Sampras fears US men's tennis facing long return to greatness

Dec 4, 2008, 8:06 GMT

London - It may take until mid-century for American men to ever dominate like they did in the 1990s, the leader of that extraordinary generation, Pete Sampras, has predicted.

The seven-time Wimbledon winner and holder of the all-time record 14 Grand Slam titles said at the BlackRock Masters in London that the glory days are done for US tennis after the explosion of talent during the last decade.

'It's going to take take maybe five, 10, 15 years for another crew of really good young Americans,' said the 37-year-old, who has little faith that eighth-ranked Andy Roddick and number 10 James Blake will ever make the big step up into the elite.

'It might not happen for 40 years - it's hard to say.'

Sampras dominated along with compatriots Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Michael Chang, with Sampras setting another record by holding the year-end number one ranking for six straight seasons from 1993.

Sampras says the current situation 'is a tricky time. The American media and the fans expect American champions and our guys to be number one, and when you don't get that people start complaining.'

The American, who beat John McEnroe in straight sets in a group match at the year-end senior event at the Royal Albert Hall, also believes that Andy Murray is fast becoming a serious rival to the top men in the game as the British youngster continues his career breakthrough.

'He's one notch below Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal,' said Sampras.

Sampras has joined John McEnroe on the Murray bandwagon after Mac tipped last August in Los Angeles that the Scot would crack the world top four, his current ranking behind Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic.

'He's right on the edge of breaking through and winning a major,' Sampras said of the US Open finalist, against Federer, and the winner of Masters titles this season in Cincinnati and Madrid.

'He's got the game, he'll do it. He's the real deal. But he's right there ready to break through and he's only 21 so he's got many years to keep it together.'

Murray is currently trying to make the next big step, training for several week this month with his team at the Bollettieri academy in Florida as he tries to also add some weight to improve the power of his game.