Andre Agassi andPete Sampras

TheAgassi–Sampras rivalry was atennis rivalry betweenAndre Agassi andPete Sampras, who were both rankedworld 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.^[1] With contrasting styles and temperaments,^[2] 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.^[3]

InGrand Slam tournaments, they played in five finals, with Sampras winning four. They met for the first time in a Grand Slam final at the1990 US Open, with Agassi the favorite because of his superior ranking even though Sampras had defeated former world No. 1 playersIvan Lendl andJohn McEnroe en route to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets.

In one of their matches, at the2001 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 the2002 US Open final. It was their first meeting in the final since Sampras won in1995. 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 the2003 US Open.^[4] 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 theall-time record for most men's major singles titles, with 14. This brokeBjörn Borg's record of 11 titles won in theOpen Era, as well as the 12 byRoy 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 afterRod Laver to win the singlesCareer 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 the1996 Olympics, he was also the first male player to achieve aCareer Golden Slam in singles tennis. The Career Grand Slam proved elusive for Sampras, as he was unable to find significant success on theserve-neutralizingclay courts, reaching only oneFrench Open semi-final in his career.

Agassi also held the then-record for mostATP Masters Series (AMS) shields (since 1990) with 17. Also, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game.^[5][6][7][8]

In retirement, Agassi and Sampras have found bonds to continue their friendship on a deeper level.^[9]

Agassi 14 – Sampras 20

• 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

• Bold = players met during this tournament

Player	1986				1987				1988				1989				1990				1991
	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Andre Agassi	NH	A	A	1R	A	2R	1R	1R	A	SF	A	SF	A	3R	A	SF	A	F	A	F	A	F	QF	1R
Pete Sampras	NH	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	2R	1R	4R	4R	A	1R	W	A	2R	2R	QF

Player	1992				1993				1994				1995				1996				1997
	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Andre Agassi	A	SF	W	QF	A	A	QF	1R	A	2R	4R	W	W	QF	SF	F	SF	2R	1R	SF	A	A	A	4R
Pete Sampras	A	QF	SF	F	SF	QF	W	W	W	QF	W	4R	F	1R	W	W	3R	SF	QF	W	W	3R	W	4R

Player	1998				1999				2000				2001				2002
	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA	AUS	FRA	WIM	USA
Andre Agassi	4R	1R	2R	4R	4R	W	F	W	W	2R	SF	2R	W	QF	SF	QF	A	QF	2R	F
Pete Sampras	QF	2R	W	SF	A	2R	W	A	SF	1R	W	F	4R	2R	4R	F	4R	1R	2R	W

Player	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Andre Agassi	91	25	3	7	4	10	9	24	2	2	8	110	6	1	6	3	2	4	8	7	150
Pete Sampras			97	81	5	6	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	3	10	13

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 season		16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Agassi's season		1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Sampras's season		1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Grand Slam titles	Agassi	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	5	6	7	7	8	8	8	8
	Sampras	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	5	7	8	10	11	12	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14
Grand Slam match wins	Agassi	0	1	11	18	30	40	56	60	71	93	104	107	114	137	151	171	182	201	210	220	224
	Sampras	0	0	4	14	20	35	58	79	99	117	136	153	161	179	192	203	203	203	203	203	203
Year-end championships	Agassi	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
	Sampras	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	2	2	3	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Masters Series Titles	Agassi	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	2	4	7	9	9	9	10	10	12	15	16	17	17	17
	Sampras	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	5	7	7	9	9	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Total titles	Agassi	0	1	7	8	12	14	17	19	24	31	34	34	39	44	45	49	54	58	59	60	60
	Sampras	0	0	0	4	8	13	21	31	36	44	52	56	61	63	63	64	64	64	64	64	64
Total match wins	Agassi	5	31	94	135	180	219	261	294	346	419	457	469	537	600	640	685	738	785	822	860	870
	Sampras	0	10	28	79	131	203	288	365	437	502	557	618	658	700	735	762	762	762	762	762	762
Ranking	Agassi	91	25	3	7	4	10	9	24	2	2	8	110	6	1	6	3	2	4	8	7	150
	Sampras	–	97	81	5	6	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	3	10	13	–	–	–	–	–
Weeks at number 1	Agassi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	32	32	32	51	87	87	87	101	101	101	101
	Sampras	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	87	109	154	206	252	276	286	286	286	286	286	286	286	286

• List of tennis rivalries

• "Head To Head".Association of Tennis Professionals.

Videos

• 1990 US Open Final part 1
• 2000 Australian Open semifinal 4th set tiebreaker
• 2002 US Open Final Highlights – Sampras' and Agassi's final match

• Andre Agassi
• Tennis rivalries
• Sports rivalries in the United States

• CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata