"It was nice of Andre to postpone the match" - When Andre Agassi delayed the start of a final because Pete Sampras was not feeling well
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi scripted arguably the fiercest tennis rivalry of the 1990s. The two faced each other on 34 occasions, 16 of which came in finals.
One such title clash between Sampras and Agassi came at the 1994 Lipton Championships (now known as the Miami Open) in Key Biscayne, Florida. Sampras was the top seed while the latter was the 24th seed.
The start of the match was delayed though, as Sampras underwent treatment for a stomach virus. Agassi could have claimed a walkover win but instead, allowed his rival to undergo treatment.
When the match eventually started, it became yet another thrilling affair between the two. Pete Sampras came back from a set down to beat Andre Agassi 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to win the Lipton Championships and complete the Sunshine Double.
After the match, Sampras was asked about Agassi's actions, and he said that they were a reflection of the kind of person he was. The then-World No. 1 said that he would have done the same thing if it was the other way round.
"That's the type of person Andre is, that's what I would do for him. We want to go out and give it our best shot, you know, for the fans and for the game itself, and Andre and I have good matchups and our personalities are very different, and so, I would have done the same thing if he was in the same boat I was in," Pete Sampras said.
Sampras also said labelled Agassi's gesture a "class move."
"I'm a little surprised that I basically walked out on the court because come 12:30, I told the doctors I can't, I can't do it and I just, fortunately had more time to hit a couple of balls, see how I feel, it was nice of Andre to postpone the match, you know, it was just a class move," Sampras said.
Pete Sampras leads 20-14 in the head-to-head against Andre Agassi
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi faced each other on 34 occasions, with Sampras leading 20-14 in the head-to-head.
The first meeting between the two came in Rome in 1989, with Agassi winning 6-2, 6-1. They locked horns in five Grand Slam finals and Sampras won four of those. The only time Agassi came out on top was at the 1995 Australian Open, winning 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-4.
The last meeting between the two greats came in the final of the 2002 US Open, where Sampras triumphed 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.