Agassi–Sampras rivalry

The Agassi–Sampras rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, who were both ranked world No. 1 during the 1990s. Sampras held the world's top ranking for (a then-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 leading the head-to-head 20–14 and leading 9–7 in finals. They are tied in their five-set matches at 1–1. It has been named as one of the greatest tennis rivalries of all time.

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 superior ranking even though Sampras had defeated former world No. 1 players Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe en route to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets.

In one of their matches, at the 2001 US Open quarter-final, Sampras won with the score of 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–5); throughout the match, no player broke 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. This was Sampras's last career match, as he announced his retirement from the game a year later at the 2003 US Open. Agassi retired in 2006 after 20 years on the tour.

From their first ATP match to their 1995 US Open final match, their head-to-head was tied 8–8. From their 1995 US Open final match to 1999, their head-to-head was 9–3 in favor of Sampras. Agassi has often said that the 1995 US Open loss was a powerful blow to him that took him years to recover from; amid this and other psychological issues he subsequently plummeted to world No. 141, and it marked a significant shift in their rivalry. From 2000 to their last match in 2002, their head-to-head was tied at 3–3.

At the time of their retirements, Sampras held the all-time record for most men's major singles titles, with 14. This broke Björn Borg's record of 11 titles won in the Open Era, as well as the 12 by Roy Emerson from before the Open Era. On the other hand, Agassi, who claimed 8 Grand Slam titles, was ranked joint third for most titles in the Open Era, and joint fifth all-time at the time of his retirement. Agassi was the second man after Rod Laver to win the singles Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of then-five (currently eight) overall. As Agassi won the gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Olympics, he was also the first male player to achieve a Career Golden Slam in singles tennis. The Career Grand Slam proved elusive for Sampras, as he was unable to find significant success on the serve-neutralizing clay courts, reaching only one French Open semi-final in his career.

Agassi also held the then-record for most ATP Masters Series (AMS) shields (since 1990) with 17. Also, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game."Reed's shotmakers: Men's return of serve". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2012."Adjectives Tangled in the Net". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2012."Sampras, Agassi Have Just Begun to Fight" Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 8, 2012.

Head-to-head

LegendAgassiSampras Grand Slam36 ATP Tour World Championships24 ATP Masters Series55 ATP World / International Series45 Total1420 Singles (34) Agassi 14 – Sampras 20 No. Year Tournament Tier Surface Round Winner Score Agassi Sampras Sets 1. 1989 Italian Open Grand Prix Clay Last 32 Agassi 6–2, 6–1102/3 2. 1990 US Pro Indoor World Carpet Last 16 Sampras 5–7, 7–5, 0–0 RET112/3 3. 1990US OpenGrand Slam Hard Final Sampras 6–4, 6–3, 6–2123/5 4. 1990Tour Finals Carpet Agassi 6–4, 6–2222/3 5. 1991ATP Tour World ChampionshipsTour Finals Carpet Sampras 6–3, 1–6, 6–3233/3 6. 1992 AT&T Challenge World Clay Final Agassi 7–5, 6–4332/3 7. 1992French OpenGrand Slam Clay Quarterfinals Agassi 7–6(8–6), 6–2, 6–1433/5 8. 1993WimbledonGrand Slam Grass Quarterfinals Sampras 445/5 9. 1994 Miami OpenMasters Hard Final Sampras 5–7, 6–3, 6–3453/3 10. 1994 ATP Osaka World Hard Semifinals Sampras 6–3, 6–1462/3 11. 1994Paris OpenMasters Carpet Quarterfinals Agassi 7–6(8–6), 7–5562/3 12. 1994ATP Tour World ChampionshipsTour Finals Carpet Semifinals Sampras 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3573/3 13. 1995Australian OpenGrand Slam Hard Final Agassi 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(8–6), 6–4674/5 14. 1995Indian Wells MastersMasters Hard Final Sampras 7–5, 6–3, 7–5683/5 15. 1995Miami OpenMasters Hard Final Agassi 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–3)783/3 16. 1995Canadian OpenMasters Hard Final Agassi 3–6, 6–2, 6–3883/3 17. 1995US OpenGrand Slam Hard Final Sampras 6–4, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5894/5 18. 1996 Pacific Coast Championships World Hard (i) Final Sampras 6–2, 6–38102/3 19. 1996Stuttgart Masters Masters Carpet Quarterfinals Sampras 6–4, 6–18112/3 20. 1996ATP Tour World ChampionshipsTour Finals Carpet Round Robin Sampras 6–2, 6–18122/3 21. 1998 Pacific Coast Championships World Hard (i) Final Agassi 6–2, 6–49122/3 22. 1998Monte Carlo OpenMasters Clay Last 32 Sampras 6–4, 7–59132/3 23. 1998Canadian OpenMasters Hard Quarterfinals Agassi 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–210133/3 24. 1999WimbledonGrand Slam Grass Final Sampras 6–3, 6–4, 7–510143/5 25. 1999 Los Angeles Open World Hard Final Sampras 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–1)10152/3 26. 1999Cincinnati OpenMasters Hard Semifinals Sampras 7–6(9–7), 6–410162/3 27. 1999ATP Tour World ChampionshipsTour Finals Hard (i) Round Robin Agassi 6–2, 6–211162/3 28. 1999ATP Tour World ChampionshipsTour Finals Hard (i) Final Sampras 6–1, 7–5, 6–411173/5 29. 2000Australian OpenGrand Slam Hard Semifinals Agassi 12175/5 30. 2001Indian Wells MastersMasters Hard Final Agassi 7–6(7–5), 7–5, 6–113173/5 31. 2001 Los Angeles Open International Hard Final Agassi 6–4, 6–214172/3 32. 2001US OpenGrand Slam Hard Quarterfinals Sampras 14184/5 33. 2002 US Clay Court Championships International Clay Semifinals Sampras 6–1, 7–514192/3 34. 2002US OpenGrand Slam Hard Final Sampras 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–414204/5

