You gotta admire how Pete to get his first USO went through Lendl-Mac-Agassi, and to get his first Wimbledon went through Agassi-Becker-Courier. The dude had such good competition and always produced the goods from a young age.
Pete Sampras had the toughest opponents just to get to his GS finals in his prime. It seems nobody has ever appreciated this fact. We needed more eligible tennis experts to stress things like that. I believe we still do.
@@Marc443 so thats 3-4. Even 5 or 6. On the other hand how many legends and GS champs he had to beat. He made 18 finals. How many weak opponents Federer had, and how many champs? 🤣🤣🤣
@@Marekxkuh Federer's main rivals have 46 slams between them and the other guys he faced like Hewitt and Safin beat Sampras in back to back US open finals. I love Pete but romanticizing the fact he faced better competition isn't applicable. There's more money in tennis now than ever so the competition is only tougher.
Becker in his later years kept running into Sampras at Wimbledon every time he made a deep run in the tournament and while he always played hard and tough, he was just outclassed by Sampras on grass by that time.
Yep. I’ll never forget 1996 World Championship final in Hanover, Germany. Five epic sets. Only two breaks of serve in over 4 hrs of tennis. Becker started the match with 4 aces as well which whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
How Becker was looking always so suprised about his mishits. Everyone saw that he had big training deficits. That he reached the semies and won against Stich was a miracle.
Sampras just over powers Becker with superior serving and volleying.1990 was the final swan song for both Becker and Edberg. After that they never met again at Wimbledon. Sampras went decisively ahead of everyone post 1993 Wimbledon.
Too bad we can't use a time machine to find out. Would love to see how Roger, Rafa and Novak would fare especially against Becker, Ivanisevic and Sampras.
@@vinod1222 I 100% agree and I'm a Sampras fan. Agassi was good enough to take advantage of the short gap between the end of the Becker/Edberg Era and the start of the Sampras Era. Also like Ivan Lendl he was consistently close to business end of Wimbledon. The great grass court players apart from the odd run could never achieve any consistency at the French Open. Sampras was the best of that Era but Agassi was not far behind
@@kenkozawa9810 I think only Roger would have been successful on the lighting fast Wimbledon courts of the 90s while I think Nadal and Djokovic would have had similar success to lendl and Agassi on grass. A lot of modern day tennis fans don't realize how different the courts were back in the 90. It was almost impossible to have sustained success on both surfaces
Becker´s fitness was already decreasing due to family focus. At the end of the year he was not qualified for Frankfurt and „only“ number 11 in the ranking. He came back stronger 1994-1996.
At 25 Becker was in his prime here, so a 5 setter in a quarter is something he should be physically and mentally capable of negotiating. That’s expected from a top player. No point giving such excuses. Sampras also came off a 5 set win over Agassi. The fact is that Sampras was just more powerful, fitter, much more driven, mentally tougher and precise than Becker thru out their careers. He was becker’s nemesis and one of the key reason Becker gave up mentally at Wimbledon.
@@amitmarathe232 aren´t you the guy, who defends Lendl in bascially each Becker vs. Lendl video here on youtube? If so, you should know by now, that Becker´s heart was into tennis during many phases between late 1991 and early 1994. And tennis-players back then were often beginning to decline in their mid 20s. In 1993 Becker was one step slower and heavier as in 1989, it´s so obvious.
@@Donan777 Yes correct I am a Lendl fan and have commented on most Becker Lendl videos. As far as this match is concerned, the truth is that Sampras was able to play better than Becker when it mattered. Becker himself has magnanimously mentioned it in an interview. He has stated that he had to hand over his keys to centre court to the new king. He further says that when both were playing at their best, Sampras was better. And it’s natural for Becker fans to feel sad about it. I still feel bad about Lendl losing to Becker at Wimbledon. But the fact is that Becker was better than Lendl on that day on the key moments. I may like it or not. In all my comments I have not defended Lendl, I have only appreciated him for the effort he has put in to become better and I admire his consistency and desire to be No 1. He did receive some significant bad line calls in the 89 semis and also the rain delay affected his momentum. One may say that these are excuses given by Lendl fans but getting 6/7 bad line calls during key moments can change the course of such a tight match. And yes.. to give credit to Becker he seized the momentum readily. That’s it.
