But the Swiss ace was denied a clean sweep at a sold-out Venetian Macau Arena as the 36-year-old Sampras, who retired in 2002, posted a 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 victory in 70 minutes.

Sampras claimed two mini-breaks in the tie-break, but on both occasions Federer responded before the American 14-time major winner finally claimed the first set in 41 minutes.

The second set followed the same pattern as the first until the ninth game when Sampras took a 5-4 lead with the first break of the match before sealing the victory with his first of three match points.

“My goal this trip was to win one set, I was just trying to make it competitive,” said Sampras. “When I won the first set I was pleased I was keeping it competitive and making Roger work a little bit.

“The court was so fast it was tough to play and tough to return. It was tough for Roger because I was serving very well.

“The court was very fast and I can still serve quite well. It was tough to break and Roger has also had a long season. It was also our third match; we had a long flight delay yesterday and also had to fly four hours.

“It’s also a tough situation as I know Roger’s game. But he’s a great player, he has got things in his game that I couldn’t do.

“These are exhibitions and are a bonus for us, but I thought our level was pretty high and competitive.

“I was happy to win, but lets not get carried away, it was very fast and Roger has had a long year, a great year, and I am sure he is looking forward to a little vacation.”

Federer, who ended his year with victory at the Masters Cup in Shanghai last week, admitted his disappointment after being surprised by Sampras’ stamina following three games in five days.

“We delivered a high level of play, but unfortunately I was unable to win. The surface was really quick and Pete was playing so well and hardly made any mistakes,” he said.

“I had a couple of set points in the first. It would have been nice to win today, but playing against Pete is like a victory for me because he was my childhood hero.”

Federer also admitted Sampras’ trademark serve still ranked up their amongst the modern day big hitters of Andy Roddick and Ivo Karlovic and insisted the seven-time Wimbledon champion could still give any of the world’s top-five a run for their money.

“It is a bit of a surprise. I knew in Kuala Lumpur how great Pete was still playing after he was much slower in Seoul. I came from Shanghai and I was confident and then all of a sudden the surface picked up in pace up here,” said Federer.

“His serve is still right up there. If you put him on the court with the top five in the world, not all the year round, but maybe just one match he could take them down, if he can take me down it shows where his level is.

“I am not embarrassed to lose against my hero. I played (Andre) Agassi when he was 35 in the US Open final. He doesn’t need a stick to walk yet, he can still move. It has been a long season and I have to be careful with injury, but I pushed as hard as I could.

“I am now looking forward to next year because it is going to be fantastic.”