Tennis great Pete Sampras says he believes Roger Federer will win his seventh Wimbledon title thereby beating Andy Murray in the final. With the win, Federer will tie Sampras in terms of number of Wimbledon singles titles won and number of weeks in number one (286 weeks).
“Personally, I’ve gotten used to Roger breaking my records,” Sampras said in an interview with The Associate Press on Friday.
Sampras said that Federer is without a doubt a great player and a great champion.
“I’ve always felt Roger’s the sort of guy that, if I’m going to see my records broken, I’d hope that it’s someone like him. I like his game. I like what he’s about. Just a very classy player. And we’re friends,” Sampras said.
“Maybe makes it a little bit easier that it’s someone I genuinely like and consider a friend,” he added.
Sampras, now 40 years of age, has retired from the sport after winning the 2002 US Open – his 14th and final Grand Slam singles title.
In 2009, Federer surpassed Sampras’ record by winning Grand Slam title number 15 at Wimbledon and went on to win the 16th at the 2010 Australian Open.
“Roger’s always the favorite at Wimbledon, for me. He always will be,” Sampras said.
“Just because of his game and his calm nerve. That’s something you need in the Wimbledon final. You need to keep it simple and go out and play your tennis. It’s a big match. It’s our Super Bowl. Andy has a shot. But he’s dealing with the hopes and dreams of a nation,” he added.
Sampras said that he still thinks Federer will still win more major titles in the years to come.
The former top-ranked player thinks that the all-time record that’s still safe is having finished as number one in the world rankings for six consecutive years. From 1993 to 1998.
