"To beat a rival like Andre Agassi in a storybook ending, it might be nice to stop"- When Pete Sampras hinted at retirement after winning US Open
Pete Sampras won five singles titles at the US Open, the last of which came in 2002, when he defeated long-time rival Andre Agassi in the final.
Sampras entered the New York Major seeded 17th, and booked his place in the title clash after ousting the likes of Tommy Haas, Andy Roddick and Sjeng Schalken, among others. Here, Sampras was up against sixth-seed Andre Agassi, who beat top-seed Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals.
Sampras won the first two sets 6-3, 6-4 to put himself in a dominant position. However, Agassi claimed the third set 7-5 before his rival took the fourth set 6-4 to claim his 14th Grand Slam title. This was Sampras' first Major since winning the Wimbledon Championships in 2000.
In the post-match press conference, the then-31-year-old was asked about his future in the sport. While Sampras claimed that he still wanted to play, he also hinted the possibility of retiring, stating that beating Andre Agassi at the US Open was a "storybook ending."
"Well, I'm gonna have to weigh it up in the next couple months to see where I'm at. I still want to play. I love to play. But to beat a rival like Andre in a major tournament at the US Open, a story book ending, it might be nice to stop. But... But... I still want to compete, you know?" Sampras said.
"I still love to play. You know, see where I'm at in a couple months, where my heart's at and my mind. Right now it's hard to really talk about -- I mean, my head's spinning. But I'm sure the next couple weeks I'll reflect on it and kind of see where I'm at in a few months' time," he added.
Sampras didn't play another match after winning the 2002 US Open, but did not announce his retirement until the following year's edition of the New York Major.
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi faced each other four times at the US Open
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi faced each other at the US Open on four occasions. Three of their meetings came in finals, with Sampras coming out on top in 1990, 1995 and 2002. Interestingly, Sampras' first (1990) and last (2002) Grand Slam victories both came at the US Open by beating Andre Agassi in the final.
The only non-final encounter between the two at Flushing Meadows came in the quarterfinals in 2001, which Sampras won 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(5).
Both Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi ended their respective careers at the US Open. The former's last professional match came in 2002, while the latter finished four years later, when he reached the third round before losing to Benjamin Becker.