November 24, 2007
Sampras shocks Federer in Macau tennis exhibition match
MACAU (AFP) ― Pete Sampras fired off his trademark powerful serve in a shock upset of world number one Roger Federer in Macau on Saturday to post his first win in their three-game Asian exhibition series.
The former US world champion came back strongly after defeats in Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, forcing the first break of the match in the ninth game of the second set and serving out for victory to win 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 in 70 minutes.
He won the first set on a tie-break after a tight affair that had gone with serve on a lightning-quick court.
Sampras, 36, said the level of play in the final match was high.
"It was very fast out there, very quick conditions. It was helping out my service games. I got going a little bit today and it could have gone either way in the first set."
The 26-year-old Federer praised his opponents serve, saying he still could compete at the top five level in the world.
"We delivered a great level of play. Unfortunately I didn't win today but the surface was really quick and Pete was playing really well and hardly making any mistakes," he said.
Sampras, who won a record 14 Grand Slams, started the match strongly with his heavy serve, hitting two aces in the first game and never letting up.
He impressed at the net with his serve-volley game as the match continued to go with serve.
Federer, currently on 12 Grand Slams, had two set points in the first set tie-break, but Sampras escaped and made his second set point count.
Serve continued to dominate at the start of the second set, with neither player looking likely to force the vital break. Federer pushed Sampras to deuce in game eight but the American produced an ace to get out of trouble and level it up at 4-4 before he broke Federer.
Both players hit 14 aces during the match. Sampras made 15 unforced errors to Federer's 13, while Sampras won 14 points at the net to Federer's six.
Their clash in the packed arena at Macau's Venetian resort was their third match in just five days, following the meetings in Seoul and Malaysia.
Federer won the first match in Seoul on Tuesday 6-4, 6-3 in 61 minutes.
The second clash, in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, was a closer affair over 90 minutes, with Federer emerging victorious after winning both sets on tie-breaks.
The two met only once on the ATP Tour, in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001, when Federer defeated the American in five sets.
The loss ended Sampras' remarkable reign at the All England Club. Sampras retired from professional tennis in 2002.
November 24, 2007
Sampras upstages Federer in exhibition
By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) --- Pete Sampras proved his serve and volley tactics were still razor sharp when he stunned world number one Roger Federer 7-6 6-4 in an exhibition match in Macau on Saturday.
The American might have turned his back on professional tennis more than five years ago but that did not stop him from upstaging Federer, who failed to win even a break point during the contest on a fast carpet surface.
The win allowed Sampras to finally taste victory against Federer.
The American lost their only competitive match, at Wimbledon in 2001, and was also beaten twice last week during their Asian exhibition series.
Sampras, the holder of a record 14 grand slam titles, kept the victory in perspective.
"Let's not get carried away," the 36-year-old said as he dismissed talk of a comeback.
Two days ago, Federer said Sampras would still be ranked in the top five if he had continued playing and the Swiss did not seem too bothered by the defeat.
"It's been tough beating my idol the last two times," said Federer, who is two grand slam titles from equaling Samrpas's record.
"I'm happy that he got me at least once. I hope we can do it again in the future. I'd like to get him back."
24 November 2007
Sampras wins last exhibition match vs. Federer
MACAU (AP) --- Pete Sampras showed Roger Federer another side of his American idol on Saturday.
Sampras never faced a break point and converted one of two against his opponent as he handed Federer a 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 defeat at the Venetian Macao arena, wrapping up a three-match Asian exhibition series between the two tennis greats.
Sampras downplayed his victory, noting Federer was coming off a long season and that he was helped by his big serve and the fast indoor carpet surface. He had only aimed to win one set during the three-match series.
"Let's not get carried away," he said at a news conference.
Sampras ruled out a comeback from retirement, telling the audience after the match, "I had my time in the '90s."
Federer tried to put a positive spin on the loss, saying he wasn't embarrassed to lose to his idol, but still showed some disappointment.
"It's been tough beating my idol the last two times. I'm happy that he got me at least once," he said, but adding, "I hope we can do it again in the future. I'd like to get him back."
The two players have won a combined 26 Grand Slam titles, but Sampras, 36, retired five years ago after winning the U.S. Open in 2002. The 26-year-old Federer is fresh from another stellar season as he won three Slams and last week's Masters Cup in Shanghai in compiling a 68-9 winning record.
"I'm sort of surprised. This guy can play tennis, you know," the Swiss player said after his loss Saturday.
Federer beat Sampras 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul on Tuesday and edged the American 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
In Macau on Saturday, Federer was able to outhit Sampras early but the American held his own with the powerful serving and crafty volleying that helped him win seven Wimbledon titles.
The first set went on serve. In the tiebreaker, Federer had set points at 6-5 and 8-7 but Sampras saved both. The American went up 9-8 on a missed return by Federer then took the set with a forehand return winner on the Swiss player's serve.
Federer ran into trouble early in the second set, falling behind 30-40 in the third game, but recovered to hold serve.
At 4-4, Federer fell behind on his serve again. A forehand error gave Sampras break point, which he converted with a forehand winner.
Sampras held serve again the next game and closed out the match on a Federer backhand return that sailed long.
Federer said he thought Sampras could still beat the world's top five players on a fast surface.
Sampras predicted Saturday that Federer could beat his record of most Grand Slam wins, "if not next year, pretty soon."
"He's a great, great player. He's got things in his game that I couldn't do," he said.
24 November 2007
Sampras satisfied after surprise win
Pete Sampras admitted he was happy just to be competitive after sealing a surprise victory over world number one Roger Federer in the final match of their three-game exhibition tour in Macau.
Federer won the pair's only competitive meeting in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001 and had already recorded a comfortable 6-4 6-3 victory in Seoul on Tuesday and a slightly more testing 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) triumph in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
But the Swiss ace was denied a clean sweep at a sold-out Venetian Macau Arena as the 36-year-old Sampras, who retired in 2002, posted a 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 victory in 70 minutes.
Sampras claimed two mini-breaks in the tie-break, but on both occasions Federer responded before the American 14-time major winner finally claimed the first set in 41 minutes.
The second set followed the same pattern as the first until the ninth game when Sampras took a 5-4 lead with the first break of the match before sealing the victory with his first of three match points.
"My goal this trip was to win one set, I was just trying to make it competitive," said Sampras. "When I won the first set I was pleased I was keeping it competitive and making Roger work a little bit."
"The court was so fast it was tough to play and tough to return. It was tough for Roger because I was serving very well."
"The court was very fast and I can still serve quite well. It was tough to break and Roger has also had a long season. It was also our third match; we had a long flight delay yesterday and also had to fly four hours."
"It's also a tough situation as I know Roger's game. But he's a great player, he has got things in his game that I couldn't do."
"These are exhibitions and are a bonus for us, but I thought our level was pretty high and competitive."