John McEnroe and Boris Becker, at various points in their careers, have been described as the 'best player ever'.
But, in the past 12 months, both of these tennis legends have paid homage to Pete Sampras, the four-time Wimbledon champion who is aiming for his third Salem Open title at Victoria Park.
McEnroe, while commentating on a Sampras match last year for television, was gasping after one of Sampras' brilliant rallies and told his colleagues in the booth and viewers: 'I think we may be watching the greatest player ever.' Becker's comments were less impromptu but equally forthright. 'I've been fortunate to play with some of the best players: Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Edberg . . . but Pete is the best as far as I'm concerned. There is not a shot that he doesn't have.' All great players, though, are human. Sampras has shown, by his performances so far this year, that he, too, is fallible.
After ending last year as world number one for the fifth consecutive year, matching the record of countryman Jimmy Connors, Sampras goes into the Salem Open with his top-ranked status under siege for the first time since January 1997.
His early departure from this year's Australia Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, and indifferent performances in recent tournaments has seen Czech Petr Korda emerge as a major threat to Sampras' number one ranking.
In fact, if Korda had not been defeated in the quarter-finals of the recent Champions' Cup in Indian Wells, Sampras would have been usurped as the top player on the Association of Tennis Professionals computer rankings.