Sampras-Agassi rivalry
Encyclopedia
Pete Sampras
and Andre Agassi
are retired professional men's tennis players who were ranked World No. 1 during the 1990s, Sampras holding the world's top-rank spot for a record 286 weeks while Agassi held it for 101 weeks. With contrasting styles and temperaments, they played each other 34 times from 1989 through 2002, with Sampras winning 20 of their matches, and Agassi winning 14 matches.
In Grand Slam
tournaments, they played in five finals, with Sampras winning four. They met for the first time in a Grand Slam final at the 1990 US Open, with Agassi the favorite because of his top three ranking even though Sampras had defeated former World No. 1 players Ivan Lendl
and John McEnroe
on the way to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets.
The next time the pair met at a Grand Slam final was at the Australian Open
in 1995. Agassi beat Sampras in four sets, although Sampras had been distracted slightly earlier in the tournament by the collapse of his coach.
In one of their matches, played in the 2001 US Open quarter-final, Sampras won with the score of 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(5); throughout the game, no player managed to break the other's serve. The last match in their rivalry came at the 2002 US Open final. It was their first meeting in the final since Sampras won in 1995. Sampras went on to win the match in four sets and shortly after announced his retirement from the game. Agassi retired in 2006 after 20 years on the tour.
At the time of their retirements, Sampras held the record for most Grand Slam titles with 14 breaking the old record of 12 held then by Roy Emerson
(Roger Federer
has since overtaken Sampras with 16 titles). On the other hand, Agassi is one of only four men to hold the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of seven overall. Having won the gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Olympics, he is one of only two male players to achieve a Career Golden Slam in singles tennis, the second being Rafael Nadal. He also held the record for most ATP Masters Series (AMS) shields with 17 (Rafael Nadal
has since overtaken him with 19 titles), and is the only man to have won seven different Master Series tournaments.
Interestingly, from their first ATP match to their 1995 US Open final match, their head-to-head was tied at 8-8. From their 1995 US Open final match to 1999, their head-to-head was 9-3 in favor of Sampras. From 2000 to their last match in 2002, their head-to-head was tied at 3-3. Agassi has often said that the 1995 US Open loss was a powerful psychological blow to him that took him years to recover from, and it marks a significant shift in their rivalry. On a personal level, their rivalry did at times become heated, but they remain good friends to this day.
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
and Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
are retired professional men's tennis players who were ranked World No. 1 during the 1990s, Sampras holding the world's top-rank spot for a record 286 weeks while Agassi held it for 101 weeks. With contrasting styles and temperaments, they played each other 34 times from 1989 through 2002, with Sampras winning 20 of their matches, and Agassi winning 14 matches.
In Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournaments, they played in five finals, with Sampras winning four. They met for the first time in a Grand Slam final at the 1990 US Open, with Agassi the favorite because of his top three ranking even though Sampras had defeated former World No. 1 players Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
and John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
on the way to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets.
The next time the pair met at a Grand Slam final was at the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
in 1995. Agassi beat Sampras in four sets, although Sampras had been distracted slightly earlier in the tournament by the collapse of his coach.
In one of their matches, played in the 2001 US Open quarter-final, Sampras won with the score of 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(5); throughout the game, no player managed to break the other's serve. The last match in their rivalry came at the 2002 US Open final. It was their first meeting in the final since Sampras won in 1995. Sampras went on to win the match in four sets and shortly after announced his retirement from the game. Agassi retired in 2006 after 20 years on the tour.
At the time of their retirements, Sampras held the record for most Grand Slam titles with 14 breaking the old record of 12 held then by Roy Emerson
Roy Emerson
Roy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
(Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
has since overtaken Sampras with 16 titles). On the other hand, Agassi is one of only four men to hold the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of seven overall. Having won the gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Olympics, he is one of only two male players to achieve a Career Golden Slam in singles tennis, the second being Rafael Nadal. He also held the record for most ATP Masters Series (AMS) shields with 17 (Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
has since overtaken him with 19 titles), and is the only man to have won seven different Master Series tournaments.
Interestingly, from their first ATP match to their 1995 US Open final match, their head-to-head was tied at 8-8. From their 1995 US Open final match to 1999, their head-to-head was 9-3 in favor of Sampras. From 2000 to their last match in 2002, their head-to-head was tied at 3-3. Agassi has often said that the 1995 US Open loss was a powerful psychological blow to him that took him years to recover from, and it marks a significant shift in their rivalry. On a personal level, their rivalry did at times become heated, but they remain good friends to this day.
