I find it strange there hasn't been a discussion thread about this, or perhaps I'm just not aware of it. I think it's a pretty interesting discussion and both players have a good case.
Some stats:
Djokovic
- Won 12 slams
- Has a career slam
- NCYGS
- 5 YEC
- 30 masters
- 219 weeks(and counting) as #1
Sampras
- Won 14 slams
- 5 YEC
- 11 Masters
- 286 weeks as #1
Obviously Sampras is ahead in the most important stat i.e the slams, which I doubt it'll remain for long, but I feel 2 more slams isn't enough for me to rate Sampras over Djokovic considering Djokovic has won the career slam and the NCYGS which for me are critical factors. Career slams shows the ability to be great across all surfaces and the NCYGS shows insane domination of the game which Sampras could only dream of doing.
You could argue that surface homogenization has helped Djokovic a lot and that's why he achieved career slam but you can also argue that Sampras was lucky to play in an era whereby the courts were ridiculously fast and benefited his S&V style of play. So imo this argument shouldn't be used for both sides.
So basically I personally rate Djokovic higher. What do you guys think?
Some stats:
Djokovic
- Won 12 slams
- Has a career slam
- NCYGS
- 5 YEC
- 30 masters
- 219 weeks(and counting) as #1
Sampras
- Won 14 slams
- 5 YEC
- 11 Masters
- 286 weeks as #1
Obviously Sampras is ahead in the most important stat i.e the slams, which I doubt it'll remain for long, but I feel 2 more slams isn't enough for me to rate Sampras over Djokovic considering Djokovic has won the career slam and the NCYGS which for me are critical factors. Career slams shows the ability to be great across all surfaces and the NCYGS shows insane domination of the game which Sampras could only dream of doing.
You could argue that surface homogenization has helped Djokovic a lot and that's why he achieved career slam but you can also argue that Sampras was lucky to play in an era whereby the courts were ridiculously fast and benefited his S&V style of play. So imo this argument shouldn't be used for both sides.
So basically I personally rate Djokovic higher. What do you guys think?