Pete Sampras vs John McEnroe | US Open 1990 Semifinal 

John McEnroe said in 1993 that what surprised him in this match was how well Sampras was hitting returns and passing shots, he said he "wasn't expecting Sampras to be so strong from the baseline". Serve Volleyers were not known for those kind of counterpunching abilities. That's what marked Sampras out from other serve volleyers and why he won much more than the other fellow serve volleyers. By the way, a piece of interesting trivia. Andre Agassi has a comprehensive winning record against all serve volleyers: Agassi v Becker: 10-4 Agassi v Edberg: 6-3 Agassi v Stich: 6-0 Agassi v Rusedski: 9-2 Agassi v Rafter: 10-5 Agassi v Krajicek: 4-3 Agassi v Ivanisevic: 4-3 Agassi v Todd Martin: 13-5 Agassi v Escude: 5-1 Agassi v Henman: 2-2 (they never played a grand slam match) But Agassi v Sampras? 20-14 in Sampras' favour.

It never gets old watching Pete Sampras!

2 elite serve and volleyers in a meaningful singles match, MY EYES

This was the beginning of Pete Sampras. He is one of the best players of all time. He had the fastest serve. I was always a big fan growing up...I was a teenager back then...I had a celebrity athlete crush on him😀

Tennis changed so much between 84 - 90. McEnroe was still winning slams in 84, but by 1990, his game seemed to have become outdated due to the increased emphasis on power.

Sampras ..A cold killer . Amazing emotional control and focus , maybe the most ever , along with Borg .

This is one of those big ‘changing of the guard’ matches. It reminds me of watching a young Federer beat Sampras at Wimbledon 2001

Pete’s coming out party. I was attending matches at the Open that year and was a huge Mac fan. I was thrilled to see this no-name kid take out Lendl in the quarters because I thought it meant Mac had a clear path to the final. I was shocked to read the score line the next day. Pete beat him easily. Little did I appreciate at the time what a phenomenal talent Pete was. One of the best ever to play the game. Watching highlights now, you can tell Pete was having fun out there playing a legend on the big stage and showing his tremendous serve and volley game.

This was definitely Pete bursting onto the world scene and McEnroe's last great stand. Tennis experienced a seismic shift after this U.S. Open. The emphasis was on power and fitness. Plus it takes highlights of a match like this to remember and realize how crazy great Pete Sampras was back in the day.

Two great players, At this point Samparas was younger, bigger, stronger, and a player who grew up in juniors with a graphite racket. The game was changing. McEnroe's style changed the game and at this point the game was changing again.

Love watching those days tennis, late 80s and 90s.

A simplicidade de Sampras é contagiante!!! Ele foi e sempre será incrível!!!

I cannot understand how McEnroe got any power at all out of that swing. His legs are straight, body goes stiff as a board... He must've had the strongest left wrist on the planet!

Serve and volley, I miss you so much.

Love watching the old serve and volleyers. Was how i grew up learning to play, that and the chip and charge, thats a slice backhand down the line and rush the net to protect. Some old 1980s terminology 😄😁👍

pete incredible at only 19 years old here. the first true power player of tennis. serve is simply incredible.

I remember watching this with my mom and dad. It was so exciting at the time!

its amazing you can really see the dated yet amazing strikes McEnroe does and then when Pete Sampras hits the ball you see how much more progress the technique has to nowadays.

What a match! Two of the absolute greats...❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sampras's game is obviously incredibly impressive but what is really amazing is his demeanor - ice cool, focused, determined and never flustered.....the mindset of a champion with the skills to go along with it.

Great match from 2 legends!

Awesome video, mate. Thanks! It's a pleasure watch this tennis level.

This was the first Open after my mother and I started watching, very nostalgic for me

2 monstruos del tenis... Qué recuerdos!!!

I been fortunate to have played, coached and watched tennis since 1970. Just my humble opinion that McEnroe and Sampras are two of the best serve and volley players that have played this style of aggressive athletic tennis. I just enjoyed the way they went out and made things happen my constantly moving forward and challenging each other to make a better shot. I got to watch McEnroe live from court side through out his career and was always impressed with his use of spin, pace, placement and tactics. I realize that the evolution of the game to power tennis passed him by but the way he and Sampras constantly moved forward inside the baseline is still an important tactic.

It's amazing seeing the change in style of Sampras and his all court games vs. the flamboyant strokes and chip and charge/serve and volley style of McEnroe. I'm not old enough to remember this game. It's clear Sampras would change the game forever.

