November 26, 2007	Monday	Ziqa’ad 15, 1428

MACAU (Hong Kong), Nov 25: Pete Sampras’s win over Roger Federer in Macau this weekend does nothing to end arguments about who is the greater player -- but the American is convinced the world number one will smash his records.

Following two defeats last week in their three-match Asian exhibition series, the retired Sampras came back strongly at Macau’s Venetian resort-hotel Saturday, defeating the Swiss maestro in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.

Sampras is predicting that the 12-time Grand Slam champion will beat his mark of 14 and eclipse his rankings records.

Sampras, 36, held the top ranking for a record 286 weeks in total and finished as world number one for a record six consecutive years.

“The major record, he’s got so much time. He’s 26 and he’s got the next four years to be in the pinnacle of his career so I see him breaking that, if not next year, pretty soon,” Sampras said.

With Federer finishing four years in a row as number one, Sampras believes it is only a matter of time before the Swiss betters him in that respect as well.

“I don’t say that lightly. He knows it’s a lot of work but I know the game well enough to know he’s a class above everyone. That being said, these kids are hungry, (Rafael) Nadal and (Novak) Djokovic and (Andy) Roddick. These guys are going to want to push him but I still feel like Roger has an extra gear, especially when it comes to the majors.”

Federer will not spend too long mulling over it, already turning his attentions to the 2008 season with another shot at the French Open and the Olympics in Beijing on his radar.

He resumes his Grand Slam chase at the Australian Open in January and then in May the red clay of Roland Garros beckons.

A win there would go a long way towards confirming his position as the greatest ever in the eyes of many experts. It is the lack of a French Open win that is the one glaring omission on Sampras’s tennis CV before he retired in 2002.

But if Federer is to complete the Grand Slam set, he must overcome clay court nemesis Nadal, who has denied the Swiss in Paris for three years running.—AFP