Pete Sampras, tennis legend and winner of 14 Majors, considered Rafael Nadal “mentally, the best player” he has ever seen, although he acknowledged that it is “very difficult” to determine who is number one of all time, since among the Spanish and the Serbian Novak Djokovic would be like choosing between “a Ferrari or a Lamborghini”.
“Everything that (Nadal) does is exceptional. Roger (Federer) and I had a period of dominance on grass, but winning the same big 14 times is incredible. And mentally, what a player! Surely the best I’ve seen,” he assessed. Sampras, in an interview published in the magazine of The Team.
However, for the American, now 51 years old and a golfer, answering who is the best tennis player of all time “is impossible.”
“Novak has done incredible things in the last ten years, he has good numbers against most players, he is the one with the record of being number 1. He has won everywhere. He has all the records except for the Grand Slam “, he referred.
Sampras admitted his disbelief that his record of 14 “greats” was surpassed by three players (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) in the space of 17 years. “In my time, we retired close to 30. Mentally, I couldn’t take it anymore at 31 (…) To have been so consistent for so many years. They are monsters in this sport.”
Among the three, the tennis player assumed that he is closest to Federer, because he has a personality close to his. “With Novak I have already had dinner and we talk to each other from time to time. And with Rafa, although we have not spent much time together, I have great respect for everything he has achieved,” he stressed.