Such beautiful attacking tennis. From 2 serve and volley legends

McEnroe was impressive at the net of course, but the deciding factor , I think, was Pete's serve. It was just too good.

Pete and Mac are my 2 favorite tennis players. So much respect for both of them.

I miss the days of serve and volley tennis. Or even volleys at all, both players seeking that net position constantly. Great stuff

The two most distinctive serve motions you'll ever see and most recognizable too. At 7:56 that overhead smash is legendary and would later be perfected. Pete's serving at 110mph in the 90s was at least 10-15mph faster than player on tour at the time.

God this was CRAZY.....I loved this era. Sampras looked so young. Had the complete package. McEnroe was great also.

McEnroe: "What the hell am I doing in the 90's?"

The first time i see Mcenroe satisfied with his defeat, because as he is a legend so he has the flair to sense the other legends even if they are still young.Great Sampras&Mcenroe.

Great to see matches of this standard again thanm you.

Its so crazy how Sampras's serve was this good at the time, yet it evolved even moreso athletically in the years after. You definately saw more back torque later on with Pete tossing the serve behind his head, which may have even led to some of his back issues later in his career.

I love these masters don't celebrate after every single points.

Awesome clip. Thanks so much for posting it. McEnroe barely hanging in there against a very young Sampras.

McEnroe could've defeated anybody but Sampras in this match. I watched it live in 1990 and that year Mac was in the last leg of his comeback ('88-'90). In that US Open he looked unbeatable, playing close to his peak years '84-'85, until he met Sampras, and then the old guard had to pass the torch to the young guard. Tennis changed a LOT after that year's US Open.

USA Men’s Tennis RIP 😢

The relexes and angles they both could hit are still remarkable.

Passing shots were excellent, even in the beginnings of Pete's career.

Sampras's composure throughout his entire career has been exemplary. The ice man. Brilliant player.

Johnny Mac was only 31 here yet the generational gap made him look ancient. Fitness has improved such that at 31 players are still a long way from their sunset years.

Remember this one. Young Pete showed the head, heart and athleticism that made him a legend.

Somehow I knew at 18:45 the way Pete's winding up....figured it would be a scorcher !! Wow !! Proof that it's still is the smoothest, most natural greatest serve of all time ! Poor McEnroe didn't even flinch ! LOL

For as good as John was, Pete was that much better. Sampras was probably one of the best I ever saw play and very few were able to keep up with him.

What a match this was. It shows how the youngsters can bring the heat.

You don’t really see serve and volley styles these days so this is always great to watch.

Two of the best serve and volleyers in the history of tennis.

Pete was so young and so calm, they both were like from different world

Pete Sampras is easily my favorite player of all time. His serve and volley game was so amazing it was crazy watching him against another all time great serve and volley player. Sampras had bigger guns though.

Different era different play style. Thanks Pete for showing your superb style to represent modern tennis style.

I know a lot of people say McEnroe was the greatest net player ever but I always make the case for Sampras. It's not just the serve that made him hard to beat in this era. He was masterful off both sides placing the ball deep for clean winners with his volleys. Also the half volleys, the stop volleys, the little cross court wrist snaps. Add to this the technical perfection of his overheads on both sides and the incredible athleticism of his trademark slam dunks and you have the most complete net player of all time in my opinion. Eventually, advances in racket and string technology would reveal the limitations of serve and volley as an full time strategy, but for this magical period, he was the master of it.

*Classic masterpiece match. Two legends of tennis.* Serve and volley at its finest: *perfection.*

McEnroe's forehand takes some getting used to but his overall game was very effective back then. His theatrics at the net is totally unmatched and in a league of their own. 👍

Man I miss the serve and volley era.

John Mc Enroe reste un joueur à part, dans 50 ou 70 ans on voudra toujours regarder jouer Mc Enroe comme on regarde la Joconde, un Stradivarius ou un tableau de Gauguin.

Both serve and volley players with such distinctly different styles. I enjoy these classic clips

The artistry, court presence and sheer star power of McEnroe is still in evidence here, some wonderful shots but Tennis was changing with new names, new fitness tech and the end of one era passing into another, Pete had boom-boom serves and penetrating passing shots, an amazing time to thank them Both ! :)

The one handed McEnroe backhand! A thing of beauty!❤️

Big Mc had the best fell for the ball of all players. he was a exceptional player it never got boring with him.

Questa è storia:due grandi campioni !

To this day, I’ve never seen a better serve than Sampras’s. He could ace the whole game, plus the kick on his second serve was unmatched. The ball always seemed to be kicking away from the returner. It was his greatest weapon!

