Hmm. I will go the other way in four. I think Sampras will be hungrier for the title after losing the last couple of finals and his recent flops and I think Agassi’s semi-final was more tiring than Sampras’s.
Plus I have the vague impression that Sampras has the edge against Agassi when it comes to head-to-head in big grand slam games. ( I could be wrong about that)
CyberPundit, if you haven’t found out yet, the match is at 4 PM Easter. It’s live in each time zone, though.
By virtue of my location, I must root for Agassi. I’m picking him in four hard-fought sets. I’m also guessing we’re not going to see a whole lot of big shots or unforced errors. Conservative, good tennis.
Really looking forward to the match. Hope it’s better than last night’s women’s final.
Horseflesh, what exactly are you saying is weird about the “at the net” statistics?
For me, this stat illustrates what is wrong with men’s tennis today. Sampras clearly demonstrated the benefit of a good net game, and has for over a decade, yet today’s newer players steadfastly refuse to recognize this. They treat the area between the service line and the net like a mine field, quickly retreating to the baseline whenever they find themselves anywhere near it. The result? Boring tennis.
Er, I agree with your assessment of playing the net. I was just commenting on the fact of the impending anniversary of last years tragedy in NYC and that this particular statistic (or date, depends on how you look at it) came up on the screen just days away from the anniversary. Ironic how the president of the USTA commented on why he was secretly thankful that both mens finalists were Americans in wanting to show the New Yorkers in attendance his and the USTA’s patriotism and support.
All in all I didn’t think the game was very exciting for a Finals match between two long standing rivals. I don’t keep up with tennis too much but I noticed that Agassi was seeded 6th(?) and Sampras 17th (or were those their world rankings?). Either way, I don’t feel that Agassi showed in this game why he’s seeded (or ranked, either way) that high, especially above Sampras. I guess everybody has off days. I was still rooting for him though. I think from certain camera angles his shaved head makes him look like E.T.