What a battle, I was watching this in live. No matter Sampras (my all time favourite) lost this match, that's why we love tennis and we encouraged every day when we go out onto the court. Thanks for these guys showing us how a real sport and effort looks like, I am proud of I lived in those ages when Sampras played his best, it was a message and direction for my entire life. Good to see this playback again, thanks for uploading.
I started wacth tennis in 2002 so i miss all the sampras carrer. Thanks god UA-cam exist. Pete was an incredible player. I never saw better server - voley game.
Sampras was a menace for anyone. Always pressuring opponents to hold and hope for the best. Powerful from the backcourt too, and solid volleying. I found his personality to be glum and unlikeable, but his tennis was brutal.
Man that forehand winner on match point was genius. Safin hit the same running forehand almost while collapsing too at a CRUCIAL moment against Hewitt in the Aussie Open Final of 05.
In this match, though, he moused out when he had set points....just chipping that backhand cross-court waiting for Marat to make a mistake, but Marat waited for the right ball and hit a winner down the line each time.
Something I noticed in this match is a weakness in Pete's game- his return of serve. My sense is, he was spoiled by the strength of his serve and volley talent- (and never developed his return of serve).
Sampras el tenista mas elegante de todos los tiempos, tenía el Swing mas limpio y mas bello que he visto nunca y su forma de moverse por la pista, su electricidad en la red y la ejecucion tecnicamente perfecta en los golpes, el mejor de todos los tiempos.
He appears to cover 28-30 ft in four explosive strides after scorching the return, then has the dynamic balance to rip a Sampras-like running forehand down the line. Superhuman.
Two champions making Tennis super in 2002.in the year 2000 Marathon Safin became a US Tennis Champion and of course Pete made waves at Wimbledon from 1993 to 2000.Tennis will miss such great tennis tic courage,
I love how the ball was so fast that u could chip and charge today is so slow that if u chip you get passed so easy... And people think is faster this days.. There is ignorance everywhere ! And today the ball is slow that we can get rallies. Love it but have some respect for the great of greatness back then it took precision
Sampras was incredibly hard to beat, you had to play near flawless tennis to win a point. Ironic that Safin in the end won the match point with Pete's trademark running forehand!
and his serve wasn't working as well that night. if it had been working like usual pete would have won that match some way some how. pete had that champions spirit that makes you hit that extra shot or run that extra amount to win. pistol will always be the best to me.
@@novola1972 Pete was Novak's idol, and while I love both, Novak would have his hands full with Pete's serve and volley game without poly strings, heavy balls, and slowed courts.
Tennis balls flying & bouncing like bullets. Strokes are more flatter & bad ass. Pete is returning bombs from Safin with an 85 wilson pro stuff. And won all 14 slams with it. Truly the GOAT.
That volley of Sampras' after Safin's sensational return on match point was insane enough, but then Safin followed up with an unbelievable running forehand. One of the best match points ever. Three absolute incredible shots in less than a few seconds.
Pete wasn't quite as good after the back injury in the summer of 1999. The tennis he played in the summer of 1999 prior to the injury was absolutely amazing.
Yes, he could, but apparently, Safin wasn't interested in all that. Having achieved his goal + financial security, he wanted to have fun and enjoy life. Other top players did the same and I can't blame them.
That was incredibly clear-headed on that last point. Just great presence of mind to make that shot--wasn't blisteringly fast but pretty much the *only* shot Sampras couldn't get to from his perch at the center. Such a tough match, not really surprising Sampras retired later that year (after winning US Open).
@@MrBjorn6 Compared to the green clay of Wimbledon in the last few years (slowing started in the late 2000's) and even slower hard court in AO this rebound ace is way faster and fun to watch. In the last years only Cincy seems faster than all the other surfaces. And compared to the 90's is medum fast surface.
