Federer defeats Sampras 7-6, 7-6 in Malaysia

Roger Federer defeated Pete Sampras 7-6, 7-6 in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia in one hour 27 minutes before a crowd of about 10,000.

WORLD No.1 Roger Federer defeated Pete Sampras for the second time in three days, 7-6 7-6 in Kuala Lumpur - and said the retired US star would be top-five material were he playing today.

Both men held serve to take the first set to a tie-break with the Swiss maestro inching ahead when Sampras hit a forehand into the net.

The American hit back to bring the tie-break back on serve but Federer showed why he is currently No.1 when he hit a scorching forehand winner down the line for his second break to bring the score to 7-6.

Serving for the set, Federer hit a winning backhand volley to wrap up the first in 41 minutes.

It was a similar affair in the second set which also went to a tie-break before Federer dug deep to run out eventual winner 7-5.

Although Sampras lost, his blistering 210kph first serves impressed the Swiss.

"It was very difficult to read his serve,'' said Federer, who is two grand slam titles from equalling Sampras's record.

"I think if he was still playing he would be a top-five player.''

Sampras, however, has no plans to make a comeback at 36.

"No. It's a tough lifestyle and I'm happy with a great wife and great two kids relaxing in Los Angeles,'' he said.

Sampras, retired for five years, brought back memories of his no-nonsense style of play during the match and later lamented the demise of serve-and-volley tennis that he put to such good use over the years.

"Serve and volley is extinct,'' he said.

"In my day we had some great serve-and-volley players. There was myself, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic and others.

"But with the size of racquets getting bigger, junior players these days are only taught to hit the ball as hard as they can. There are some players who come in but they are not natural serve-and-volleyers.''

The two met only once on the ATP Tour, in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001 when Federer defeated the American in five sets.

The defeat ended Sampras's remarkable reign at the All England Club. Sampras, now 36, retired from professional tennis in 2002.

The pair were playing a one-off match here as part of Malaysia's 50th anniversary celebrations of independence from Britain.

The 26-year-old Federer won the first match played in Seoul on Tuesday, beating the former world No.1 6-4 6-3 in 61 minutes.

Their final Asian stop is Macau on Saturday.

Reuters - Agence France-Presse