Current World No.1 male tennis player Roger Federer and former World No.1 Pete Sampras pledged here on Wednesday that they would play a more exciting match on Thursday in Malaysia.
"Asia means a lot to me so I'm very excited to be playing here (in Malaysia) tomorrow (Thursday) night," said Federer at the pre-match press conference held here.
"I hope we can deliver better tennis than yesterday (Tuesday),"said the Swiss, saying it would a tricky situation.
More relaxing will lead to higher level of a match, he added.
Sampras said that he hoped he could play better than Tuesday's clash between the two titans -- Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet.
"I'll try and be more patient,......and do what I do best," said Sampras, holder of a record of 14 career Grand Slam titles.
Federer and Sampras arrived here on Wednesday. They are scheduled to play a "challenge" match entitled "Clash of Times" at Malawati Stadium located in Shah Alam, capital of Malaysia's Selangor State, on Thursday.
This is the second of a three-match series in Asia featuring the two greatest players from their respective era.
The first match in the series was played out in the Republic of Korea on Tuesday, with Federer coming out tops, 6-4 6-3.
The idea of playing challenge matches in Asia was first mooted by Federer after the two aces played for more than three hours in Sampras' Los Angeles residence earlier this year, according to the organizers.
Federer and Sampras have met only once in competition, with the Swiss winning a five-set thriller in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001. The 36-year-old Sampras last played competitively in the 2002 U.S. Open, which he won.
The "Clash of Times" is one of three events in the Malaysia Independence Tennis Festival (MITF), which also features the "Clash of Titans" and the Malaysian Open ATP Challenger Series tennis tournament.
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal defeated World No. 8 Richard Gasquet 3-6 6-2 6-3 in Tuesday's clash.
Source: Xinhua
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