By | Lucky Letcord Podcast | Tuesday September 1, 2020
Today on the Lucky Letcord Podcast host Chris Oddo is joined by Tennis author, journalist and historian Steve Flink. A member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Flink has been covering tennis full time since 1974. He has recently written a book about Pete Sampras, entitled "Greatness Revisited."
You can buy the book on Amazon here
You can learn more about Hall of Famer Steve Flink here
On this episode we pick up part two of our interview with Flink and cover Sampras' career from 1994 until retirement and beyond.
Steve tells us why he chose to tell the story of Sampras, a legendary talent that he has developed an exceptional rapport with.
We learn about how and why Sampras was able to dominate Wimbledon like no other player during his heyday and run through some of his most memorable matches.
We delve deeper into the difficulties that Sampras faced over the course of his career, from losing his coach Tim Gullickson to cancer, to the immense mental and physical pressure he put himself under.
We entertain a discussion of what it would be like to see Sampras face the members of tennis' Big Three -- Federer, Djokovic and Nadal -- and discuss what the many legends Flink interviewed, including Sampras himself, had to say about it.
Would Sampras handle Federer on grass?
Who would present more problems for Pete's serve -- Agassi or Djokovic?
Would Rafa do to Sampras what he has done to Federer?
Steve has done numerous interviews with Sampras for the book, and also has introduced us to Sampras in a way we haven't seen him before. He unlocks elements of the typically reclusive Sampras' personality and lets us know him better.
We chat about the origins of this rapport and Steve gives his expert opinion on Sampras the man and Sampras the player. It's always a great pleasure to hear Steve talk about tennis, but to hear him talk about a subject that is so near and dear to him has been truly enlightening.
Enjoy the podcast, and when you're done make your way to the bookstore to learn more about one of the greatest tennis players to ever lift a racquet.
Thanks to Steve for writing a great book and for taking the time to speak with us about it!