Pete Sampras rolled back the years with a fine 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 win against Roger Federer in the third and final match of their Asian exhibition series.
Sampras, who retired in 2002, won both his break points against the world number one to seal victory in Macau.
"It's one for the old guy," said the 36-year old American afterwards.
Swiss star Federer, 26, had won the previous two matches earlier this week, beating Sampras 6-4 6-3 in Seoul and 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) in Kuala Lumpur.
He was quick to praise Sampras, saying: "We delivered a great level of play. The surface was really quick and Pete was playing really well and hardly making any mistakes."
Sampras added: "The quick conditions helped my service games. I got going a little bit today, but it could have gone either way in the first set."
Federer won his 12th Grand Slam title at the US Open in September and is closing in on Sampras's record of 14.
The two met only once on the ATP Tour, in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001, when Federer beat Sampras in five sets.
nem tom láttátok-e, meg hogy ebből mi fog megvalósulni, de ha valóban nézni lehet majd szopkaszt tívíjú és hasonló cuccokkal, akkor... persze úgyse lennék otthon, ha igen, picsába...
World number one Roger Federer said Pete Sampras would be ranked in the top five if he was still a player.
The American, who retired after capturing the last of his record 14 grand slam titles at the U.S. Open in 2002, proved that he was still a force to be reckoned with in an exhibition match against Federer.
Although Sampras lost 7-6 7-6, his blistering 210 kph first serves impressed the Swiss.
"It was very difficult to read his serve," said Federer, who is two grand slam titles from equalling Sampras' record.
"I think if he was still playing he would be a top five player."
Sampras, however, has no plans to make a comeback at 36.
"No. It's a tough lifestyle and I'm happy with a great wife and great two kids relaxing in Los Angeles," he said.
Sampras, retired for five years, brought back memories of his no-nonsense style of play during the match and later lamented the demise of serve-and-volley tennis that he put to such good use over the years.
"But with the size of rackets getting bigger, junior players these days are only taught to hit the ball as hard as they can. There are some players who come in but they are not natural serve-and-volleyers."
The match in the Malaysian capital was part of the country's 50 years of independence celebrations.
The pair traded point for point in both sets in Malaysia's Malawati Stadium, where Sampras had the crowd gasping at his ability to prevent Federer from steamrolling over him.
"I was impressed with Pete tonight," Federer told reporters. "He played some unbelievable shots, but then again he is capable of doing that. He had an incredible serve which was so difficult to read tonight."
Federer -- who has won 12 Grand Slam titles -- said he knew that Sampras would improve after their first match in Seoul "and tonight he didn't prove me wrong."
Sampras acknowledged Federer's superiority in the match.
"I am happy with my performance tonight. I hung in there right until the end," he said.
Sajnos nem jött be a jóslatom. Úgy gondoltam, ez már lehet döntőszettes, aztán a 3. meccsen már Peti nyer. Most ha makaón lesz döntő szett, még valszeg azt sem Pete nyeri, viszont egy 4. meccsen már nyerne.
De azért ez a két Tie Break még így is figyelemre méltó eredmény Roger ellen!
főleg, m pete és andre nem tojna be federertől, m annyian a mai mezőnyben... akik gyengébb képességeik mellett már eleve mentális hátrányból is indulnak ellene.
nem hiszem, h kiadják. sajna. viszont jobb híján fent lesz a tennis channel honlapján streamben, vmi ügyeskezű lekaphatja onnan. nem egyszerű, de megoldható.
Pont erre utaltam korábban, ha egyidőben lettek volna mekkora lett volna. Pete és Gazsi korszaka így is a legnagyobb akármi van, de ha még RF is ott lett volna.
Nem lehet majd megszerezni ezeket, vajon kiadják majd dvdv-n????? király lenne.
Vannak fent újabb videók Yuotube-on. Pete óriási. Egy-két labdamenetben azért igencsak oktatja Federer-t. Hogy buli a meccs, az is inkább Pete-n látszik, már nem olyan gyilkos, néha egészen könnyelműen szórja el a ziccereket, amit mondjuk fénykorában nem bohóckodott volna így el. Federer-nek meg muszáj volt mennie, mert nem nagyon kaphat ki Sampras-tól. Kár hogy nem egy korosztály, melléjük venném még Agassit, és hármasban akkora meccseket játszhatnának egymással.
Hát ja, bár én azzal is kiegyeznék, ha tudnék itthon Pete DVD-ket szerezni. Az a 3 meccs persze megvan, amit a sporttévé leadott wimbli döntőkből, de hát igazán az egy bolhafarknyi szösszenet Pete zsenialitásának csodálatára:))
