that's missing," Sampras admitted. But at Wimbledon, no one can challenge Sampras' greatness. Willie Renshaw also won seven titles in the 1880s wearing trousers and wielding a wooden racket, but no one would argue that the genteel sport he dominated has much in common with the game Sampras plays. "Pete is the greatest player ever at Wimbledon," three-time champion John McEnroe said. 'No one has ever come close to Pete." And whatever the significance of Sampras' 13 Grand Slam titles, it's a record that could last for generations. "Time will tell if it'll be broken," he said. "In the modern game, it could be difficult. It's a lot of commitment, a lot of good playing at big times. ... "The next person might be 8 years old hitting at a park somewhere around the world. You never know."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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