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For the record Emerson would be happy to see Sampras win
Posted: Saturday July 08, 2000 10:19 PM
Should Pete Sampras triumph in Sunday's Wimbledon final, he will overtake the great Australian Roy Emerson atop the list of all-time men's Grand Slam singles champions with 13 major titles. Emerson says there's no one he would rather see surpass him. "I'll be a bit sad to lose the record," Emerson told me here in London, "but I've held it a long time and records are there to be broken. Pete's a terrific champion, a great ambassador for the game. I couldn't think of anyone better to break the record." Sampras and Emerson share another common trait. They both have fabulous records in Grand Slam finals. Emerson was 12 and 3, Sampras is 12 and 2. But Emerson, who won his major titles in the sixties and is now in his early sixties, didn't possess the same kind of potent serving weapon as the American. Since losing his serve in the first set of his third round match against Justin Gimelstob, he's gone 64 service games without being broken. Take note Patrick Rafter. Said Emerson: "I wish I'd had his serve. It would've made life a lot easier." Unlike Emerson, Sampras hasn't won a Grand Slam on clay - which is the only question mark against him categorically being embraced as the best in history.
"He's got to be way up there -- the top one or two," insisted Emerson. "He was number one for all those years, which speaks for itself -- especially in the class of tennis around today.
"Pete is a great champion. I'd like to see him win the French Open, though, because people will think he's a greater all round player if he ever could achieve that. He still has a chance to do that if he spends a little more time on clay. Purists say you need to win on all surfaces." But the only surface that matters this weekend is grass. "He's almost unbeatable on grass. He's lost just once in seven years," Emerson said. "He's pretty odds on favorite."
Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International. Jones is part of the World Sport crew that is in England covering Wimbledon.
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