
Pete Sampras and Roger Federer left their mark on tennis across three different decades, collecting a combined 36 Grand Slam titles along the way.
Sampras picked up 14 majors between 1990 and 2002, while Federer followed with another 22 titles from 2003 to 2017.
The two share several ATP Tour records, though not many players managed to hold a winning head-to-head against either of them.
There is just one player in tennis history who can say he holds a positive record against both men: Sergi Bruguera.
Sergi Bruguera won both of his career Grand Slams at the French Open, going back-to-back in 1993 and 1994. In that same year, he climbed to World No. 3, and later added another rare feat to his name.
Even though he faced Sampras and Federer a combined seven times, Bruguera came away with a winning record against both.
In their only meeting, which came at the Barcelona Open in 2000, Bruguera dominated Federer by dropping just two games.
Bruguera and Sampras met five times on tour, with the Spaniard winning three of those encounters. Two of those victories came at Roland Garros and the Miami Open, while the other was during round-robin play at the World Team Cup.
Bruguera was also the last player to win a Grand Slam match by the scoreline of 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, which is dubbed the ‘triple bagel’.
The Spaniard swept aside Thierry Champion without dropping a single game at the 1993 Roland Garros, which he went on to win.
Only five players have achieved the feat in history, with the first coming from Nikola Spear against Daniel Contet at Roland Garros in 1968.
The other three came all came in the same year as Karel Novacek decimated Eduardo Bengoechea, Stefan Edberg defeated Stefan Errikkson, and Ivan Lendl dominated Barry Moir in 1987.
More must-reads:
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!