Breakdown of their rivalry All matches: (34) Sampras 20–14 All finals: Sampras 9–7 Hard courts: Sampras 11–9 Grass courts: Sampras 2–0 Clay courts: Agassi 3–2 Carpet courts: Sampras 5–2 Masters Series matches: Tied 5–5 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

Performance timeline comparison

Grand Slam tournaments

Bold = players met during this tournament

1986–1991 Player198619871988198919901991AUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSA Andre AgassiNHAA1RA2R1R1RASFASFA3RASFAFAFAFQF1R Pete SamprasNHAAAAAAAAAA1R1R2R1R4R4RA1RWA2R2RQF

1992–1997 Player199219931994199519961997AUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSA Andre AgassiASFWQFAAQF1RA2R4RWWQFSFFSF2R1RSFAAA4R Pete SamprasAQFSFFSFQFWWWQFW4RF1RWW3RSFQFWW3RW4R

1998–2002 Player19981999200020012002AUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSAAUSFRAWIMUSA Andre Agassi4R1R2R4R4RWFWW2RSF2RWQFSFQFAQF2RF Pete SamprasQF2RWSFA2RWASF1RWF4R2R4RF4R1R2RW

ATP rankings Year-end ranking timeline Player198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006 Andre Agassi91253741092422811061632487150 Pete Sampras9781563111111331013

Career evolution Agassi and Sampras were born fifteen and a half months apart. Agassi's birthday is April 29, 1970, while Sampras's is August 12, 1971. A different viewpoint of their career evolution is offered by taking the season they ended with an age of 16 as starting point, and comparing their accomplishments at the same age. For instance in 1996, Agassi finished the season being 26 years old and holding 3 Grand Slam titles.

Age at end of season161718192021222324252627282930313233343536 Agassi's season198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006 Sampras's season198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007Grand Slam titlesAgassi000000112333356778888Sampras00011135781011121313141414141414Grand Slam match winsAgassi011118304056607193104107114137151171182201210220224Sampras004142035587999117136153161179192203203203203203203Year-end championshipsAgassi000011111111111111111Sampras000011122344555555555Masters Series TitlesAgassi00001122479991010121516171717Sampras000001257799101111111111111111Total titlesAgassi01781214171924313434394445495458596060Sampras0004813213136445256616363646464646464Total match winsAgassi53194135180219261294346419457469537600640685738785822860870Sampras0102879131203288365437502557618658700735762762762762762762RankingAgassi91253741092422811061632487150Sampras–9781563111111331013–––––Weeks at number 1Agassi0000000003032323251878787101101101101Sampras0000003587109154206252276286286286286286286286286

Combined singles performance timeline (best result) Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Grand Slam tournaments Australian OpenNH A A 1R 4R A A SF W W SF W QF 4R W W 4R W SF QF A 6 / 15 French Open A 2R SF 3R F F SF QF QF QF SF 3R 2R W 2R QF QF QF 1R 1R A 1 / 19 Wimbledon A 1R A 1R 1R QF W W W W QF W W W W SF 2R 4R A A 3R 8 / 17 US Open 1R 1R SF SF W QF F W W W W 4R SF W F F W SF QF F 3R 7 / 21

Agassi–Sampras rivalry

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