What are the greatest shots in tennis history? We pick out the game’s most fearsome weapons stroke by stroke, concentrating on the Open Era (since 1968).

By Joel Drucker

Part I: The Serve

Recreational players rarely ace one another, so there is a tendency to discount the profound impact of an ace. But to be a pro on Andre Agassi’s level and find yourself unable to even touch the ball on a big point – that is exceptionally demoralizing. As Sampras once said, “I love getting out there and stepping on the gas.” Let others open the match with a few groundstrokes. Sampras favored the 126 mph ace straight down the T – a lead-off home run that let the opponent know it was only the start of a relentless assault. His second serve was also the most feared on the circuit, so opponents had little respite even when he missed his first delivery.

Certainly there have been other serves rivaling Sampras. Though they couldn’t back it up as effectively, southpaws like Goran Ivanisevic and Roscoe Tanner could strike every corner. Though he couldn’t hit it as hard, John McEnroe’s lefty delivery was terrifying.

Other champions such as John Newcombe, Pancho Gonzales and Jack Kramer were powerful and accurate too, particularly when the chips were down. Way back in the early ‘30s, there was Ellsworth Vines, a man whose motion was quite similar to Sampras’. And one of Bill Tilden’s many strengths was a first-rate serve.

Recently, a new breed of giants like Ivo Karlovic and John Isner have begun carving their own legends with this stroke – though not with much else. Andy Roddick's record-setting delivery is the current bar at the top of the men's game.

But with apologies to all, none consistently sent down such high-quality serves as Sampras. Bless the hearts of Vines and Tilden, but they were often playing the club president in the first round and Biff from Yale in the second. Well into the ‘80s, most backhand returns were chipped rather than ripped. For all the talk about power serves over the last two decades, it turned out to be the service return that revolutionized the court, everything from the two-handed backhand to slower courts and heavier balls tipping the odds more in the receiver’s direction.

Little of that fazed Sampras. Under the guidance of his coach, Pete Fischer, he built an exemplary motion, a fully-coordinated lucid blend of legs, hips, shoulders and arms that was magnificently relaxed, well-disguised and powerful. No one nicked more corners with a serve than Sampras. Given all his accomplishments, the Sampras serve might well be the most single devastating shot in tennis history.
 
Joel Drucker is a contributing editor at TENNIS magazine. The author is grateful for the assistance of many experts and former pros, including Brent Abel, John Barrett, Steve Flink, Mary Carillo, Trey Waltke, Chris Lewis, John Newcombe, Owen Davidson, Fred Stolle and Brian Gottfried.