SHOOT-OUT AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Sampras, the best of his generation, and Federer, the best of his, bring two eras of excellence together Monday night, when they play an exhibition match at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

Pistol Pete  vs  The Artful Roger.

The past vs. the present: Sampras is 36; Federer is 26.

A total of 26 major singles championships, 14 for Sampras vs. 12 for Federer.

A total of 10 year-end No. 1 finishes in the rankings, a record six for Sampras vs. four for Federer.

Sampras’ serve-and-volley style, something rarely seen these days.

Federer’s all-court brilliance, conjuring up shots rarely if ever seen.

They only played each other once on tour, in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2001, when Federer beat Sampras in five sets.

That came after Sampras had won the last of his seven titles at the All England Club, and before Federer began his current streak of five consecutive championships there.

They have started to get acquainted with each other’s personality and tennis, having played three exhibitions in Asia in November.

Federer won the first two, and Sampras won the third.

Now comes their first matchup in the United States, a best-of-three-sets encounter on an indoor hard court.

For Federer, Monday’s match might represent an exhibition with no trophy at stake and a guaranteed payday, but it also represents a chance to get in some work.

He’s coming off consecutive losses, in the Australian Open semifinals and the first round of an event in Dubai, so there hasn’t been much activity of late for a guy accustomed to playing all the way to the end of tournament after tournament.

It wasn’t until Friday that word emerged from his camp that Federer was diagnosed last month with mononucleosis, an energy-sapping infection caused by a virus.

“The good news really is to be certain of what has occurred,” Federer said. “The bad news is that I have quite some catching up to do in terms of fitness as I am not in the physical state that I would normally be in at this time of the year.”