Roger Federer didn’t hesitate when asked to name his favourite-ever match at Wimbledon.
Federer named a US Open match as his favourite ever match, and he was also certain about his top Wimbledon bout.
The star was a legend at the grass court tournament, winning the competition five years in a row between 2003 and 2007.
Despite that extraordinary run, Federer named a match from earlier in his Wimbledon career as his favourite.
Roger Federer named Pete Sampras clash as ‘favourite ever’
Federer lined up against his idol, Pete Sampras, at the 2001 competition, beating the American in a five-set epic.
Federer described playing legendary seven-time Wimbledon champion Sampras on Centre Court as ‘a dream come true’ in an interview with We Are Tennis.
“It was my first time at Wimbledon against Pete, my hero, and it was disbelief that I actually got a chance to play him – let alone beat him!” said Federer about the grass court clash.
It was a close-fought match that straddled eras, but the young upstart got one over on his ‘good friend’ Sampras.
“I’m happy I got a chance to play against him,” explained Federer. “Pete retired rather quickly following that, and that was definitely one of my favourites.”
Federer didn’t even go on to win the 2001 tournament, losing his quarterfinal clash to Tim Henman. The tournament was won by wild card, Goran Ivanišević.
Roger Federer vs Pete Sampras provided a changing of the guard
It’s fitting that the two men only met once as it truly was a meeting of two of the greatest from their respective generations.
Sampras won 14 Grand Slams between 1990 and 2002, a record which was broken by Federer in 2009 after he won that year’s Roland Garros.
While the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal may have subsequently matched and beaten that, Sampras and Federer provided the first two genuine monsters of the game.
Their five set match at Wimbledon in 2001 is likely Federer’s favourite for what it represented rather than his performance.