Pete Sampras vs John McEnroe | US Open 1990 Semifinal

John McEnroe said in 1993 that what surprised him in this match was how well Sampras was hitting returns and passing shots, he said he "wasn't expecting Sampras to be so strong from the baseline". Serve Volleyers were not known for those kind of counterpunching abilities. That's what marked Sampras out from other serve volleyers and why he won much more than the other fellow serve volleyers. By the way, a piece of interesting trivia. Andre Agassi has a comprehensive winning record against all serve volleyers: Agassi v Becker: 10-4 Agassi v Edberg: 6-3 Agassi v Stich: 6-0 Agassi v Rusedski: 9-2 Agassi v Rafter: 10-5 Agassi v Krajicek: 4-3 Agassi v Ivanisevic: 4-3 Agassi v Todd Martin: 13-5 Agassi v Escude: 5-1 Agassi v Henman: 2-2 (they never played a grand slam match) But Agassi v Sampras? 20-14 in Sampras' favour.

It never gets old watching Pete Sampras!

Pete’s coming out party. I was attending matches at the Open that year and was a huge Mac fan. I was thrilled to see this no-name kid take out Lendl in the quarters because I thought it meant Mac had a clear path to the final. I was shocked to read the score line the next day. Pete beat him easily. Little did I appreciate at the time what a phenomenal talent Pete was. One of the best ever to play the game. Watching highlights now, you can tell Pete was having fun out there playing a legend on the big stage and showing his tremendous serve and volley game.

Sampras ..A cold killer . Amazing emotional control and focus , maybe the most ever , along with Borg .

This was definitely Pete bursting onto the world scene and McEnroe's last great stand. Tennis experienced a seismic shift after this U.S. Open. The emphasis was on power and fitness. Plus it takes highlights of a match like this to remember and realize how crazy great Pete Sampras was back in the day.

Tennis changed so much between 84 - 90. McEnroe was still winning slams in 84, but by 1990, his game seemed to have become outdated due to the increased emphasis on power.

This was the beginning of Pete Sampras. He is one of the best players of all time. He had the fastest serve. I was always a big fan growing up...I was a teenager back then...I had a celebrity athlete crush on him😀

2 elite serve and volleyers in a meaningful singles match, MY EYES

I cannot understand how McEnroe got any power at all out of that swing. His legs are straight, body goes stiff as a board... He must've had the strongest left wrist on the planet!

Sampras was huge in the 90s, gosh this clip brought back memories. Still astonishing to see how skilled Sampras was. To the younger generation, he was roger before roger

Two great players, At this point Samparas was younger, bigger, stronger, and a player who grew up in juniors with a graphite racket. The game was changing. McEnroe's style changed the game and at this point the game was changing again.

its amazing you can really see the dated yet amazing strikes McEnroe does and then when Pete Sampras hits the ball you see how much more progress the technique has to nowadays.

Sampras's game is obviously incredibly impressive but what is really amazing is his demeanor - ice cool, focused, determined and never flustered.....the mindset of a champion with the skills to go along with it.

Love watching those days tennis, late 80s and 90s.

I been fortunate to have played, coached and watched tennis since 1970. Just my humble opinion that McEnroe and Sampras are two of the best serve and volley players that have played this style of aggressive athletic tennis. I just enjoyed the way they went out and made things happen my constantly moving forward and challenging each other to make a better shot. I got to watch McEnroe live from court side through out his career and was always impressed with his use of spin, pace, placement and tactics. I realize that the evolution of the game to power tennis passed him by but the way he and Sampras constantly moved forward inside the baseline is still an important tactic.

I miss the days of serve and volley tennis. Or even volleys at all, both players seeking that net position constantly. Great stuff

McEnroe: "What the hell am I doing in the 90's?"

This is one of those big ‘changing of the guard’ matches. It reminds me of watching a young Federer beat Sampras at Wimbledon 2001

McEnroe was impressive at the net of course, but the deciding factor , I think, was Pete's serve. It was just too good.

I remember watching this with my mom and dad. It was so exciting at the time!