Adnan Abidi/Reuters
MELBOURNE, Australia — A veteran right-hander with an all-court game and a one-handed backhand, the hands-down greatest player of his era, was trying to dodge an upset in a fourth-round match of a Grand Slam tournament against a former junior world No. 1 with long hair, a flowing one-handed backhand and no fear.
In their first official head-to-head meeting, Pete Sampras, then 29, could not hold off a 19-year-old Roger Federer, who won in five sets at Wimbledon in 2001.
On Sunday night at the Australian Open, Federer, the two-time defending champion, was the one looking across the net at a younger, fresher, more fearless version of himself.