“Hewitt made Sampras look like sh*t,” Novak Djokovic would have eaten Pete Sampras alive claims Nick Kyrgios 

Kyrgios cited Lleyton Hewitt beating Pete Sampras in 2001 US Open final as the example to back his claim.

“Hewitt made Sampras look like sh*t,” Novak Djokovic would have eaten Pete Sampras alive claims Nick Kyrgios 

Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras (Images vi a CNN, Tennis.com)

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios makes headlines not just for his unusual antics on the court but also for his over-the-board comments off it. Kyrgios is not someone who would think about the repercussions of a statement and hence he speaks what he feels. While the Australian has made many bold claims in the past, this time he has claimed that Novak Djokovic would eat Pete Sampras alive if they played against each other now.

Kyrgios’ comment was not directed solely at Sampras but at ex-players in general. The Australian, while talking about the nuisances of commentary in tennis, picked up this issue with current commentators who go on to claim that players who excelled in the past decades would fare the same way today.

YouTube video

The Australian seemed to disagree with this narrative to a larger degree. He cited the example of Lleyton Hewitt defeating Pete Sampras at the 2001 US Open final and claimed that Djokovic would have “eaten Pete Sampras alive”.

FS Video
I’m not saying they wouldn’t have found their way. But serve and volley, to do it all the time now, you need to be serving 220, because if you serve anything less than 220, bro, Djokovic eats you alive. He eats you alive. Bro, Lleyton Hewitt destroyed Sampras one year at the U.S. Open.
Nick Kyrgios via The Athletic.

Kyrgios further stated:

He made Sampras look like sh*t. And what would Djokovic do to someone like Sampras? It would be a cleanup. If Hewitt was doing it, Djokovic would destroy him. He would eat him alive.

Nick Kyrgios explains the rationale behind his bold comment

Kyrgios set the premise for his bold claim about Novak Djokovic thrashing Pete Sampras. The Australian reasoned that the fastest serve during Sampras’ time ranged around 122 mph. However, serving 130 mph is a regular affair in today’s game. Hence, it would have been difficult for the players from that era to survive in the modern game.

Nick Kyrgios UTS
Nick Kyrgios on UTS podcast (Image via YouTube)
The game was so slow back then. I’ve watched Boris Becker and I’m not saying they weren’t good in their time, but to say that they would be just as good now, it’s absurd. A big serve back then was like 197 to 200 (km per hour — about 122mph). People like me, we serve 220 consistently, to corners. It’s a whole different ball game.

While Kyrgios pitted Sampras and Djokovic against each other, the two players share a great mutual respect. Djokovic calls Sampras his childhood hero while the former American ace labeled the Serb as the “greatest of all time”. Nevertheless, comparisons are bound to happen and it would have been intriguing to see the two greats of their respective generations going against each other.

In case you missed!