Safin / Sampras 2000 US Open

[britbox]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgZdUBFnKUs[/video]

 

[Kieran]

That was one of those shockers, buddy. I remember watching it in my local with the missus, we only met a year before, and she couldn't wait to watch the heroic Pete. But Safin was in gorilla mode, butchering everything, and suddenly it looked like the whole tennis firmament shifted on its axis. I remember watching Lendl destroy McEnroe in the 1982 US Open semi, with such a powerful assault that Mac looked like he was playing in black and white, and Lendl in HD. It had a similar effect on me, watching Safin that day. He seemed indestructible, and Pete looked old. His game looked dated.

Of course, we know what happened with Marat, he never lived up to it, but still, that's one of the most extraordinary entrances onto the GS final stage we ever saw...

 

[britbox]

I wasn't that surprised personally. I started following Safin after the 98 FO and thought he was the second coming.

It's easy to pigeon hole Safin as nothing but a talented head-case. I always thought it was more complicated than that.

 

[Kieran]

He's certainly complicated, but either way, he didn't live up to the task. He could easily have rivalled Federer if he had the same type of mentality. Sometimes they don't though. I thought the same when Becker had won 2 majors by the age of 18. Here's an unstoppable giant. He only won 4 more majors over the next 13 years. Not a headcase, but not cut from the same cloth as the great serial champs...

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

I listened to this match live on radio. it was surprisingly engrossing, I didn't have skytv until 2002.

folk were expecting safin tobe unable to cope playing the Sampras legend in his own castle. folk were gonna be wrong.