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"Me and Pete Sampras were opposite personalities": Andre Agassi reveals unique nature of rivalry
ATPSaturday, 11 November 2023 at 08:30
Former world number one Andre Agassi opened up about his
rivalry with another legend America’s Pete Sampras.
The duo were involved in an intense rivalry in the 90s on
the tennis court and were part of many title-winning campaigns. Agassi was
quoted in a series where he revealed that he and Sampras were of opposite personalities.
"I think rivalries aren’t guaranteed in any sport. It
doesn’t matter how talented a generation is, you need to capture the
imagination of cultures and people," he said. “In the sense of me and Pete
[Sampras], we weren’t just two opposite players, which was so obvious on the
tennis court.
“We were two opposite personalities and two opposite people
altogether. So, to find those… you need dynamics. Federer and Nadal, talking
about righty lefty, one who makes it look like it’s so ballistic and one who
makes it look like poetry. So, there’s some special elements to rivalries.”
Sampras is often termed as one of the greatest players in
the history of men’s singles tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 14
Grand Slam titles in his career. His most successful competition was Wimbledon
where he lifted the title seven times.
On the other hand, Agassi ended up winning eight Grand Slams
in his illustrious career. His most successful competition was the Australian
Open where he lifted the title four times.
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