Playing the first match on the Centre Court of the Wimbledon Championships is always special for any tennis player. However, it was extra special for Roger Federer when he played his first match on the world’s most famous tennis court at the All England Club against Pete Sampras in 2001.

At the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, the 19-year-old Federer, playing his first fourth-round match at the Championships, was up against the seven-time champion Sampras. On paper, Sampras was difficult to beat with a 31 match winning streak. He had also completely dominated Wimbledon, winning seven titles in the last eight years.

The American was attempting to equal Björn Borg‘s record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles. He was also aiming to win his 100th match win on the grass court. The odds were certainly against Roger as he had never defeated a top 10 player before. However, the Swiss managed to pull off a stunner and upset the No.1 seed in the fourth round. He ended Sampras’ golden era with an extraordinary victory.

Roger Federer and Pete Sampras battled for almost four hours

From the undaunted returns against Sampras’s fabulous serve to keeping his cool to fend off two break points on his own serve midway through the fifth set, Federer went on to tick all the boxes in his game. Subsequently, after battling for 3 hours and 41 minutes, tears rolled down Federer’s face as he fell down to his knees to celebrate the biggest victory of his career at that time.

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The Basel native stunned the former World No.1 over five sets, 7-6(7) 5-7 6-4 6-7(2) 7-5. He became the first player to defeat the then King of Wimbledon in 5 years and 32 matches.

Sampras certainly didn’t see that coming and was visibly shaken after the defeat. “There are a lot of young guys coming up, and Roger is one of them,” the American said. “But I think he’s a little more extra special than the other guys.”

“It feels unbelievable, of course. “I went out on the court today trying to beat him. I knew it was not going to be easy. In the end, it was a great feeling I’d never had before. Obviously, it was something special for me to play Pete today,” Federer said after the match.

The Sampras-Federer match was the only time the two tennis legends ever competed against each other in an ATP event as active tour players. However, the match has left good memories in the eyes of every tennis fan. It was certainly a changing of the guard, as the momentum shifted in Federer’s favor.

Watch More: When Novak Djokovic Gave Up Against Roger Federer

Watch the highlights of the historic match here –