The best? Roger that

WIMBLEDON, England — You heard it here first: Roger Federer will eclipse Pete Sampras’ record for career Grand Slam singles titles.

Admittedly, that’s an awfully premature prediction. After all, Sampras walked away with 14 trophies from tennis’ top tournaments, two more than anyone else.

Federer? He owns three major championships after beating Andy Roddick 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4 Sunday to win Wimbledon for the second straight year.

So Federer would need to average 1 1/2 Slams a season for the next eight to top Pistol Pete. Yet that doesn’t seem so far-fetched right now, frankly, given Federer’s age (22), talent, versatility, commitment to improving and mental toughness.

“Federer, in my mind, has clearly separated himself from the field,” Andre Agassi said. “He’s a guy who has proven he can get the job done.”

And Agassi spoke last week, before watching Federer absorb Roddick’s best and figure out a way to beat him.

“He’s got every shot imaginable. There’s not a shot he hits that’s not very well struck,” John McEnroe said. “He’s got a chance to be one of the greatest players who ever lived. He’s got a ways to go to reach Sampras’ 14 Grand Slam titles. I don’t think he’ll do that, but he’s got a chance to win a lot of major titles.”

There are all sorts of variables and potential roadblocks, from injuries to sudden inconsistency to new challengers. For every Pete Sampras who fulfills his potential, there’s a Marat Safin who squanders it.

Federer knows that.

“I don’t set goals for 10 years’ time and say I want to stay No. 1 for 10 years,” he said. “It is not realistic, because I know if I have one injury I will lose it straight away, and it’s the same for Grand Slams.”

Up to now, he’s managed to avoid serious health problems, and he was fortunate to come along in an era of parity. No man has captured consecutive titles over the past 18 majors, an Open era record.

Roddick, the U.S. Open champion, is the closest thing to a rival out there — and Federer’s 6-1 against him. Sampras’ main foil was Agassi, who’s won eight majors; in other words, there’s room for Roddick to collect a ton of titles and still leave the bulk to Federer.

In 2004, Federer is 46-4 with six titles that have come on grass, hard and clay courts. He won the Australian Open, so he now owns three of the past five Slams and is the first man since Agassi in 1999 to win two in a year.

Sampras won seven Wimbledons, five U.S. Opens and two Australian Opens, but he only once made it to the semifinals at the French Open in 13 tries.

Like Sampras, 14-4 in major finals, Federer now knows how to win the big ones. That wasn’t always the case. Federer lost his opener three of his first four trips to Wimbledon. He lost four of his first six tournament finals.

Since May 2002, though, he’s 15-2 in finals, 3-0 at Slams.

“For me, winners stay, and losers go,” the Swiss star said. “I don’t want to be one of them who goes.”

Of course, you never know when another great player will emerge. The women’s Wimbledon champion, Maria Sharapova, is just 17, was seeded only 13th, and never before passed the quarterfinals at a major. She hits the ball hard, covers the court superbly, and even occasionally plays left-handed.

Maybe that’s next on Federer’s “To Do” list. Not much needs fine-tuning, although he says he needs to work on volleying.

He doesn’t have a record-busting serve (Roddick hit second serves faster than Federer’s top first serve), but his placement is perfect. His forehand, backhand and return can end points. He conjures up winners with shots no one else would consider. His defense is dispiriting to opponents.

“He understands how to put the ball in a place where you can’t hurt him,” said McEnroe’s brother, U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick, adding: “Sampras said, ‘I’m going impose my game on you, and that’s it.’ “

With Federer, at times, it’s as if he says: “I’m going to impose your game on you.”

At Wimbledon, he outaced Roddick. He outslugged the consummate baseliner and battler, Lleyton Hewitt. He won a higher percentage of points at the net while beating 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic.

“He’s a good competitor. He’s a lot better than he probably was a couple of years ago. He gives 100 percent out there,” Hewitt said. “That’s a part of his game he’s probably worked on.”

Against Roddick, Federer was undaunted by 140 mph serves, forehands whipped so hard that fans gasped, and one overhead pounded so violently that Federer ducked at the baseline to avoid a welt. OK, so he was daunted by that.

“I proved that Roger’s not quite invincible,” Roddick said, smiling. “You know, he’s pretty close.”