"Beating Pete Sampras in his backyard Wimbledon was so special; I wanted to beat him in his house": When Roger Federer spoke on practicing with legend

Roger Federer once opened up about his enjoyable experience of practicing with tennis legend Pete Sampras.

Federer announced himself at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, where he triumphed over four-time defending champion and top seed Pete Sampras in the fourth round. The then 19-year-old Swiss claimed a hard-fought 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 win.

Unfortunately, the memorable encounter was their only matchup on tour, as Sampras played the last tournament of his career at the 2002 US Open, where he clinched his 14th and final Grand Slam singles title.

Years later, ahead of his campaign at the 2007 Pacific Life Open (now known as the Indian Wells Masters), Roger Federer reached out to Pete Sampras for a practice session, who agreed to join him.

"That was great, you know. Well, I knew I was coming to L.A., you know, so I'm kind of thinking, you know, who's around in L.A.? So, I mean, I rang up Pete and said, you know, "Any chance?" He was like, "Yeah, sure,"" Federer said in a press conference at the Pacific Life Open.

Reflecting on the opportunity, the Swiss expressed his excitement at getting the opportunity to play with "one of his favorite players."

He also humorously remarked that beating Sampras at Wimbledon was so "special" to him that he wanted to replicate that victory on the American's home turf as well.

Federer hailed the impressive form Sampras had displayed during the practice session and expressed an interest in arranging an exhibition match against the American.

"I'm totally excited. So right away, you know, I had the idea, you know, anyway seeing how good he plays, you know, because he was one of my favorite players, you know, when I was growing up and, you know, beating him in his backyard in Wimbledon was so special to me, so, you know, I wanted to try to -- I wanted to beat him in his house, you know," he said.

"So it was very enjoyable to actually hit with him, you know. It would be kind of cool to maybe play an exhibition against him. We'll see. But he was playing very well," he added.

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Roger Federer: "There's many more similarities with Pete Sampras than I had with Tiger Woods off court"

Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Gael Monfils (from left to right)

During the press conference, Roger Federer also shed light on his dynamic with sporting legends Pete Sampras and Tiger Woods.

He mentioned the similarities in his conversations with both but disclosed that he could relate more with Sampras.

"A little similarities, but still very different, you know. Because with Pete, I can speak so much of that, you know, how is it for you, how it is for me, you know.

"And played the same tournaments, we even played against the same opponents. There's many more similarities with Pete than I had with Tiger, you know, off court," Federer said.

The Swiss also revealed that he hardly spoke to Sampras during his early years on tour, sharing that whenever the American entered the locker room, a reverent silence fell over the space due to the profound respect the legend commanded.

"So you know, when we -- when I came up, you know, I never hardly spoke to Pete because you know, first of all, he was never around at the club, you know, hanging out," he said.

"And when he would come into the locker room, everything was quiet, you know, because it was such respect from all the other players, you know," he added.