Pete Sampras on Federer

Another past tennis great had something to say about Federer. Before he was inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame, 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras said this of his meeting with Roger before the AMS tournament at Indian Wells earlier this year :

He came by, and we hit for two days, and it was a lot of fun to not only hit with Roger, but to get to know him a little bit.We talked for two hours after one hit. He's a great guy; he's a funny guy. He's a young kid in a lot of ways.

When he breaks my record, he's the type of person I'd like to see break it. In my opinion, he's what sports is all about.

I was amused--though not surprised--when Sampras remarked that Roger was a "young kid in a lot of ways". Roger certainly seems serious on court but haven't we heard of Roger playing pranks on other players in the locker room? And even more interesting is that Sampras used the word "when" and not "if" when he talked of Federer breaking his record of 14 grand slam titles. Like Borg with Wimbledon, it seems he's accepted the fact that Federer may overtake him in the all-time grand slam winners list.

Federer and Borg

There was an appropriate epilogue to Federer's latest victory at Wimbledon as he was met after the match by the very man whose Wimbledon record he equaled. The great Bjorn Borg and the current Wimbledon men's champion briefly exchanged words after sharing a "Swedish hug" (whatever that means) as they stood before the board listing men's singles winners in the tournament's entire history. If both Tiger Woods and Federer are the only active athletes who know what it is like to dominate a sport, it is clear that only these two tennis greats know what it feels like to win at Wimbledon five years in a row.

"You were under a lot of pressure," Borg told him.

"You know how it feels," Federer replied.

Borg was quoted to have said after that meeting:

I'm so pleased Roger has equaled my record. He is a great player and he deserves to have achieved this. And I'm happy to have been here to see it.

We could share the feeling of that moment of relief at winning Wimbledon. For both of us, it is one of our favourite places, where we have played so many great matches.

Roger has both feet on the ground and no weaknesses. If he stays away from injuries and still has the motivation, he will be the greatest player ever. It would be nice if he wins it six, seven, eight times.

And as if it wasn't enough that Federer has matched Borg, there are some who went so far as to put the two players head-to-head.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Borg on Federer again

Eleven-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg is clearly an admirer of Federer and is reportedly looking forward to seeing the current world tennis number one match his five consecutive titles at Wimbledon when he returns to the All England Club for this year's championships.

I can't wait to hopefully sit down on Centre Court on the second Sunday and watch Roger win. That would be wonderful, I really hope that Roger does that as he's such a great guy.

Wow! That's ultimately a compliment to Federer since it's well known that Borg called up Federer in 2001 to thank him for stopping Pete Sampras in the fourth round and essentially preventing Sampras from matching his five-title streak:

I decided to call Roger up, to congratulate him, yes, but also to thank him for keeping my record intact. That was a great win for Roger, and it was a pity that he didn't go on to win the tournament that year. But records are there to be broken, so if he matches me this year, I'll be pleased that it's Roger who has done it. ... Maybe Roger will win six or seven times, who knows?

This will be only the second time Borg returns to Wimbledon after playing at his last finals there (he lost to John McEnroe) in 1981.

Federer watches Tiger practice

Tennis' No. 1 player traveled to Doral, Florida to join the crowd watching golf's No. 1 player practice. At first poor Federer wasn't able to enjoy himself because fans who recognized him began asking him for autographs. But luckily Tiger, who was delighted to see his good friend there, decided to defy rules and graciously invite Federer in:

It's great to have [Federer] out here. I think he's a wonderful supporter of golf, and I think it's pretty neat when you have probably the most dominant athlete on the planet out there in your gallery.

They don't want to have people inside the ropes. . . . I'm sure I'll get fined for it. I don't mind paying, because he was starting to get hassled pretty good and I didn't think that's why he came out here. He came out here to enjoy himself and watch me slap it around a little bit.

Tiger even acknowledged that Federer was the more dominant of the two in his sports considering the latter's achievements in the past three years. For his part, Federer was as thrilled to be there:

I had never really seen live golf from professionals up until the last year. It's different from sitting in a stadium watching soccer or a tennis match. You've got to know where to stand to see the ball. For me, it was hard to follow the ball. I lost it just because he hits it so hard and so far... .

Such is the exclusive mutual admiration society of Tiger and Federer. And don't we too just love these two great athletes?

Borg on Federer

The great Bjorn Borg, who appears to have made Dubai a base just like Federer, has some very nice things to say about the Dubai champion:

To me, Roger Federer is the right model for anyone aspiring to be a tennis player. It is such a pleasure to just watch him play. His shot-making has got better and I doubt there is any shot he cannot make in any part of the court.