Davis Cup Glory: Those Pete Sampras days in Moscow when Team USA produced their "best clay court tennis ever"

ATP
Monday, 18 September 2023 at 02:30
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The 1995 Davis Cup witnessed one of the best performances by the USA team, with an inspired Pete Sampras leading his country to the title on clay.
Pete Sampras, a 14-time Grand Slam champion and one of tennis' all-time legends, held the record for the most major titles until it was surpassed by Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009, and subsequently by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Sampras was also instrumental in his country's Davis Cup team and helped the USA win the title in 1995 when they faced Russia on the road. The former world No. 1 had to play on clay, a surface that didn't favor his game, and he faced two clay court specialists: Andrei Chesnokov and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
At the age of 24, Sampras won the first match against Chesnokov with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4. Later, Jim Courier was defeated by Kafelnikov (7-6(1), 7-5, 6-3), leveling the series at 1-1.
On the second day, Sampras took the court alongside Todd Martin, and they secured victory over Kafelnikov and Olhovskiy with a score of 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 in the doubles rubber.
In the fourth match, Sampras delivered the decisive win for his country with a dominant performance against Kafelnikov, winning 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(5). With the series clinched, Courier lost a three-set match to Chesnokov (6-7(1), 7-5, 6-0), concluding the series at 3-2, with Sampras winning all three matches he played to secure the title for his country.
The team's captain at that time, Tom Gullikson, showered world No. 1 Pete Sampras with praise for his remarkable performance.
"I've never seen better clay court tennis," he said.
"The combination of power and patience and precision serving. It was flawless tennis."
"The great players have a sense of history," Gullikson said. "When the great players go down in the history books, not only will they be remembered by Grand Slam singles titles but how many times did they help their country win the Davis Cup. It's a special thing, it's a team thing," Gullikson added.

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