Pro Tennis's Comment Wall

Going into the Wimbledon Final on Sunday, casual tennis fans out there may have been saying to themselves: "Roger Federer already has 5 Wimbledon crowns and a ton of prize many. He doesn't have much to play for." But which tennis legend is Roger Federer most often compared to? Pete Sampras. How many Wimbledon’s did Pistol Pete win? 7. How many Grand Slams did Sampras win? 14. How many has Federer won? 12. Now Roger has already secured his place as one of the all-time greats in tennis, but he has a golden opportunity to end his career as the greatest of all-time. And when Roger Federer's career is over, experts are going to look at major wins when being asked the question: Who was greater? Roger Federer or Pete Sampras? Roger Federer has a chance to end his career as the greatest grass court player to ever play the game. And to be considered the greatest grass court player of all-time, he's going to have to top the 7 Wimbledon’s that Pete Sampras was able to win. Now, although Federer's career isn't over yet, he's no longer the star of tomorrow. Turning 27 next month, his time has to be right now. On Sunday, Roger Federer blew a golden opportunity to move to within a single Grand Slam of tying the all-time mark set by Pete Sampras of 14. The win would've also put him within a single Wimbledon of tying the all-time mark set by Pete Sampras of 7, except it was a loss. With a 22-year old Rafael Nadal, getting better and better by the tournament, and Roger Federer on the other side of 25 now, the match on Sunday was one of great importance for Federer. Boris Becker won his last major at 28. Pete Sampras won his last major at 31. Andre Agassi won his last major at 29. Jim Courier won his last major at 22. Ivan Lendl won his last major at 29. Jimmy Connor won his last major at 30. Thus Roger Federer did have a lot to play for this past Sunday, and his 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8), 7-9 loss to Nadal on Sunday has now left him little margin for error when it comes to breaking Pete Sampras' record for most Wimbledon crowns & Grand Slam titles.