The last two great serve and volleyers!

Mac’s hands were one in a million but that continental grip for ground strokes is almost painful to watch now

Due formidabili giocatori .. campioni di un tennis che non esiste più...

Am so glad that that short motion on both McEnroe and Sampras’s forehand is different from nowadays forehands

Love the John McEnroe outburst around the ten minute mark. Legend.

It’s so amazing that McEnroe came close to winning the French with those ground strokes. Speaks to his genius

I love the Eras that we witness in tennis Mcrenroe/Borg. Samp/Agassi . Fed/Nadal/ Novak / Andy it’s crazy

A GREAT Backhand!! They have that, "Tiger roar"! Lol God I Love it!❤️

Amazing tennis, real tennis, and amazing tennis attire.

IMO when Sampras was in his prime he was easily the best tennis player ever...

The tennis is great here but am also appreciating McEnroe's Air Trainer 1s! Had a pair myself and they were amazing shoes. Just recently got the reissued ones and boy they bring back memories of playing tennis without a care in the world...

30年前とは思えない映像の綺麗さ💌

That kid was 31 and that man was 19

La spettacolarità del tennis deve quasi tutto a McEnroe. Onore a te grande leggenda.

Great to watch

McEnroe's game was already ancient against new generation of power player like Sampras and Agassi, one was the serve & volleyer, the other was the best returner & ball striker. I can imagine how cocky Mac felt deeply humiliated by bombs after bombs that came from Sampras, and to add the salt to the wound: Sampras' killer forehand that simply outpowered whatever Mac tried to throw at his opponent.

John McEnroe poesia in movimento ...

McEnroe is still my favorite all time player, but Pete Sampras took tennis to a different level in the 1990s

Fantastic game of serve and volley!

Pretty amazing how far inside the court McEnroe takes Petes second serve. Great hands , great eyes.

Loved Macs shoes !

Back in the day, the crowds would really get into the match. My wife and I saw Sampras and Agassi in the 2001 quarterfinals under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. I'm sure people heard the crowd downtown Manhattan. I've never seen such a match since.

il mio mito, il Dio del Tennis. Pete Sampras

*Tennis USA* 🇺🇸 90's: Connor, Agassi, Sampras, Chang... 2020: Tiafoe. *REALLY PAINFUL*

Really cool point: 15:00.

The evolution of tennis, the power and speed these days are just crazy...

Fast forward 11 years Federer vs Sampras at Wimbledon and you have Deja Vu all over again.

It was like the changing of the Guard between these two All Time Greats. Like Mike Tyson Knocking out Larry Holmes a few years before this.

McEnroe probably had better feel and touch than anyone in the history of tennis, but Pete's game was just too big. Times were changing and McEnroe's game couldn't keep up.

Wow! Brings back great memories ❤️ At the same time it’s crazy how much tennis has changed as to how the sport is played. It’s there any sport out there that has changed more?

This is like the Federer Sampras match of 2001. Changing of the guard.

It is funny to see Mac get all frustrated about Pete taking it to him. We think "Dude, it is Pistol Pete Sampras, 7 time Wimbie champ and 14 GS titles! McEnroe didnt think he was actually going win against Pete Sampras did he?" But no one really knew who this kid (literally a kid) was much around this time. Plus, this was John and Jimmy's homecrowd. They were still considered the kings by many. I remember this was during the time Mac was finally getting back into shape and was making a bit of a comeback also. I was a HUGE McEnroe fan and really thought he would win this US Open possibly. One last time. By the middle of the match I was telling my mother.."Wow mom, this kid is really good. He is going to be huge." Pete was exceptional. Hadnt seen a powerful player like him ever at the time. That running forehand down the line is my favorite shot of his. And that monster serve. He really had all around great abilities. But at this point, fans were kind of blown away at just how easily he pushed Johnny Mac around the court. After this match I kind of knew Mac was in essence done. But having Pete to watch and be a fan of lessoned the blow of my tennis hero's demise.

Mac was the best ever in his day.

Great to see this much more interesting and complex style of tennis that they both played back then with exciting serve and volley and attacking tennis...not the boring baseline endless rallies in today's tennis. Very few players in the current era could play this aggressive style of play, starting with FEDERER.

Les surfaces à cette époque était plus rapide que maintenant et favorisé le tennis boxing en service volée, je suis nostalgique de cette époque avec ces grands attaquants.

やっぱり９０年代テニスは面白いなー。