I didn't see the matches as some of you have but I'm willing to bet you'd see a much different result if Federer could meet Sampras in the next 4 Grand Slams. Roger had to be holding back a bit in the interest of an exhibition series with a revered former player. When Federer wins the French - and a Grand Slam with it - we can talk about him over Laver. Did Laver ever have to play such a dominant clay courter as Nadal at the French?
I too would be willing to chalk this up to Sampras at 100% effort beating Roger at 80% effort. Pete's only 36, and he didn't leave the game because of deterioration of his skills. The power-baseline era we're currently in has endured as a playing style in no small part because Sampras showed an entire generation of players how to use the court as a big muscular chessboard. What makes Federer great is that he has skills and styles in his bag that Sampras doesn't. He can dink and dunk with the best of them, his angles are sharper than anyone else in his generation, and he's very nearly the best clay court player in the world (in an era with Rafa Nadal, the best clay court player since Pancho Gonzales). If Roger decided to play Pete's game, the prevailing style of the current era and one which Sampras was instrumental in developing and mastering, then that's a fair fight. (And Sampras of '95 vs. Federer of '07 would be a match for the ages.) But if this was for his life (or a major), then the other styles would come out of Roger's bag, and Pete as not-all-that-far-from-his-
prime as he is, would have some problems keeping up. Still. That would have been a hell of a match to watch.
Did Laver ever have to play such a dominant clay courter as Nadal at the French? Interesting question, but moot to my point. Comparing two players in any sport when generations apart is fun to consider, but impossible, if only because of game changes, technology, nutrition and pharmacology. The only way to compare them, in my opinion, is to see how good they were compared to their peers. Laver won two grand slams against his peers.
