“I Miss the Pistol” – Roger Federer Reminisces His Wimbledon Match Against Pete Sampras

Roger Federer has often talked about Pete Sampras, his childhood tennis idol. The two legends have squared off against each other just once at the Wimbledon in 2001. And who knew at that time that Pete would pass on the Wimbledon baton to the Swiss master.

Their only meeting came in 2001, in Wimbledon at Centre Court on July 6th. Federer was an unknown talent to the tennis world and he stunned the 7-time Wimbledon champion in a thrilling five-setter.

“Only time vs Pete my hero” – Roger Federer

It was a fourth-round clash and at the end, the scorecard read- 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5. From then on Federer has made the Centre Court at Wimbledon his home. He broke Pete Sampras’ Wimbledon tally of 7 when he won his 8th Wimbledon title in 2017.

Federer, remembering the moment again yesterday retweeted ATP’s tweet regarding the match. His Tweet-

“What a moment that was for me, first time on center court at Wimbledon. Only time vs Pete my hero. I miss the Pistol.”

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Recently Federer along with Swiss Sneaker brand On launched a series of new shoes. In the live video with the brand, Federer was asked about his best achievement in his career. The Swiss named the match against Sampras as his best achievement. Federer was surprised by the win as it was his first victory at the Centre Court. After the win, Federer says that he was confident that he could be invincible and have a great career.

“It came as a surprise, he was a big favorite. It was my first time at Centre Court in Wimbledon. Wimbledon was such a huge moment for me. I felt like if I can beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon then I can beat anybody anywhere” he said

Federer’s match with Sampras was one of the iconic moments of the 20 time Grand Slam champion. From then on it was the start of a new era of tennis. With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic coming in later tennis changed forever.