Sampras gets one over Federer
It might have been an exhibition. It might have been a dead rubber. But for Pete Sampras, 14 time grand slam champion, there was one achievement missing.
One achievement that is missing no more.
Pete Sampras has beaten Roger the great.
Sampras rocked Federer 7-6, 6-4 in the third and final match of their exhibition series, inflicting a rare defeat for the world number one, who has lost just 17 matches in three years.
The warning signs were out in the Kuala Lumpur leg. Sampras’ trademark serve was back. The American wasn’t broken then and he wasn’t broken here in Macau.
Sampras slammed 14 aces on the fast surface, as did Federer. The 36-year old faced two set points in the breaker, before recovering to take it 10-8.
The second set went with serve, with Sampras under strain at 4-4. At deuce, the American pulled out the big guns to hold. Then in typical Sampras fashion, he poured on the pressure at the important time to break Federer and take the match.
The surface was the quickest of the series, something that helped the serve-volley game of Sampras.
“It was very fast out there, very quick conditions,” Sampras said.
“It was helping out my service games. I got going a little bit today and it could have gone either way in the first set.”
Federer will be relieved the series is over. The Swiss master has struggled at times to cope with the expectation of beating a player five years retired, while at the same time conflicted about wiping the floor with a legend.
“We delivered a great level of play. The surface was really quick and Pete was playing really well and hardly making any mistakes,” Federer said.
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the only insightful article i can find on this match. good job.