"This was the moment when the Wimbledon baton was passed from me to him" - When Pete Sampras recalled his Wimbledon defeat to Roger Federer
Pete Sampras and Roger Federer are two of the greatest tennis players of all time. They were both ranked World No. 1 and they both dominated the sport in their heyday.
Sampras and Federer are also arguably the two greatest grass-court players ever. The only meeting between the two also came on grass, when they locked horns in the fourth round of the 2001 Wimbledon Championships.
At the time, Pete Sampras was the defending champion and the World No. 1 while the 19-year-old Roger Federer was seeded 15th.
The two played out a thrilling encounter, with Federer pulling off the upset 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5. Sampras wrote about the defeat in his book "A Champion's Mind," and claimed that while losing hurt, he was very impressed with the Swiss' style of play. The American also stated that this was the moment when the "Wimbledon baton" was passed on to Federer.
"The loss hurt, but I had to admit I liked this kid’s style. He was poised and dignified, yet he played with great flair. I was very impressed. The win was an important step in Roger’s path to greatness, and looking back on it, this was the moment when the Wimbledon baton was passed from me to him," Pete Sampras wrote.
"Roger also needed to know what he was really made of, sort of like I did after the Edberg fiasco of 1992. He had an inkling of it when he beat me," he added.
Roger Federer went on to win eight Wimbledon titles
Pete Sampras won seven Wimbledon titles in his career, a record at the time of his retirement. However, Roger Federer surpassed him in 2017 by clinching his record-setting eighth title at the grass-court Major.
Federer's maiden triumph at SW19 came in 2003 when he beat Mark Philippoussis in the final. The Swiss won the tournament the next four years in a row before finally being beaten by Rafael Nadal in the 2008 final.
Federer's sixth Wimbledon win came in 2009, when he beat Andy Roddick in the final. That gave him his 15th Major title, surpassing Sampras' then-record Grand Slam tally.
Federer won his seventh crown at the grass-court Major in 2012 by beating Andy Murray to equal Sampras' tally at Wimbledon. He then broke Sampras' record at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, where he did not drop a single set.
Federer's last appearance at the grass-court Major came in 2021, when he lost in the quarterfinals to Hubert Hurkacz.