WIMBLEDON: SAMPRAS AS USUAL AND DAVENPORT, A NEW CHAMPION

One could expect the same winning pair of Roland Garros. On the contrary, this hypothesis was completely overturned. Two athletes with opposite characteristics were the winners at Wimbledon 99.
Pete Sampras was tipped to win against Agassi on the eve of the final, while the same could not be said for Lindsay Davenport, who had to compete with Steffi Graf, the queen of the green of the last ten years.
Instead of the eighth title of the German champion, victory went to this girl from California, who was able to efficiently compensate for her weak point in movements with tactical skill and sense of position. Having already won the trophy of women's tennis in 1998 and after winning the US Open, Lindsay gained another important title in the history of tennis. Managing to lose her excessive weight thanks to a rigid diet, the American tennis player won in a competition where not even his trainer would have dared to bet, refusing the share at the beginning of the tornament that saw her winner by 1 to 15.
She dominated the match, without losing not even one set and finally convincing Graf of her last participation in the sanctuary of tennis. Another prize to Davenport's great abnegation was her return to the top of world ranking, a result she obtained thanks to her greater commitment in the last few months. The same cannot be said for men, which is incredible. Pete Sampras, who gained his sixth victory on the green and in general won his twelfth title in a Slam match, even stepped back to the third position in the ranking. This was due to Agassi's exploit, who managed to win in Paris and reach the final in Wimbledon, too. But the positive series of the tennis player from Nevada was stopped by Pistol Pete. Thanks to his brilliant and intelligent tennis, the Californian champion won his place among the best players in the history of tennis. Compared to Davenport, Sampras is endowed with an extraordinary talent that allows him to serve great strokes with the greatest ease. "Today he would also have managed to walk on water". This is the exemplary remark Agassi made after his defeat. Actually, after an almost disastrous start, Sampras gradually managed to recover, playing again at those very high levels he seemed to have forgotten for too long. When looking at the rankings, Sampras will certainly burst into laughter. He, who has been the greatest tennis player for the last ten years, after improving the record held by Borg, finds himself relegated at the third place by the computer! This is an enormity that undoubtedly worries him less than the fact that Agassi, his eternal opponent, has come back to the top positions. Andrè, after his marriage and existential crises, seemed to have resigned, only playing for one season. Now that he has gained the first place again, he will undoubtedly get tremendous psychological benefits from this situation, therefore reviving a rivalry that could take men's tennis to the same level of women's tennis in terms of participation.
 

 

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