Borg, Sampras Pay Tribute To 'Greatest Ever' Federer

Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras have paid tribute to Roger Federer in the wake of the Swiss winning his sixth Wimbledon title on Sunday and overtaking Sampras’ record total of 14 Grand Slam trophies. Borg and Sampras, who won 25 Grand Slam singles titles between them and now play on the ATP Champions Tour, were both seated in the Royal Box on Centre Court when Federer defeated Andy Roddick in five sets to lift his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam trophy at SW19 on Sunday. Both hailed the achievements of the 27-year-old.

“I have so much respect for the record and what he was able to do,” said Sampras. “ He’s a great guy and I respect him as a player and as a person, for his game and for the way he carries himself on and off the court.”

In an exclusive video interview with the ATP Champions Tour website just over a year ago in Beverly Hills, California, Sampras revealed that he planned to be present if Federer were to break his Grand Slam record at Wimbledon, the scene of so many of his most cherished victories. He was good to his word, and although Sampras was sad to see his Grand Slam record eclipsed this week, the 37-year-old believes that Federer is a worthy successor.

“It’s a record I worked hard for,” he said. “But I am at peace with Roger taking it because I did everything that I could in my generation and I though what I put up there was going to be very tough to break, I really did. But obviously Roger has more talent than anyone and is just better than everyone else. He could have let me enjoy the record for a few more years though!”

Borg, himself the winner of 11 Grand Slam titles, also believes that Federer can now lay undisputed claim to being the greatest tennis player of all time. “For me he is the greatest player ever to play the game,” he said.

“Now he’s won all the Grand Slam tournaments and he’s probably broken almost every single record you can break. We all know that the competition today is very very tough, there’s a lot of good players out there playing great tennis and to win Grand Slam tournaments year after year is a very difficult thing to do, but he’s doing it.”

Borg, who retired prematurely from professional tennis at the age of 26, believes that Federer can now go onto add to his Grand Slam tally. “I really think in future he’s going to win even more Grand Slam tournaments,” he said.

“I think in the stage of his career he is right now he’s more relaxed and doesn’t have the pressure and that means he’s going to be even more dangerous in the Grand Slams. I think still he wants to win more and break more records and as long as he’s healthy he’s going to play for many more years and break more records in tennis.”

Borg will play at the Chengdu Open in China (November 5-9) alongside fellow ATP Champions Tour players John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic and Michael Chang.