Head-to-head
| Legend |
| Grand Slam |
| Tennis Masters Cup |
| ATP Masters Series |
| ATP International Series |
| No. | |Year | |Tournament | |Surface | |Round | |Winner | |Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1989 | Rome Rome Masters The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's... |
Clay | R32 | Agassi | 6-2, 6-1 |
| 2 | 1990 | Philadelphia | Carpet | R16 | Sampras | 5-7, 7-5, retired |
| 3 | 1990 | US Open | Hard | F | Sampras | 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 4 | 1990 | ATP World Tour Finals | Carpet | RR | Agassi | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 5 | 1991 | ATP World Tour Finals | Carpet | RR | Sampras | 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 |
| 6 | 1992 | Atlanta | Clay | F | Agassi | 7-5, 6-4 |
| 7 | 1992 | French Open | Clay | QF | Agassi | 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-1 |
| 8 | 1993 | Wimbledon | Grass | QF | Sampras | 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 |
| 9 | 1994 | Key Biscane | Hard | F | Sampras | 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 |
| 10 | 1994 | Osaka ATP Osaka The ATP Osaka was a men's tennis tournament played in Osaka, Japan. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1993 and 1994. It was played on outdoor hard courts.-Singles:-Doubles:-References:... |
Hard | SF | Sampras | 6-3, 6-1 |
| 11 | 1994 | Paris Paris Masters The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour... |
Carpet | QF | Agassi | 7-6(6), 7-5 |
| 12 | 1994 | ATP World Tour Finals | Carpet | SF | Sampras | 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 |
| 13 | 1995 | Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
Hard | F | Agassi | 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-4 |
| 14 | 1995 | Indian Wells Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California.... |
Hard | F | Sampras | 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 |
| 15 | 1995 | Key Biscane | Hard | F | Agassi | 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) |
| 16 | 1995 | Canada (Montreal) Canada Masters The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour... |
Hard | F | Agassi | 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 17 | 1995 | US Open | Hard | F | Sampras | 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 |
| 18 | 1996 | San Jose SAP Open The SAP Open is a men's tennis tournament held annually in San Jose, California. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, which is still played. It is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour... |
Hard | F | Sampras | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 19 | 1996 | Stuttgart | Carpet | QF | Sampras | 6-4, 6-1 |
| 20 | 1996 | ATP World Tour Finals | Carpet | RR | Sampras | 6-2, 6-1 |
| 21 | 1998 | San Jose | Hard | F | Agassi | 6-2,6-4 |
| 22 | 1998 | Monte Carlo | Clay | R32 | Sampras | 6-4, 7-5 |
| 23 | 1998 | Canada (Montreal) | Hard | QF | Agassi | 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2 |
| 24 | 1999 | Wimbledon | Grass | F | Sampras | 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 |
| 25 | 1999 | Los Angeles | Hard | F | Sampras | 7-6(3), 7-6(1) |
| 26 | 1999 | Cincinnati Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between... |
Hard | SF | Sampras | 7-6(7), 6-4 |
| 27 | 1999 | ATP World Tour Finals | Hard | RR | Agassi | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 28 | 1999 | ATP World Tour Finals | Hard | F | Sampras | 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 |
| 29 | 2000 | Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
Hard | SF | Agassi | 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-1 |
| 30 | 2001 | Indian Wells | Hard | F | Agassi | 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-1 |
| 31 | 2001 | Los Angeles | Hard | F | Agassi | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 32 | 2001 | US Open | Hard | QF | Sampras | 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(5) |
| 33 | 2002 | Houston | Clay | SF | Sampras | 6-1, 7-5 |
| 34 | 2002 | US Open | Hard | F | Sampras | 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 |
Breakdown of their rivalry
- All Matches: Sampras 20–14
- Hard courts: Sampras, 11–9
- Grass courts: Sampras, 2–0
- Clay courts: Agassi, 3–2
- Carpet courts: Sampras, 5–2
- Masters Series matches: Agassi, 5-4
- Masters Series finals: Agassi, 3-2
- Grand Slam matches: Sampras, 6–3
- Grand Slam finals: Sampras, 4–1
- Year-End Championships matches: Sampras, 4–2
- Year-End Championships finals: Sampras, 1–0
- All finals: Sampras, 9–7