@@amitmarathe232 "Becker was a step slower at the age of 25..why?" Because he was on a downward spiral ever since 1990, believe it or not. In 1990 he got dependant an sleeping pills. If you watch the 1st 2 sets of the Wimbledon final in 1990, you´ll recognize, that his whole movements looked off. Becker talked about the effect of the sleeping pills in his 1st autobiography. He took them too late in the night before the final and the effect started to wear off in set 3. By 1993 he had other things in mind than tennis. He lost his love for tennis and cared more about his marriage and private life. Just compare his footwork and composure from 1989 to 1993. Totally different. And after wnning against Agassi in Wimbledon 1995, McEnroe even commented, that Becker is one step slower as in his early days, yet he won. About excuses: It´s you, who usually desperately tries to bend and twist the facts in order to diminish Becker´s achievements. It´s ridiculous. When he was on top of his game, Becker had no equal in parts of 1986 and 1988 to 1991. Plus, he was just spectacular and inspiring to watch. That´s all that matters to me about Boris. Sampras was a better player than Becker starting from around 1992 and in 1993 it got obvious. But who knows, a 1989 Becker with 1995/96 training methods could be on Sampras´level. A 1984 McEnroe perhaps with mid 90s racket and training could be even better than both Sampras and Becker.
Sampras was in grasscourt skill in all ways the better player. More athletic, faster and more constant. Becker had the better backhandreturn but was slower in reaction. As Becker said „this guy is simply better than me“. Especially in 1993, Becker was not in shape. In 1995 he was tired from the Pioline and Agassi matches and 1997 not really a battle.
I've never liked Sampras style, always loved Boris Becker. Sampras by the way was a little stronger than Becker. I miss so much Boris Becker. Greetings from Rome Italy
Even though my all-time favourite and always will be is Becker, I came to really admire Sampras' game. Becker was an artist, pure poetry but Sampras was too, he was all business, a really amazing athlete.
You gotta admire how Pete to get his first USO went through Lendl-Mac-Agassi, and to get his first Wimbledon went through Agassi-Becker-Courier. The dude had such good competition and always produced the goods from a young age.
Pete Sampras had the toughest opponents just to get to his GS finals in his prime. It seems nobody has ever appreciated this fact. We needed more eligible tennis experts to stress things like that. I believe we still do.
Semi true. Becker 1993 was not really on his level. Pioline 1997 in Wimbledon and Moya 1997 in Australia also not the toughest opponents.
@@Marc443 so thats 3-4. Even 5 or 6. On the other hand how many legends and GS champs he had to beat. He made 18 finals. How many weak opponents Federer had, and how many champs? 🤣🤣🤣
@@Marekxkuh Federer's main rivals have 46 slams between them and the other guys he faced like Hewitt and Safin beat Sampras in back to back US open finals. I love Pete but romanticizing the fact he faced better competition isn't applicable. There's more money in tennis now than ever so the competition is only tougher.
Becker had never broken Sampras serve in the three meetings at Wimbledon. Not even once.... Awful fact.
Final Becker vs Edberg is what the fans wanted
Becker in his later years kept running into Sampras at Wimbledon every time he made a deep run in the tournament and while he always played hard and tough, he was just outclassed by Sampras on grass by that time.
Happened to ivanisevic and hemman too. Have to beat the best.
Boris really only had a chance against Pete on those fast indoor carpet tournaments in Europe! On grass he couldnt beat him!
Yep. I’ll never forget 1996 World Championship final in Hanover, Germany. Five epic sets. Only two breaks of serve in over 4 hrs of tennis. Becker started the match with 4 aces as well which whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
@@jagjitsinghmanku2283 Sunday - November 24, 1996!
How Becker was looking always so suprised about his mishits. Everyone saw that he had big training deficits. That he reached the semies and won against Stich was a miracle.
I was there. It was amazing.
I watched this match scotched to the screen ! Such incredible quality players !
6:38 from this angle you can see how much lower the bounce used to be on the old grass. Sampras was such a good player.
Sampras just over powers Becker with superior serving and volleying.1990 was the final swan song for both Becker and Edberg. After that they never met again at Wimbledon. Sampras went decisively ahead of everyone post 1993 Wimbledon.
and that although becker was just 23 and edberg 24 in july 1990...they could have gone on for 10 more years..if things developed as in the big 3 era..
American generation usurped Edberg and Becker by mid 1990s.
I dont think any of todays players would have survived on this lightening quick court, maybe Federer.
Too bad we can't use a time machine to find out. Would love to see how Roger, Rafa and Novak would fare especially against Becker, Ivanisevic and Sampras.
@@kenkozawa9810 yeah absolutely. Tennis especially Wimbledon was a different game and it was almost impossible to win from the baseline.
And that's what makes Agassi's 92 win probably one of the best ever
@@vinod1222 I 100% agree and I'm a Sampras fan. Agassi was good enough to take advantage of the short gap between the end of the Becker/Edberg Era and the start of the Sampras Era. Also like Ivan Lendl he was consistently close to business end of Wimbledon. The great grass court players apart from the odd run could never achieve any consistency at the French Open. Sampras was the best of that Era but Agassi was not far behind
@@kenkozawa9810 I think only Roger would have been successful on the lighting fast Wimbledon courts of the 90s while I think Nadal and Djokovic would have had similar success to lendl and Agassi on grass. A lot of modern day tennis fans don't realize how different the courts were back in the 90. It was almost impossible to have sustained success on both surfaces
Tennis at Wimbledon was like Badminton till late 90s of the last century. Then after it turned into Football, particularly after 2005.
