Surprise: It’s Sampras again

The two players own 26 Grand Slam titles between them, but Sampras, 36, retired five years ago after winning the US Open in 2002. Twenty six-year-old Federer is fresh from another stellar season that saw him win three Slams and last week’s Masters Cup in Shanghai.

“I’m sort of surprised. This guy can play tennis, you know,” the Swiss player said after his loss. Federer beat Sampras 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul on Tuesday and edged past 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

In Macau today, 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 tie-breaker, 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. 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. “Let’s not get carried away,” he said. Sampras ruled out a comeback from retirement, telling the audience after the match: “I had my time in the 90s.”

Federer tried to put on a positive spin on the loss, saying he wasn’t embarrassed to lose to his idol, but did show some disappointment.