Sampras ~or~ Agassi

[BRISH]

For me, it depends on how you define favorite. On a personal 'I would like to be friends with" level I have to pick Agassi. But, on a 'who was a better tennis player' level I have to pick Sampras. He was just so dominate. Maybe I am old-school, but I totally enjoy how much they hate each other.

Although, if I am totally honest, I would not pick either of them. My top 5 would be:

A close 1 & 2 - Roger Federer and Bjorn Borg
3, 4, & 5 (in no particular order as it changes every day) - Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, & John McEnroe
Just outside - Ivan Lendl & Jimmy Conners

Same here. Technically, I like several for different reasons. I just finished catching up on some Agassi clips, and I did not realize he was in it for 22 (?) years. I knew it was a while but wow. I hate that I missed watching his last major live. Some others I loved to watch: Jimmy Connors,


Jim Courier (Huge Crush...Ex-crush)


Bjorn Borg (Exciting!), John MacEnroe (sp?). These guys were a blast to watch. (Live/taped) Actually, MacEnroe wasn't a favorite but at least we got the mac cam from him. (Not sure that's what it's called, but it was pretty cool when it came out.)

What's happened to USA men's tennis? Unfortunately, Roddick has never really risen to that next level. The Europeans have dominated since the days of Sampras and Agassi.

Well, if what's going on here in smaller areas is indicative of a general picture, then it's less funding in the tennis programs. Heck, less funding to make sure there's a net up. Secondly, the variety of sports that people are interested in has increased. For example, in my area soccer and hockey are now of interest. Fifteen years ago it was as foreign to us as you can get. Something else I think about is that it seems (and I may be wrong) that the players use to be more involved in community. Almost all of them had some tennis camp somewhere or program that included tennis that they participated in. They gave back and kept interest and participation up. Lightup you kind of pinned something with the rivalry between Agassi and Sampras. I think we have good players but we dont have any great American rivalries to spur on the crowd. Also, I use to love watching the previous generation of players being present on the current scene in some way. It gave a sense of comradery and a push. It doesn't seem to be that way now. Now, I may be wrong that this fueling in the game has decreased because I haven't kept up with it in a while. That's another guess though.