Roger Federer revealed that his “favorite match of all time” was his five-set win over Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001 because “it had it all.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion said it was the first time in his career that he had shed tears after a win and described the match as “perfect”.
In the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2001, a 19-year-old Federer, seeded 15th, stunned Sampras 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 in a classic match.
Sampras was ranked No. 1 in the world, had won four consecutive Wimbledon titles and had won at the All England Club seven of the past eight years.
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With this win, Federer reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time, where he lost in four sets to Ting Henman.
The Swiss won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003 and went on to win eight titles at the grass-court major, breaking Sampras’ men’s singles record.
In an interview with Vogue magazine, Federer, who played 1,526 professional matches, cited his one and only match against Sampras as his favorite.
“I don’t know the exact date and it’s not etched in my memory, but the match against Sampras was my favorite match of all time,” the former world No. 1 said.
“It all came together. He was my hero at the time and it was the first and only time I played against Sampras. It was the first time I played on Centre Court at Wimbledon and it went to five sets.”
“There was so much going on in my head, it was like a fairytale. I don’t know if it was the first or second time in my career that I cried after winning.”
“I cried after we beat the United States 3-1 in the Davis Cup in my hometown of Basel. I can’t remember if it was before or after I won the three points that helped my team win. But after I hit a forehand return against Sampras, I went down on my knees and all the pressure just let go, and I started crying.
“I thought this is surreal, what is going on? But then Wimbledon and Sampras and Centre Court and, I don’t know, all of that stuff makes you feel that way.
“That’s when you realize: ‘Wow, my hard work is paying off. I’m on the right path.’ It’s a landmark win. It was like a perfect match.”
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