Pete Sampras remains a Wimbledon icon, but it is Roger Federer who boasts the best record at the famous Grand Slam tournament.
Federer’s 2004 Wimbledon racket could sell for $100,000, such was his impact on the event, which remains to this day.
Federer boasts a record eight Wimbledon men’s singles titles, with Sampras and Novak Djokovic his nearest competitors in the Open Era with seven each.
Djokovic has just reached 1,000 weeks in the top 100 of the ATP rankings, but again it is Federer who tops that list.
The Swiss legend won more of his Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon than any other tournament, with his first arriving in 2003.
Pete Sampras would have liked his chances of beating Roger Federer in a Wimbledon final
He clinched his last title at the All England Club in 2017, and even missed out on the chance to extend his record after losing the 2019 final to Djokovic.
Once sharing his thoughts on the Swiss legend was his fellow star Sampras, who discussed Federer with Patrick McEnroe upon joining ESPN’s broadcast of the 2007 Australian Open.
“Pete Sampras in his prime, Roger Federer in his prime, Wimbledon Centre Court, championship match,” said McEnroe. “Just give me a little insight into how that might play out…”
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Sampras responded: “Well, Roger feels unbeatable right now. In my prime at Wimbledon, especially the final, I felt unbeatable, the way I played against Andre [Agassi] in 1999 was probably the best tennis I could put together.
“If I played like that against Roger, I’d have to like my chances. But he proposes different things than Andre has.
“He serves a little bigger, he might move a little better, you know, his backhand might be a little more vulnerable than Andre’s.
“But I think I would do what I always do on grass, bring in the heat and come in and serve and volley on both serves, try to come in on his serve, really attack him and take his time away.
“It’s unfortunate that we see Wimbledon today, where everyone is staying back, I miss the serve and volley tennis.
“I would just try to put as much pressure on Roger as I could. And if he could pass and return great for three straight sets, it’s too good, but I felt that was very, very tough to break on grass when I was serving well and moving well.
“And the fact that Roger stays back on grass gives me a few chances to kind of crack at it and just kind of move into the net and try to put some pressure on him.
“But I can’t talk too much on how I’d do, he beat me the one time we played there in five sets. It is hard to say, two guys that feel unbeatable on that surface.”
Roger Federer denies Pete Sampras fifth successive Wimbledon title in 2001 epic
As Sampras alluded to, he unfortunately only got to take on Federer once given the timings of their careers.
Fortunately, however, it was on the famous grass courts of Wimbledon back in 2001, and it was unsurprisingly an absolute thriller.
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Aged just 19, Federer came up against 29-year-old Sampras in the fourth round, with the latter having remarkably won the last four titles at Wimbledon.
But it was the youngster who emerged victorious 7-6(9-7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2-7), 7-5, denying the legend a fifth successive title at the All England Club.
Federer would ironically go on to achieve that feat himself from 2003-2007, following in the footsteps of the five consecutive wins of Bjorn Borg from 1976-1980.
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