Roger Federer has revealed his “favourite match of all time” was his five-set victory over Pete Sampras at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships as it “had everything.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion recalled it was one of the first times in his career when he cried after winning and labelled the match “perfect.”
In the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2001, a 19-year-old Federer, who was seeded 15th, stunned Sampras 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 in a classic encounter.
The victory saw Federer reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time and he was beaten by Tin Henman in four sets.
The Swiss won his maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003 and went on to claim eight titles at the grass-court major to break Sampras’ men’s singles record.
In an interview with Vogue, Federer, who played 1,526 professional matches, singled out his only contest with Sampras as his favourite.
“I don’t know the date, per se — it’s not ingrained in my brain — but that match against Sampras is my favourite match of all time,” said the former world No 1.
“It had everything: He was my hero at the time, and this was both my first time and my only time to play against Sampras. It was the first time I played on Centre Court at Wimbledon, and it turned into five sets.
“There was just so much going on in my head, it was fairytale stuff. And I don’t know if this was the first time or the second time in my career when I cried after winning.
“I cried when I beat the Americans 3-1 at the Davis Cup in Basel, my hometown, and I was able to help the team with three points to win it and clinch it, but I don’t remember if that was before or after — but when I went onto my knees after my forehand return against Sampras landed in and all of that pressure just fell away, I started crying.
“I’m like, This is surreal — what is going on? But I guess Wimbledon and Sampras and Centre Court, I don’t know—all of that does that to you.
“And that’s when you realise: ‘Oh — the hard work’s paying off. You’re on the right track.’ It’s a milestone victory. It was like the perfect match.”
