Before everyone runs off in a frenzy like a chicken with its head chopped off, CALM DOWN! Yes, Pete Sampras held his own during his first two matches against Federer even though he lost. Yes, Pete Sampras beat Roger Federer today in their final exhibition match. But no, his victory means nothing and Federer will still be considered the GOAT (greatest of all time) once he is done playing.

It’s only for fun
These three exhibition matches that Federer and Sampras played in Asia was just for fun and money. Sampras was one of Federer’s heroes when he was growing up and Federer is soon to break Sampras’ so it’s intriguing for Sampras to dust off his racquets for some good ‘ol hitting. The main motivation for both players is payday because a boatload of it was thrown to them for playing. I don’t know the exact figures but I would guess that it is more than a million dollars each for the three-match event if you do the simple math.

The Matches
Federer beat Sampras 6-4, 6-3 in Seoul on Tuesday and edged the American 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
In Macau on Saturday, Federer was able to out-hit Sampras early but the American held his own with the powerful serving and crafty volleying that helped him win seven Wimbledon titles.
The first set went on serve. In the tiebreaker, Federer had set points at 6-5 and 8-7 but Sampras saved both. The American went up 9-8 on a missed return by Federer then took the set with a forehand return winner on the Swiss player’s serve.
Federer ran into trouble early in the second set, falling behind 30-40 in the third game, but recovered to hold serve.
At 4-4, Federer fell behind on his serve again. A forehand error gave Sampras break point, which he converted with a forehand winner.
Sampras held serve again the next game and closed out the match on a Federer backhand return that sailed long.
Source: Yahoo! Sports

Will Sampras Come Out of Retirement?
Hell no! Sampras knows how hard it was to compete against the best when he was in his prime. There’s no way his body could hold up to the grind of the rigorous ATP tour. More importantly, Sampras does not have the will anymore to grind it on the court day in and day out. Professional tennis is more mental exhaustion than physical exhaustion as evident in the college ranks. Most top players in college have all the shots and skills as a professional but they do not have the mental toughness or fortitude to battle against the pros.

“Let’s not get carried away,” he said at a news conference.
Sampras ruled out a comeback from retirement, telling the audience after the match, “I had my time in the 90s.”

“It’s been tough beating my idol the last two times. I’m happy that he got me at least once,” Federer said, but adding, “I hope we can do it again in the future. I’d like to get him back.”
“I’m sort of surprised. This guy can play tennis, you know,” the Swiss player said after his loss Saturday.

Sampras: “My trophy is bigger than yours!”

“You break my record, now I break you!”