Wimbledon: 10 greatest matches in history

#8 Federer, the heir to Sampras' throne: Roger Federer def Pete Sampras: 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, 2001, men's fourth round

Roger Federer made his first big mark on Wimbledon with his over Pete Sampras in 2001

It is not often that a fourth round match makes its way into a top 10 list but then it isn't often that a player makes his presence felt in such a strong manner.

In a match where Sampras passed the torch to Federer and relinquished his Wimbledon stronghold to the Swiss, the All England Club witnessed a new superstar in the making. Sampras, the reigning champion was nearing the end of his glittering career while Federer was just making his way towards stardom.

With a near identical game to the American bar the extreme baseline play, Federer was never going to have it easy. Sampras made it as tough as possible for the Young Turk, taking two sets to tie-breaks and the final one to 5-5 before being vanquished. Sampras won only one grand slam after this loss. Federer has gone on to break the American's grand slam record (now on 17) and matched his Wimbledon record (7 titles).