Leander Paes already predicted Federer’s Grand Slam record in the duel against Sampras (Provided by Tennis World DE)
Former 18-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes claims that the first time he saw Roger Federer take on Pete Sampras, he knew the Swiss was destined to break the American tennis icon’s Grand Slam record.
In 2002, Sampras won his 14th Grand Slam title at the US Open, retiring from professional tennis with the record for most Grand Slam titles of all time. When Sampras retired, some believed his Grand Slam record was untouchable.
But then Federer won his first Grand Slam title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. Six years later – again at Wimbledon – Federer won his 15th Grand Slam title and officially broke Sampras’ record. Paes was asked who the GOAT was and explained how he knew Federer would achieve great things.“I will give you a somewhat peculiar answer.
Everyone was talking about Pete Sampras being the GOAT. And when Roger Federer played Pete Sampras for the first time, I thought, ‘This guy is going to break all his records.’ He not only drew level, but surpassed his record at Wimbledon and at the others as well.
But if we speak in modern times, in women’s tennis, Serena Williams will always be the GOAT. Martina Navratilova, one of my dearest friends and one of my absolute favorite doubles partners, will always be the GOAT.
These women have achieved amazing things in Grand Slams and the Olympics. But the reason Serena Williams is the GOAT for me is because she was raised in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles.
There were bullet casings and syringes lying around the tennis court she grew up on,” Paes told The Week.After Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic also surpassed Sampras’ records. Djokovic now has a record 23 Grand Slam titles – Nadal has 22 – Federer finished his career with 20 titles.
Some believe that Djokovic is hands down the GOAT as he holds the record for most Grand Slam titles of all time, while others still argue that Federer and Nadal deserve to be in the GOAT discussion.
2023-07-25 17:48:27
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