The Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras rivalry took tennis to the masses in the USA and across the world. Amongst the two most decorated players in the history of the sport, they clashed multiple times during the 1990s, entertaining audiences with top-drawer tennis.
Sampras and Agassi ushered in an era of American dominance. They ruled the roost as compatriots like Michael Chang, Todd Martin, and Jim Courier also helped establish the USA as a leading tennis force.
Both turned professional at age 16, Agassi in 1986 and Sampras in 1988. The former retired in 2006 while the latter hung up his boots in 2003. From 1989 to 2002, the tennis fraternity witnessed Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras matches 34 times. The 14-time Grand Slam champion leads the head-to-head 20-14, including a 4-1 lead in Grand Slam finals.
1989 – That year had the first Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras meeting. Agassi, who had finished 1988 as the World No.3, crossed paths with Sampras in the second round of the Italian Open. Seeded first, the 1996 Olympic gold medallist swept past his rookie opponent, defeating him 6-2, 6-1. Agassi eventually finished runner-up in the Grand Prix (now ATP 1000) tournament.
1990-1993 – This was the period when the seeds were sown for a great rivalry. During these four years, the duo crossed paths seven times. Sampras got his first win over Agassi after the latter retired hurt during their 1990 US Professional Indoor Championships. Their third clash was the 1990 US Open final, where Sampras scored an upset victory of sorts to bag his first Grand Slam title. They also faced off in the round-robin stage of the ATP Tour World Championships (now ATP Finals) in 1990 and 1991, splitting one win each.
Agassi won their 1992 French Open quarterfinals clash but lost at the same stage in the 1993 Wimbledon Championships, as Sampras went on to lift the trophy. Their head-to-head stood level at 4-4.
1994-1995 – The Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras rivalry continued neck-and-neck. The two American superstars, in their prime, faced off nine times during in this phase across just two years. Sampras won their first clash in 1994, the Miami Open final. They met a further three times that year, including the ATP ATP Tour World Championships semi-final, which Sampras won en route to lifting the title. By the end of the season, he led 7-5.
This duel peaked in 1995, as they played each other five times. All five of these matches were either Grand Slam or Masters finals. Agassi won the Australian Open, Miami Open, and Canadian Open finals. Sampras, meanwhile, bagged the Indian Wells Masters and the US Open summit clashes. After this legendary season for the Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras rivalry, their head-to-head was very close, as Sampras led 9-8.
1996-1999 – Andre Agassi suffered a slowdown in this period as Pete Sampras raced ahead in rankings as well as the dominance in their rivalry. They played thrice in 1996, all results going the latter’s way. They did not meet in 1997, as Agassi fell outside the top 100.
The eight-time Grand Slam winner worked his way back up and 1998 saw three Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras clashes, the former winning two. In 1999, they clashed in the Wimbledon finals, their first Grand Slam meeting since the 1995 US Open final. Once again, Sampras triumphed. They squared off a further four times that year, Agassi winning only once in the round-robin stage of the ATP Tour World Championships. The duo met again in the final, where Sampras won to lift his fifth year-end championship.
During this period, Sampras won eight of their 11 matches to take his lead to 17-11.
2000-2002 – These were the final years of the Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras rivalry. Agassi won their only clash in 2000, which was the Australian Open semi-final as well as 2 out of their 3 clashes in 2001, making it the first time he collected three consecutive wins against Sampras.
Sampras, however, repaid the favour by winning their next three, which would also prove to be the last three of this duel, on the trot. He defeated Agassi in the 2001 US Open quarterfinals. After winning their first match of 2002 in the Houston semifinals, Sampras crossed paths with Agassi in the final of the 2002 US Open. He came out on top to bag a then-record 14th Grand Slam title. It was a fitting ending to the Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras rivalry, also the last professional match of the latter’s career.
