Roger Federer Pete Sampras Switzerland Usa London Sporting Roger Federer Pete Sampras Switzerland Usa London

US great Pete Sampras pays tribute to departing Roger Federer

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Pete Sampras, the 14-time Grand Slam champion whose Wimbledon reign was ended by Roger Federer in 2001, paid tribute to the Swiss great in a social media video on Thursday.

Federer, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles and one of the best players in history, is making a farewell appearance at the Laver Cup in London on Friday before he heads into retirement.

Sampras took the occasion to recall their only meeting -- when 19-year-old Federer beat him in the fourth round at the All England Club. "Not really sure where to begin, so I'll just start from the very beginning," Sampras said in a video directed straight to Federer. "When I first played you, you were 19 years old, an up-and-coming player and people were talking about you.

And we had a great battle on the Centre Court of Wimbledon. And you took me down. "Tough five-setter," recalled Sampras, who had won the previous four Wimbledon titles to take his tally to seven. "And I just remember walking off the court, feeling like I met my match." Sampras would win one more Grand Slam title, at the US Open in 2002, before retiring.

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LONDON: Roger Federer wrapped up his superlative professional tennis career at age 41 with a loss in doubles alongside longtime rival Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup on Friday night. Federer, who won 20 Grand Slam titles, and Nadal, whose 22 are the men’s record, paired up for Team Europe and were beaten by Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Team World 4-6, 7-6 (2), 11-9 at the O2 Arena. Federer announced last week that this team event founded by his management company would be his final event before retirement, then made clear the doubles outing would be his last match.

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