Goran thinks Federer can be better than Sampras, Agassi

London: Goran Ivanisevic lost Wimbledon finals to Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi before he triumphed himself but the Croatian insists that Roger Federer will go on to be a better player than both the American legends.

“I think that Federer is the biggest talent from all the players I have ever played in my career,” said Ivanisevic, the 1992 champion here, who finally bowed out of tennis after his third round loss to Lleyton Hewitt on Friday. “I don’t know if he’s going to win so many Grand Slams like Pete, but definitely he’s the most talented player I ever played.”

Ivanisevic has now joined seven-time Sampras and Boris Becker, three times a winner, in retirement while Agassi knows the clock is ticking on his remaining time at the top level.

“On court, Roger is like a magician. The way he plays, he’s back, he comes in. When you look at him, you think tennis is a very easy sport, but it’s not.”

Despite his admiration for the Swiss world No.1, Ivanisevic also looks back fondly on his decade-long rivalry with the Americans.

“Pete was the toughest player I ever faced,” said Ivanisevic.

“He gave you only one, two chances per match, and if you didn’t take those chances, you were finished. Usually with all the guys, I played lot of matches, but usually you got more chances.

“With Sampras, you would get two or three if he’s generous. He was the toughest for me to play. He beat me twice here at Wimbledon. “But also Andre was a guy who was very tough to play. Becker, another guy. His serve was unbelievable.”

Such was Sampras’ domination of the men’s game that he monopolised the top of the world rankings for most of his career with Ivanisevic never managing to breach the No.1 spot.

The Croatian reached No.2 and that was as good as it got.