@@VanderlyleSKP There is nothing proving Wimbledon grass has been slower in the last few years. Players who play on it can't agree. The old England club uses the same formula since 2002, for the grass when they changed it from fast bad bouncing grass, to the consistent grass we play with since 2002. What do you have to support your opinion that the grass is so slow? Because if the players playing on it can't agree? What do you know?
@@MrBjorn6 Mate, just read this article: I hope you'll find enough answers: www.tennis.com/pro-game/2019/07/green-grass-or-green-clay-players-slowest-wimbledon-ever/83103/
Safins baseline game from that lightning fast courts are remarkable. Especially when sampras does the serve and volley, now they say joker have the strongest era, lol
@@jajasatorashi136 I think he was a bit of an under achiever though, and he was a bit inconsistent. Medvedev is also really strong, so was Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
I'd say he was the best player - who else could beat Agassi, Sampras, Roddick, Federer in his peak and 3rd seed Djokovic at Wimbledon? No one that's who. He was the beast! And a charismatic one that is. Love him.
Considering that the racquet technology has also aided the players of today's slow courts, take out the helpful strings and fibers and put a nadal or murray in a 90's showdown against sampras in a wimbledon final showdown, or a tennis masters cup final, they would probably have the same disadvantage as sampras would have now, if not bigger wouldnt they? Federer and Djokovic, and Agassi and Sampras are the best bets in doing good among different generations in my opinion,
safin had so much potential, he was the only player that could had tried to stop federer from 2003 to 2008.. to think he lost the final against crapola johanson...
+Ola_RM It's not a beauty contest. Sampras just simply looks like a man, not a boy (what he wasn't anymore). Todd Martin was sort of similar, he was regarded as a veteran even at 25 because of his grey hair.
This was basically when he retired, mostly due to back problems etc. In health terms he was eight years past his prime. Not surprisingly as his first and second serve was hit on average 20mph faster than today's players with an ancient racket
I really believe Pete still had some good years left in him. Yes, he would have take on a rising Fed, along with group of players in Fed's generation. But I believe if Pete committed himself to improving his game, using a large size racket, and increasing his cardio level, he would have been able to compete for championships. I think he thought 14 slams would last a long time. Little did he know, that not only Fed would surpass him but so would Nadal and Djokovic. For me, Pete will always be my favorite player to watch.
I have always been in the boat of its not all about slams and when you look at total statistics, his prime was def in the '94-'96 range. even starting in 98 other then grass, he was starting too lose and sum injuries happened. Now his last 3 years he was alwsys $ at the US open cuz hes a champ but his last 3 years overall win pct.. 79..69..61. Other then the great final 02US tourney he was declining significantly.. And this is my thought that wont either make sense or sit well with others.. But I think the overall player quality in 03-07 era was better then the 97-02 era... I mean guys like Rusedeski, Clement, Schuttler among others were making finals
Today is another era od tenis ...but is not boring...that days serve and voley was top case!...i love to watch this matches...RESPEKT FOR PISTOL PETE😎😎😎BIGEST EVER ...LIKE FEDERER TODAY..
Pete deserved to lose that. On the point before match point for Safin, Pete slices with his backhand twice to Safin's backhand? When you know the other guy has a jackhammer backhand you don't slice twice! Safin clubbed it up the line to earn a match point which he converted. Its hard to beat someone who can serve big and hit big off both wings.
... That's probably one of the best volleys somebody has hit to lose on a matchpoint.Sampras couldn't have hit that any better as it had tremendous low clearance and angle but the forehand down the line shot that Safin countered with couldn't have been prevented.
Back then I was thinking that Safin will rule the Tennis world for a decade at least but he failed to do so .. I don't know why ... He has a big serve , huge back hand and forhand ...
Actually, he is right. Agassi can't put the same amount of topspin on the ball to bother Federer on the backhand wing. In fact, no other player in the ATP today can do it! They all know what Nadal does to beat Federer, yet, no one else is able to copy that style of play. Nadal is the only player that can find the weakness in Federer's game. So, kudos for Nadal for discovering his weakness (all players have at least one), but kudos for Federer for having a hard to exploit weakness.
