(Los Angeles) American legend Pete Sampras, fourteen times Grand Slam winner, and whose reign at Wimbledon was interrupted by Roger Federer in 2001, paid tribute to the Swiss in a video posted on social networks Thursday.
Posted at 6:21 p.m.
Federer, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles and one of the best players in history, will play his farewell doubles match with rival and friend Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup in London on Friday before retiring.
The opportunity for Sampras to recall their only confrontation at Wimbledon won by the young and talented Federer who was then only 19 years old.
“I don’t know where to start so I’ll start from the very beginning,” Sampras said first, addressing Federer directly. “When we met for the first time, you were only 19 years old, you were a promising player, but already we were talking a lot about you. We fought a big battle on center court at Wimbledon and you beat me in five sets,” recalled Sampras, who had won the previous four titles on English grass to take his record to seven. “I remember to have left the court with the feeling of having made my match”.
Sampras would then win a final Grand Slam title, at the US Open in 2002, before retiring. Over the next two decades, he saw Federer’s career soar.
“I had no idea that twenty years later you would have won twenty Majors, that you would be number one for years, that you would dominate our sport, in fact, that you would have done everything,” praised Sampras, calling Federer a “really special player”.
Sampras praised Federer’s dedication, saying his famously fluid game belies the hard work that produced it. “We will miss you in our game,” Sampras said.