Former World No. 1 and 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras has revealed the biggest reason behind the dominance of Swiss legend Roger Federer and Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal.
Sampras, popularly known as Pistol Pete for his booming serve, credited the improvements in technology and nutrition, which have aided both Federer and Nadal in becoming lean, mean, fighting machines.
Sampras acknowledged that the famous tennis duo is at a different level altogether compared to other players competing on the ATP tour.
“Technology has improved, nutrition is better, there is so much information out there and athletes are getting stronger and fitter and players are becoming the ultimate athletes,” he said.
“(They) are a level we’ve never seen before.”
Federer, who regained the top spot in the men’s rankings in February after winning the title in Rotterdam, will relinquish his position on Monday. Nadal will make a comeback as World No. 1 following the 36-year-old’s early exit from the Miami Masters. However, former WTA No. 1 Tracy Austin has backed Federer to reclaim his place at the summit of the rankings before Wimbledon because Nadal is defending too many points during the upcoming European clay-court swing.
Although she insisted that Nadal will be the big favourite at the French Open. Nadal’s recent battles with injuries will prevent the Spaniard from dominating on the red dirt, like he did in 2017.
She told Tennis Channel: “Roger because I think Rafa has so much to defend.
“I think he has the strong possibility to be favourite going to the French [Open] if he’s healthy.
“But I think he has too many points to defend.”
Federer has chosen to miss the entirety of the clay-court season, including the French Open in order to recover from a recent blip in form, which saw him losing consecutive matches for the first time since his stunning comeback at the start of 2017. The Swiss great lost to Juan Martin Del Potro in a thrilling Indian Wells Masters final after holding three match points before being stunned in the second round of the Miami Open by Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.