I always liked Safin...he was an interesting character. I’m disappointed he didn’t go on to do MMA, he’s got the aura of a Russian assassin. The AO looks much better with light blue courts. This green was always a bit difficult to see, even back then.
What a battle, I was watching this in live. No matter Sampras (my all time favourite) lost this match, that's why we love tennis and we encouraged every day when we go out onto the court. Thanks for these guys showing us how a real sport and effort looks like, I am proud of I lived in those ages when Sampras played his best, it was a message and direction for my entire life. Good to see this playback again, thanks for uploading.
I got hooked with tennis because of Sampras !! He’s my forever Idol💕❤️Through UA-cam I can always watch him again!
Great comment 👊
" it was a message and direction for my entire life "
I think I got the same "vibe " from watching Sampras !
For a big guy Safin moved really well. The match point off the Sampras volley was superb.
Incredible volley
Safin = Tennis's biggest loss. :( He had some great talent.
@MUFC why are commenting this on every tennis channel
Sampras=pussy serve voley bot
@@SuperNino111 nice joke
@@SuperNino111 you obviously have no idea what you’re talking about and obviously never seen him play
@@SuperNino111 atleast better than u
I started wacth tennis in 2002 so i miss all the sampras carrer. Thanks god UA-cam exist. Pete was an incredible player. I never saw better server - voley game.
McEnroe and Sampras.
Try watching McEnroe, 1983-84. Best S&V ever.
pat rafter
Edberg
Boris baecker
Safin was such a beast! Miss watching him play
Amazing match especially last 3 points. Can't believe this was 12 years ago, still getting nervous watching those two tie breakers!
Hi there it’s 20 years ago now 😅
My favorite player in tennis history, Sfin Marat he is a genius
Sampras was a tough opponent. Somehow, he raised his game at the right moments. Impressive victory from Safin.
gumbo its because climate. Australia has the same climate as Russia.
Sampras was a menace for anyone. Always pressuring opponents to hold and hope for the best. Powerful from the backcourt too, and solid volleying. I found his personality to be glum and unlikeable, but his tennis was brutal.
Man that forehand winner on match point was genius. Safin hit the same running forehand almost while collapsing too at a CRUCIAL moment against Hewitt in the Aussie Open Final of 05.
Sampras was the ultimate clutch player. He could lift his game to another level at critical times. That's one of the reasons he was so good.
In this match, though, he moused out when he had set points....just chipping that backhand cross-court waiting for Marat to make a mistake, but Marat waited for the right ball and hit a winner down the line each time.
Yes, but not a good time to point this out in a situation where that didn't happen!!
Something I noticed in this match is a weakness in Pete's game- his return of serve. My sense is, he was spoiled by the strength of his serve and volley talent- (and never developed his return of serve).
@@Cerph his whole game was about holding his serve and just try to get one break of serve per set.
Sampras el tenista mas elegante de todos los tiempos, tenía el Swing mas limpio y mas bello que he visto nunca y su forma de moverse por la pista, su electricidad en la red y la ejecucion tecnicamente perfecta en los golpes, el mejor de todos los tiempos.
Edverg
Gosto do Sampras, mas em termos de classe e elegância os mais foram Lendl e Edberg
Court coverage on that last pasing shot for a 6'4" was unreal. Jim Courier said that Safin was the best 6'4" mover he had ever seen.
He appears to cover 28-30 ft in four explosive strides after scorching the return, then has the dynamic balance to rip a Sampras-like running forehand down the line. Superhuman.
That was a balance of Hewitt! Unreal! Although now Danil Medvedev has a phenomenal court coverage for a 6'5" player!
@@Zenoandturtle Daniil isn't as great player as Safin. he's not beautiful to watch. That's why he's called unorthodox player.
Long live Hawk Eye!
My favorite player in tennis history, Pete Sampras.
