Federer beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001, in the only professional match the two played against each other.
The fourth-round contest was a major turning point in Federer's early career. The 19-year-old Swiss player defeated the defending champion 7–6, 5–7, 6–4, 6–7, 7–5 in a dramatic five-set match on Centre Court. Sampras had won Wimbledon four consecutive times from 1997 through 2000 and was pursuing a fifth straight title.
The victory ended Sampras's reign at the tournament and announced Federer as a serious emerging force on grass. Federer himself would later match Sampras's five-title Wimbledon streak, winning from 2003 through 2007, and eventually surpass Sampras's Wimbledon total by claiming an eighth title in 2017.
The wording can cause confusion because Sampras was not the eventual 2001 champion: Goran Ivanišević won the tournament. Federer lost in the quarterfinals to Tim Henman after eliminating Sampras.