{"id":42449,"date":"2021-10-06T09:30:55","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T13:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=42449"},"modified":"2021-10-06T15:28:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T19:28:17","slug":"pete-sampras-the-right-hander-who-played-like-a-left-hander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2021\/10\/06\/pete-sampras-the-right-hander-who-played-like-a-left-hander\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Sampras – The Right Hander who Played like a Left Hander"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were some fantastic matches during the 2021 US Open. One of the stars of the tournament was Leylah Fernandez<\/a>, who wowed crowds with her crafty game and competitive spirit. \u00a0Every match Fernandez was involved in had drama, including the final.<\/p>\n

The quarterfinal match against Ukraine\u2019s Elina Svitolina caught my eye. However, not for reasons I imagined. Fernandez\u2019s running crosscourt forehand in particular left me thinking, the shot reminds me of another player. Then it dawned, Leylah Fernandez<\/a>\u2019s crosscourt forehand reminded me of Pete Sampras<\/a>\u2019 crosscourt forehand!<\/p>\n

Surprising as they are two different players from separate eras.\u00a0 But it became clearer, when forced out wide, Fernandez \u201chooks\u201d her forehand crosscourt. Mainly by positioning her body with a semi closed stance and employing a flick of the wrist to get the spin and lift. A beautifully produced shot.<\/p>\n

Monica Seles (another famous lefty) did something similar when she was stretched wide. Seles took her right hand off the racquet (double handed off both wings) and also hooked the ball with a flick of the wrist.<\/p>\n

Why does the crosscourt forehand produced by Fernandez remind me of Sampras? Some things started to fall in place.<\/p>\n

I recently watched on YouTube a re-run of the 1969 US Open final between Rod Laver<\/a> and Tony Roche. I was struck by how similar Rod Laver\u2019s game was to Sampras and wrote a comment under the video. The volleys in particular, especially the high to low volleys, getting the ball down low with slice. I knew Sampras grew up watching tapes of Laver when he was very young. Although, as they played in two completely different eras, I never paid much attention.\u00a0\u00a0 Interestingly, during the 1990 US Open, the late Arthur Ashe commented that a 19-year-old Sampras reminded him of Rod Laver but \u201cthree inches taller\u201d. Ashe played Laver many times.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n