Classic match between Sampras and Kafelnikov. Hope you guys enjoy! (NOTE: I do not own the rights to these footages. The intent of this video is to promote the sport and the player(s) showcased in this video)
Most recent tennis fans probably don't even know who Kafelnikov is. He won 2 slams, an Olympic Gold medal, number one in the world for a short time during the Agassi Sampras era, 4 slams in doubles, 26 singles titles and 27 in doubles. Top 10 fixture for a decade. Not the most exciting player to watch, but hardly ever missed a ball. I'm surprised some of the young Russian guys don't work with him as a coach. Rublev could use some of that consistency and calm temperament.
I agree, Kafelnikov (along with many other players in the late 90s) is criminally underrated. I’m not sure what he is up to now, but if Rublev was looking to switch coaches Kafelnikov would be a great choice!
I got the impression somewhere he was determined to play as much as he could in order to make enough money he never had to think about tennis again. Maybe a commentator said it. I did appreciate the “no nonsense” vibe he gave off out there.
Yeah he was a great player. First us open i saw Kafelnikov was uso 1997. Amazing to watch. From what i read he become a pro poker player so maybe thats why he’s not coaching??
I had forgotten what a badass he was. Kinda like a Medvedev, he's always gonna make a deep run and might win Majors. This is some wonderful classic all-court tennis.
Pete. So much talent. Playing a relentless serve and volley style at that point in the sport (to say nothing of today) was a staggeringly difficult endeavor in singles competition. That Sampras managed to employ this style so successfully during the emergence of “baseline power tennis” and technical advances (racquet frames, strings, surface changes, etc.) only highlights his unique brilliance.
Sampas in 2001 and most of 2002 was tough to watch if you're used to seeing how he played. As Jim Courier stated, "he just wasn't playing enough tournaments. You can't just do nothing and then show up to Slams" Though he always played like his normal self against Agassi 😂
Sampras remains, together with Laver, the greatest player I've seen. Thank you so much for posting this. I think Sampras retired the following year, and looking at this match I wonder why?
this was the last match of larry stefanski as kafelnikov coach he was very upset because Kafelnikov was superior to sampras but lose concentration he wasnt hungry anymore for tennis to be a number 1 contender
Pete was always fired up when he played his best rivals, in particular Agassi, Rafter, and Kafelnikov. He was motivated against Becker and Edberg and Courier and Goran too, but he really did not want to lose to the first three who I think had a personal element to their rivalry.
That's an oversimplified answer. The reason "pushers" exist is because players that play a more attacking style make more unforced errors. If it were that simple to beat a "pusher" no one would play counterpunch. And the funny thing is, Hewitt played exactly the same way against Sampras in the USO final of the same year and annihilated him.
@@masters.1000 He beat Rafter, Agassi and Safin in back to back to back matches to make the final and then would win it outright against Agassi the following year but whatever you say mate.
Спасибо за комментарии. Я думаю, Кафельников действительно потерял концентрацию, когда у него были оба главных роли. он определенно мог выиграть оба сета
