SOUTH KOREA: Federer and Sampras hold news conference ahead of tennis exhiibition super - match

I World number one Roger Federer and former number one Peter Sampras talk on stage about their forthcoming match. Roger Federer and Pete Sampras held a news conference on Monday (November 19) in Seoul before Tuesday's (November 20) exhibition match. The match will be the first leg of the "Federer-Sampras Asian Tour" which will continue in Malaysia and Macao. Throughout their careers, Sampras and Federer only ever played each other once. As Roger Federer's tally of singles titles nears that of Sampras they have come together for these three special events to find out "Who is the greatest player of all time?" Federer put on a vintage display to beat Spain's David Ferrer 6-2 6-3 6-2 in securing his fourth Masters Cup title at the season-ending event in Shanghai, China on Sunday (November 18). Federer's victory at the showcase, eight-man tournament put him level with Ilie Nastase and one behind the record of five titles held by Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. Federer's victory in Shanghai was worth 1.2 million U.S. dollars to the 12-times grand slam winner, taking his total prize money in 2007 to more than 6 million dollars. Pete Sampras, who retired in 2002, was the world's number one tennis player with a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles, including 7 Wimbledon crowns and 5 U.S. Open titles. He was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in January. After making hand-prints, two players held a news conference, showing respect to one another. Sampras said he's somewhat older but he could play well against the "best" player in the world. "You know, being a little bit older and retired for five years, I may be not quite as sharp as I used to be. But I still feel like I can play well. And be competitive against him, but there will be pride," said Sampras. Federer said Sampras was his idol and looked forward to playing a nice game. "you know, playing against one of my favourite players of all time and sort of an idol, too, you know. It's a different situation, in some ways it's a great honour, but it's not easy at the same time. So I'm just looking forward to really playing a nice match," said Federer.

ITN Source | November 20, 2007

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