"Without Pete Sampras, I would have won more, but I would have been worse" - When Andre Agassi opened up about his rivalry with compatriot
Andre Agassi once shared a candid insight into his rivalry with Pete Sampras, confessing that he couldn't envision his career without the 14-time Grand Slam champion. Agassi also shed light on what defined a great rival on tour.
Agassi and Sampras established one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history, locking horns in 34 tour-level encounters between 1989 and 2002. Sampras held a dominant lead in their head-to-head record, emerging victorious 20 times.
They also met nine times at the Majors, with Pete Sampras triumphing in six of those encounters, as well as five of their six meetings in Grand Slam finals. Although Sampras denied Andre Agassi several opportunities to add to his Grand Slam tally, the eight-time Major champion nonetheless remained grateful for their rivalry.
In a 2015 interview with the Harvard Business Review, Agassi opened up about how a great rival acted like a "mirror" by forcing him to confront his weaknesses and make the necessary adjustments.
Andre Agassi also highlighted Pete Sampras in particular, admitting that he would've been worse off without his fellow American as his arch-rival in the long run, even though he would've likely achieved more success.
"A great rival is like a mirror. You have to look at yourself, acknowledge where you fall short, make adjustments, and nurture the areas where you overachieve. There were times my rivals brought out the best in me; there were times they brought out the worst," Andre Agassi said.
"They probably helped me win things I never would have otherwise; they also cost me titles. I don’t know how you quantify what it would have been like without a rival like Pete Sampras. I would have won more. But I think I would have been worse without him," he added.
"I know Andre Agassi was the guy who brought out the best in me" - Pete Sampras once called compatriot the 'gold standard' among his rivals
Pete Sampras has expressed similar sentiments about his rivalry with Andre Agassi. In his autobiography 'A Champion's Mind,' Sampras recalled his "toughest and greatest" battle against Agassi in the 2001 US Open quarterfinals, where the 14-time Grand Slam champion claimed a hard-fought 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(5) victory.
"It was fitting that Andre was the last man standing when it came to my rivalries. Andre was the toughest during that great summer of 1995, and then again near the very end of our careers, culminating with the night-session quarterfinals at the 2001 Open — a match that was the crowning moment of our rivalry and, to me, our toughest and greatest battle,” Pete Sampras said.
Sampras also referred to Agassi as the "gold standard" among his rivals, crediting his compatriot for bringing out his best tennis by consistently pushing him to his limit during their matches.
"Volumes have been written about my rivalry with Andre, and from every perspective. In my heart of hearts, I know he was the guy who brought out the best in me. He had ups and downs, which accounts for why we didn’t have more confrontations, especially in big finals," Sampras said.
"But Andre was still the gold standard among my rivals. Nobody else popped up as frequently, over as long a period of time, to test and push me to the max," he added.
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi's last encounter on tour took place in the 2002 US Open final, where Sampras secured a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory to clinch his 14th and final Grand Slam title.