In an otherwise storied career, it is no secret that Pete Sampras did not favor clay at all, out of all the surfaces he played on. But as was the case with Sampras often, he managed to delight fans with some famous victories. With a 63% win record, Sampras had a 90-54 W-L record on the surface. Here are 4 of his greatest matches ever played on clay:
Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi, 2002 Houston Open
Played at the Westside Tennis Club in Houston, Texas, the 2002 US Men’s Clay Court Championships saw Andy Roddick beat Pete Sampras and clinch the title for the 2nd consecutive year. However, Pete Sampras won some amazing matches en route to his final. One was against his rival Andre Agassi in the semi-final.
While the first set was a ‘walk in the park’ for Sampras, winning it 6-1, the second set saw some contest. Eventually, Sampras closed it out, 7-5. After the match, Pete Sampras was gracious to hail Andre Agassi despite their bitter rivalry –
“Just playing him is unique. Whether we’re playing a practice match on a side court or in the finals at Wimbledon, he raises my game to another level,” Sampras had said back then in the post-match press conference.
Pete Sampras vs Alex Corretja, 1994 Italian Open
In 1994, Pete Sampras was in exquisite form. Besides winning the Australian Open and the Wimbledon that year, Sampras also won the only Italian Open of his career in the same year. He beat Boris Becker in the final, but his match against Alex Corretja in the second round was also equally memorable.
Pete Sampras won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and at the time, it was a massive victory for the American legend. It is because Corretja, the Spaniard, was known to have a better game on clay. After his match against Corretja, Sampras was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference –
“The hardest thing is knowing when to come forward, and when to stay back. I tend to press too much, and not to wait for the right ball to attack. It’s a question of having patience. Today’s first set took longer than most of my hard-court matches.”
Pete Sampras vs Boris Becker, 1994 Italian Open
It used to take something special to beat a player like Boris Becker in the final of a tournament in the 90s. The 6-time Grand Slam winner had received two walkovers and won some close matches to reach the 1994 Italian Open final. His opponent was none other than Pete Sampras.
Sampras extended the momentum he gained in the previous rounds of that tournament and pulled off a straight sets victory, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, leaving a world-class player like Becker shell-shocked. Here’s how the American analyzed his performance in the post-match press conference –
“It was a combination of Boris not being on top of his game and me playing my best match of the week. I never let Boris get into any sort of rhythm. After I broke him in the second game, I felt pretty much like I was in control.”
Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi, 1998 Monte Carlo Masters
At the 1998 Monte Carlo Masters, the incredible happened. Pete Sampras faced Andre Agassi in the second round of a tournament. That year marked a remarkable comeback from Agassi from being ranked in the 140s to getting back in the top 10.
But Agassi fell short of answers in that match, which helped Sampras register an emphatic straight sets win. Sampras won 6-4, 7-5 and that turned out to be the 14-time Grand Slam champion’s first-ever victory in a Monte Carlo Masters match too. Both Agassi and Sampras had a few words to say after playing an entertaining match:
“I just should have pulled the trigger earlier. To beat Pete, even though he’s not maybe playing his best, requires you to play aggressively at the right times,” said Agassi, according to The New York Times.
Sampras, brimming with pride on the other side, said, “I look at clay as a challenge. And a challenge is something that I like and need at this point in my career.”