Two champions making Tennis super in 2002.in the year 2000 Marathon Safin became a US Tennis Champion and of course Pete made waves at Wimbledon from 1993 to 2000.Tennis will miss such great tennis tic courage,
no Russian supporter. Marat played under pressure.
match point was unbelievable. great shot by sampras and even better shot by safin.
That was a great match point by Safin!
Great way to win a match.
I love how the ball was so fast that u could chip and charge today is so slow that if u chip you get passed so easy... And people think is faster this days.. There is ignorance everywhere ! And today the ball is slow that we can get rallies. Love it but have some respect for the great of greatness back then it took precision
I miss these courts. The old australian and US courts. The FAST courts.
What a match point!
Sampras was incredibly hard to beat, you had to play near flawless tennis to win a point. Ironic that Safin in the end won the match point with Pete's trademark running forehand!
and his serve wasn't working as well that night. if it had been working like usual pete would have won that match some way some how. pete had that champions spirit that makes you hit that extra shot or run that extra amount to win. pistol will always be the best to me.
He's nowhere near to Federer or Djokovic.
Sampras is a lot better than both imo. At his best, he was the GOAT.
Ciaron Smith no he is not. Djokovic returns Pete’s serve and then murder him from the baseline. It’s called progress. I am still Sampras fan
@@novola1972 Pete was Novak's idol, and while I love both, Novak would have his hands full with Pete's serve and volley game without poly strings, heavy balls, and slowed courts.
What a match point! Wow!
one of the greatest athletes ever with the worst fist pumps ever
Robearwgl lol like a guy on the dance floor, guessing his moves..
Now i've seen that, i cant unsee it lol
Dos de mis grandes ídolos del tennis. Mucha mejor generación
Perhaps the most dramatic match, and match point, I've ever seen.
Tennis balls flying & bouncing like bullets. Strokes are more flatter & bad ass. Pete is returning bombs from Safin with an 85 wilson pro stuff. And won all 14 slams with it. Truly the GOAT.
Look at those beautiful racquets! Thin beam, small-head and exceptional feel!
i love pete! amazing stlyish player, specially the serve...
That volley of Sampras' after Safin's sensational return on match point was insane enough, but then Safin followed up with an unbelievable running forehand. One of the best match points ever. Three absolute incredible shots in less than a few seconds.
Safin would have been an even stronger player in this era with these longer rallies. His prime had passed by then I think. His serve was devastating.
Safin was a head case but when he was on his game, he couldn’t be beat.
Safin is also one of legends in tennis world!!!!
The most talented player that i ve ever seen
I think that Safin and Federer are at 50% in terms of talent.
@@eduardogomes880 absolutely...he should have been an all time great
He should have won more grand slams ?
if he didnt get so much injury he will be in top 5 player and also prime safin at his best >>>> anyone
Pure artists.
Very intriguing matches back then.
Gotta love the pre "gold chain, shows up with a black eye from getting in a bar fight the night before" Safin.
последний мяч просто супер.народ,просьба-давайте политику перенесем в другие темы.здесь спорт и не будем все это мешать
Привет from 2019 🎾👍😎
You know you're good when you hit a winner off a winner! #Safin
Marat the great champion...love the reaction in 9:53..oh o love him
Loved this match it was Sampras vs. the new and improved Sampras. Too bad Safin was so injury prone he only lasted 6 years after this.
Sensational Safin 🎾
Pete wasn't quite as good after the back injury in the summer of 1999. The tennis he played in the summer of 1999 prior to the injury was absolutely amazing.
Two of my favorite players 😎
With better temperament, Safin could have won more grand slams...
Yes, he could, but apparently, Safin wasn't interested in all that. Having achieved his goal + financial security, he wanted to have fun and enjoy life. Other top players did the same and I can't blame them.
That was incredibly clear-headed on that last point. Just great presence of mind to make that shot--wasn't blisteringly fast but pretty much the *only* shot Sampras couldn't get to from his perch at the center. Such a tough match, not really surprising Sampras retired later that year (after winning US Open).
