Retired tennis greats Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter will square off for the first time since the 2001 U.S. Open via an Outback Champions Series event in Los Cabos Mexico.
Sampras and Rafter will meet each other for the title match of the $150,000 Del Mar Development Champions Cup. This is the 3rd event of the series this season. This is a special event for Rafter considering that this is his debut tournament in the Outback Series.
Both players dispatched their equally talented rivals in the semifinals. Sampras outlasted Mats Wilander (6-4, 6-0) while Rafter defeated Jim Courier (6-3, 6-2).
“The difference between playing now and before is it is not quite as intense and I don’t have as much anxiety but I still will play to win. Tomorrow (against Rafter) will be fun and a great competition,” Sampras was quoted as saying after the match.
Sampras led Rafter in terms of career head-to-head matches during their ATP years with 12 wins out of 16 total matches.
For more information about the match, check out the Outback Champions Series website HERE.