Talentwise Becker is on top of sampras but consitency discipline and commitment made Sampras a better player overall.
Love me some Boom Boom.
Pete "Big Daddy" Sampras was at his best here.
Becker´s fitness was already decreasing due to family focus. At the end of the year he was not qualified for Frankfurt and „only“ number 11 in the ranking. He came back stronger 1994-1996.
14:16 point of the match. The drive volley forced of Sampras derived to the drop volley. Magnificent!
Ein Top Match. 😎😎
Becker very flat after his 5 sets against Stich in the previous round
At 25 Becker was in his prime here, so a 5 setter in a quarter is something he should be physically and mentally capable of negotiating. That’s expected from a top player. No point giving such excuses. Sampras also came off a 5 set win over Agassi. The fact is that Sampras was just more powerful, fitter, much more driven, mentally tougher and precise than Becker thru out their careers. He was becker’s nemesis and one of the key reason Becker gave up mentally at Wimbledon.
@@amitmarathe232 aren´t you the guy, who defends Lendl in bascially each Becker vs. Lendl video here on youtube? If so, you should know by now, that Becker´s heart was into tennis during many phases between late 1991 and early 1994. And tennis-players back then were often beginning to decline in their mid 20s.
In 1993 Becker was one step slower and heavier as in 1989, it´s so obvious.
@@Donan777 Yes correct I am a Lendl fan and have commented on most Becker Lendl videos. As far as this match is concerned, the truth is that Sampras was able to play better than Becker when it mattered. Becker himself has magnanimously mentioned it in an interview. He has stated that he had to hand over his keys to centre court to the new king. He further says that when both were playing at their best, Sampras was better. And it’s natural for Becker fans to feel sad about it. I still feel bad about Lendl losing to Becker at Wimbledon. But the fact is that Becker was better than Lendl on that day on the key moments. I may like it or not. In all my comments I have not defended Lendl, I have only appreciated him for the effort he has put in to become better and I admire his consistency and desire to be No 1. He did receive some significant bad line calls in the 89 semis and also the rain delay affected his momentum. One may say that these are excuses given by Lendl fans but getting 6/7 bad line calls during key moments can change the course of such a tight match. And yes.. to give credit to Becker he seized the momentum readily. That’s it.
@@amitmarathe232 "Becker was a step slower at the age of 25..why?"
Because he was on a downward spiral ever since 1990, believe it or not.
In 1990 he got dependant an sleeping pills. If you watch the 1st 2 sets of the Wimbledon final in 1990, you´ll recognize, that his whole movements looked off.
Becker talked about the effect of the sleeping pills in his 1st autobiography.
He took them too late in the night before the final and the effect started to wear off in set 3.
By 1993 he had other things in mind than tennis. He lost his love for tennis and cared more about his marriage and private life.
Just compare his footwork and composure from 1989 to 1993. Totally different.
And after wnning against Agassi in Wimbledon 1995, McEnroe even commented, that Becker is one step slower as in his early days, yet he won.
About excuses: It´s you, who usually desperately tries to bend and twist the facts in order to diminish Becker´s achievements.
It´s ridiculous.
When he was on top of his game, Becker had no equal in parts of 1986 and 1988 to 1991. Plus, he was just spectacular and inspiring to watch.
That´s all that matters to me about Boris.
Sampras was a better player than Becker starting from around 1992 and in 1993 it got obvious.
But who knows, a 1989 Becker with 1995/96 training methods could be on Sampras´level.
A 1984 McEnroe perhaps with mid 90s racket and training could be even better than both Sampras and Becker.
Best server in tennis.
Sampras was in grasscourt skill in all ways the better player. More athletic, faster and more constant. Becker had the better backhandreturn but was slower in reaction. As Becker said „this guy is simply better than me“. Especially in 1993, Becker was not in shape. In 1995 he was tired from the Pioline and Agassi matches and 1997 not really a battle.
Becker forever!
Becker lost power in his serve very quickly.. His motion wasn't as explosive or efficient as Sampras
Too much power from Pete
I've never liked Sampras style, always loved Boris Becker. Sampras by the way was a little stronger than Becker. I miss so much Boris Becker. Greetings from Rome Italy
His tennisstyle was nice😎
Even though my all-time favourite and always will be is Becker, I came to really admire Sampras' game. Becker was an artist, pure poetry but Sampras was too, he was all business, a really amazing athlete.