Amazing match point
Good old fast surface ..
it sucked tbh...
@@tennisaddict2157 rebound ace was fast?
@@MrBjorn6 Compared to the green clay of Wimbledon in the last few years (slowing started in the late 2000's) and even slower hard court in AO this rebound ace is way faster and fun to watch. In the last years only Cincy seems faster than all the other surfaces. And compared to the 90's is medum fast surface.
@@VanderlyleSKP There is nothing proving Wimbledon grass has been slower in the last few years. Players who play on it can't agree. The old England club uses the same formula since 2002, for the grass when they changed it from fast bad bouncing grass, to the consistent grass we play with since 2002. What do you have to support your opinion that the grass is so slow? Because if the players playing on it can't agree? What do you know?
@@MrBjorn6 Mate, just read this article: I hope you'll find enough answers: www.tennis.com/pro-game/2019/07/green-grass-or-green-clay-players-slowest-wimbledon-ever/83103/
Fantastic match point!!
I love Safin man!
Me too... He was the best.
Wow. What a fantastic finish. Pete was such a fantastic serve and volleyer. Safin was talented too though.
Hm, at 6:00 Sampras should have told the umpire "you stole a point from me, you owe me an apology"
Totally!
Sampras won't ever would've said that! he was a great player & a man with a great character.
He was too classy to say anything like that ... :) He wasn't the same as.......
Krishna Raju joker
That was a great match point by Safin!
2 très bon, Safin mon préféré.
Really miss the serve volley game!!! Love it!!
Safins baseline game from that lightning fast courts are remarkable. Especially when sampras does the serve and volley, now they say joker have the strongest era, lol
Great ending- that's how you win a match.
and what a legend pete is...
unreal finish! perfection
Сампрас вообще красавчик оказался такой справедливый👍 6:18
Safin is easily the greatest player to ever come out of Russia.
No doubt
@@jajasatorashi136 I think he was a bit of an under achiever though, and he was a bit inconsistent. Medvedev is also really strong, so was Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Safin was a fucking genius. THE most talented player I've seen along with Federer.
I'd say he was the best player - who else could beat Agassi, Sampras, Roddick, Federer in his peak and 3rd seed Djokovic at Wimbledon? No one that's who. He was the beast! And a charismatic one that is. Love him.
amazing match
Марат Великолепный
Sampras my all time favorite ❤️
I can not believ this.90's Sampras was more more strong,and he has beautiful footwork!
I don't understand why people would come here to "thumbs down" it. I mean....what were you expecting from this title?
Safin outclassed Sampras with clear risky winners on critical set points . Needs utmost maturity and determination to do it .
Amazing From ( 2000 ) - ( 2023 )..
Only ( 7 ) Players Have Won AO..
О Марат ты супер !
Sweet, miss this type of tennis
Oh!! What a QUALITY!! :)
The Great Marat Safin.
Man!!! Safin was true champion. Why did he retired too early?
Considering that the racquet technology has also aided the players of today's slow courts, take out the helpful strings and fibers and put a nadal or murray in a 90's showdown against sampras in a wimbledon final showdown, or a tennis masters cup final, they would probably have the same disadvantage as sampras would have now, if not bigger wouldnt they? Federer and Djokovic, and Agassi and Sampras are the best bets in doing good among different generations in my opinion,
safin had so much potential, he was the only player that could had tried to stop federer from 2003 to 2008.. to think he lost the final against crapola johanson...
I know right?! 😂
Ok.. good..Do you like serve and volley style of play?
I miss the serve and volley game, so much fun for fans to watch, and so much fun to do also!
I started watching tennis in 1998.
i really like to watch Samparas, but he looks so old when he plays and he wasn`t old at that time :P
+Ola_RM It's not a beauty contest. Sampras just simply looks like a man, not a boy (what he wasn't anymore). Todd Martin was sort of similar, he was regarded as a veteran even at 25 because of his grey hair.
