Sports Thread #1 for 6/8/09: Bud Collins Is Right And Wrong After Federer' s Big Win
Here's the venerable Bud Collins talking to David Lloyd yesterday on ESPN
What Collins says here is exactly right about Roger Federer not being the greatest player yet because of his record against Rafael Nadal. In order to truly have that claim, Fed and everyone else with at least decent tennis knowledge knows that he will help his G.O.A.T credentials if he somehow gets his duels with Nadal back to even levels.
But in an interview later in the day on ESPNews, Collins then says that Pete Sampras had a tougher era than Federer. Despite my admiration for Collins, he couldn't be more wrong. Yes, the top 5 in Sampras prime included the likes of Agassi, Courier, Chang, and a few others while Pete was truly in his prime. And they have of course won more Grand Slams than say, the Andy Roddicks, Marat Safins and David Nalbandians of the world.
But the game has been immensely harder as the years progressed, and the depth in the men's game, especially around the year 2000 when the Masters Series replaced the Mercedes Super 9 Series, is twice or even three times better than it was in the mid 90's.
Federer needs to reverse his record against Nadal to officially earn the always incongruous Greatest of All Time label. But he has played in the toughest era ever in my mind, and excelled in it like no other.
What Collins says here is exactly right about Roger Federer not being the greatest player yet because of his record against Rafael Nadal. In order to truly have that claim, Fed and everyone else with at least decent tennis knowledge knows that he will help his G.O.A.T credentials if he somehow gets his duels with Nadal back to even levels.
But in an interview later in the day on ESPNews, Collins then says that Pete Sampras had a tougher era than Federer. Despite my admiration for Collins, he couldn't be more wrong. Yes, the top 5 in Sampras prime included the likes of Agassi, Courier, Chang, and a few others while Pete was truly in his prime. And they have of course won more Grand Slams than say, the Andy Roddicks, Marat Safins and David Nalbandians of the world.
But the game has been immensely harder as the years progressed, and the depth in the men's game, especially around the year 2000 when the Masters Series replaced the Mercedes Super 9 Series, is twice or even three times better than it was in the mid 90's.
Federer needs to reverse his record against Nadal to officially earn the always incongruous Greatest of All Time label. But he has played in the toughest era ever in my mind, and excelled in it like no other.
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