An exhibition of greatness
Pete Sampras was hardly at the height of his powers when he handed Roger Federer the keys to Centre Court at Wimbledon, losing their only head-to-head encounter that counted.
Sampras would go on to win only one more match at the All England Club after that 2001 defeat, never coming close to adding to his seven championships at the grass-court Grand Slam.
Federer, a decade younger, would go on to supplant Sampras at No. 1 in the rankings, assume Pistol Pete's status as a perennial power at Wimbledon with five consecutive titles there, and begin to chip away at his record for major trophies.
So perhaps fair's fair, considering that Federer has been, well, rather un-Federer-esque heading into his latest exhibition match against Sampras, which is tomorrow night at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Yes, Federer actually is on a rare losing streak. The Swiss star was upset in the Australian Open semifinals in January - preventing him from adding to his 12 Grand Slams, two shy of Sampras's total - and then in the first round of a tournament in Dubai.
That's right. Two consecutive losses.
"I think it's a cause of concern for Federer, to be honest," US Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "To me, it's really big that these guys go out there and don't seem to be intimidated by Federer and have sort of figured out that if you play consistently and can run a lot of balls down and make Federer hit a lot of shots, that you can beat him.
"Certainly, I wouldn't say it's a crisis for Federer. But I'd say that his days of utter domination may be coming to an end."
Sampras, who beat Andre Agassi in the 2002 US Open final in his last professional match, paid quite a compliment recently by comparing tennis's current top player, Federer, to its former standard-bearer, himself.
"He's got a good perspective," said Sampras. "Doesn't get too high or low on losses or wins. You know, just sort of has that attitude that I had: single-minded focus. He just goes out there and wins."
And make no mistake: While there's no Grand Slam championship on the line tomorrow, that drive could very well be on display.
"He's not going to want to lose, I'm not going to want to lose," Sampras said. "That's what people are coming to really see. It's not us doing cartwheels. It's about me serving 130 on the line."
After all, for the two of them, just as for the more than 19,000 people who will be in the arena and however many might be watching live coverage on the Tennis Channel, it represents a rare instance of a "Who would win?" argument coming to life.
Tiger Woods vs. Jack Nicklaus. Mike Tyson vs. Muhammad Ali.
It just does not happen often.
"There's going to be a never-ending debate about who is the best or who would have done what against people from the previous era," said Ivan Lendl, who won eight Slam titles and is helping promote this event. "We can talk about this for days and not come to a conclusion. That's part of why this match is attracting a lot of attention and a sellout crowd."
So who will win, Ivan?
"If it goes the way I think it will go, in terms of atmosphere and a good match, the winner, in my mind, will be tennis," he said. "How's that for avoiding the question?"
"There's just a tremendous interest in these two guys," said promoter Jerry Solomon. "Pete retired after winning the US Open and then sort of wasn't around anymore. Roger has not been, until recently, all that high-profile in America.
"So I think there's just a real fascination with these two guys, who are not only great champions but great people and great ambassadors for the sport."
Federer, 26, and Sampras, 36, faced each other three times in Asia in November, and by all accounts wound up as friends and mutual admirers. Federer took the first match, 6-4, 6-3, in Seoul, and the second, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), in Kuala Lumpur, while Sampras claimed the third, 7-6 (8), 6-4, in Macau.
Federer came away impressed, saying Sampras's serve still stings.
"You can wake him up at 2 in the morning," Federer said, "and he'll hit a monster serve." 