+ipiap I meant playstyle not apperance
Ola_RM His playstyle might match his looks here. He was of course in a slump at that time, and only at the US Open returned to the old glory.
+Ola_RM There's nothing wrong with his playing style. He's an all time great.
This was basically when he retired, mostly due to back problems etc. In health terms he was eight years past his prime. Not surprisingly as his first and second serve was hit on average 20mph faster than today's players with an ancient racket
I really believe Pete still had some good years left in him. Yes, he would have take on a rising Fed, along with group of players in Fed's generation. But I believe if Pete committed himself to improving his game, using a large size racket, and increasing his cardio level, he would have been able to compete for championships. I think he thought 14 slams would last a long time. Little did he know, that not only Fed would surpass him but so would Nadal and Djokovic. For me, Pete will always be my favorite player to watch.
I have always been in the boat of its not all about slams and when you look at total statistics, his prime was def in the '94-'96 range. even starting in 98 other then grass, he was starting too lose and sum injuries happened. Now his last 3 years he was alwsys $ at the US open cuz hes a champ but his last 3 years overall win pct.. 79..69..61.
Other then the great final 02US tourney he was declining significantly..
And this is my thought that wont either make sense or sit well with others.. But I think the overall player quality in 03-07 era was better then the 97-02 era... I mean guys like Rusedeski, Clement, Schuttler among others were making finals
Today is another era od tenis ...but is not boring...that days serve and voley was top case!...i love to watch this matches...RESPEKT FOR PISTOL PETE😎😎😎BIGEST EVER ...LIKE FEDERER TODAY..
Superb match point..
My favorite player
Because that will give me a hint when you started watching tennis. it helps me think about a way to answer you.
such nice players to watch....
Pete is one of the greatest players of all time. Giving Safin a scare the year of his retirement, Love PETROS SAMPRAS forever!
Tennis players around the world should learn from the achievements of those two Players in 2002
Peace, joy and love.
Peace, joy and love.
Peace, joy and love.
The guy is behing 2 sets to 0 and hits a PICTURE PERFECT cross court drop like this? Amazing.
Fear and love? Surely the change is due to slower, higher bouncing courts and strings that create more spin?
Pete deserved to lose that. On the point before match point for Safin, Pete slices with his backhand twice to Safin's backhand? When you know the other guy has a jackhammer backhand you don't slice twice! Safin clubbed it up the line to earn a match point which he converted. Its hard to beat someone who can serve big and hit big off both wings.
Poor Safin; everyone's rooting for Sampras.
Comparing it to say the Safin Federer match there in 2005 or the Agassi Sampras matches, it was definitely passive.
... That's probably one of the best volleys somebody has hit to lose on a matchpoint.Sampras couldn't have hit that any better as it had tremendous low clearance and angle but the forehand down the line shot that Safin countered with couldn't have been prevented.
wow epic last point
Back when tennis was awesome :(
this court is realy realy fast !!!!! its awesome
Marat is great
Awesome game.Well won.
Back then I was thinking that Safin will rule the Tennis world for a decade at least but he failed to do so .. I don't know why ... He has a big serve , huge back hand and forhand ...
Coz he didn't take his tennis Career seriously.
Actually, he is right. Agassi can't put the same amount of topspin on the ball to bother Federer on the backhand wing. In fact, no other player in the ATP today can do it! They all know what Nadal does to beat Federer, yet, no one else is able to copy that style of play. Nadal is the only player that can find the weakness in Federer's game. So, kudos for Nadal for discovering his weakness (all players have at least one), but kudos for Federer for having a hard to exploit weakness.
yes that is true, but Safin's is effortless too I would say
I always liked Safin...he was an interesting character.
I’m disappointed he didn’t go on to do MMA, he’s got the aura of a Russian assassin.
The AO looks much better with light blue courts. This green was always a bit difficult to see, even back then.