"It was a bit awkward because you didn't know, was it just fun or not" - When Federer opened up about Sampras and Agassi's Indian Wells controversy
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were involved in one of the most iconic exhibition matches in tennis history.
Back in 2010, the four titans of the sport played a charity doubles match at the Indian Wells Masters. Called "Hit for Haiti," the objective of the clash was to raise money for the victims of the earthquake that hit Haiti in January of that year.
Federer teamed up with Sampras while Nadal partnered with Agassi, and all four players played the match with microphones attached to them.
The contest is best remembered for Sampras and Agassi taking digs at one another. It all started when the latter taunted his rival for being too serious. Sampras reciprocated by imitating Agassi's famous pigeon-toed walk.
Agassi then impersonated Sampras by showing him his empty pockets, thus implying that the latter was a miser. This was a reference to the eight-time Grand Slam champion writing in his autobiography that his rival was a bad tipper. Things started to heat up when Sampras, who had to serve to Nadal, hit a powerful shot in Agassi's direction.
Federer and Nadal looked uncomfortable, and the Swiss spoke about the incident after winning his first-round match during the 2010 Indian Wells Masters. The then-World No. 1 said that while the situation between Sampras and Agassi was not too serious, it was a little awkward as it was hard to guess whether it was funny or not.
“I don't think it was that crazy bad, but it was a bit awkward because you didn't know, was it just fun, was it not fun? What was it? Sure, you try to loosen up the moment, because for us to play tennis with microphones on is not something we're used to. I mean, I couldn't even talk to Pete after that because we were having the microphones on," he said.
The Swiss maestro also said that he tried to calm things down and even give both the American players a "timeout".
"The whole time to have the microphone right there it's kind of tricky and dangerous at times, I think as we saw the other night. But I tried to help with the situation. And now being a father, I thought maybe we have to give both guys like a timeout or something. We didn't have to go that far," he added.
Andre Agassi apologized for mocking Pete Sampras during 'Hit for Haiti' charity match
Andre Agassi eventually apologized for mocking Pete Sampras and said that he texted his compatriot to ask if he could apologize to him in person.
"It was out of line. "It was inappropriate. The night was on fire. We were all having fun. I was trying to be comedic. I only had a split second to make a decision. I went for it and it fell flat. I was trying to get past it, but Pete didn't really let me get past it," Andre Agassi told ESPN.
"He didn't really roll with it. I've texted Pete to ask him if I can apologize in person. The joke fell flat and I'm sorry. My hope was that the night was still enjoyable," he added.
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi locked horns on 34 occasions during their fierce rivalry, with the former leading 20-14 in the head-to-head.