Agassi–Sampras rivalry

Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are retired professional men's tennis players who were ranked World No. 1 during the 1990s, Sampras holding the world's top-rank spot 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 winning 20 of their matches. 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 top-three ranking even though Sampras had defeated former World No. 1 players Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe on the way to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets.

The next time the pair met at a Grand Slam final was at the 1995 Australian Open. Agassi beat Sampras in four sets.

In one of their matches, played in the 2001 US Open quarter-final, Sampras won with the score of 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5); throughout the match, no player managed to break 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 last career match, he announced his retirement from the game a year later at 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 at 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 Grand Slam titles, with 14. This broke Björn Borg's record of 11 titles won in the Open Era, as well as the 12 held then by Roy Emerson, predating the Open Era. Roger Federer has since overtaken Sampras with 17 titles. On the other hand, Agassi, who claimed 8 Grand Slam titles (joint fifth for most titles in the Open Era, and joint sixth all-time), is one of only four men to win the singles Career Grand Slam in the Open Era and one of seven overall. Having won the gold medal in men's singles at the 1996 Olympics, he is the first of only two male players to achieve a Career Golden Slam in singles tennis, the second being Rafael Nadal. 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 record for most ATP Masters Series (AMS) shields with 17 (Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have both since overtaken him with 27 and 23 titles respectively), and has been called the best service returner in the history of the game. In retirement, Agassi and Sampras have found bonds to continue their friendship on a deeper level.

Head-to-head

Agassi–Sampras (14–20)

Legend

Grand Slam

Tennis Masters Cup

ATP Masters Series

ATP International Series

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1	1989	Rome	Clay	R32	Agassi	6–2, 6–1
2	1990	Philadelphia	Carpet	R16	Sampras	5–7, 7–5, retired
3	1990	US Open	Hard	F	Sampras	6–4, 6–3, 6–2
4	1990	ATP World Tour Finals	Carpet	RR	Agassi	6–4, 6–2
5	1991	ATP World Tour Finals	Carpet	RR	Sampras	6–3, 1–6, 6–3
6	1992	Atlanta	Clay	F	Agassi	7–5, 6–4
7	1992	French Open	Clay	QF	Agassi	7–6(6), 6–2, 6–1
8	1993	Wimbledon	Grass	QF	Sampras	6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4
9	1994	Miami Masters	Hard	F	Sampras	5–7, 6–3, 6–3
10	1994	Osaka	Hard	SF	Sampras	6–3, 6–1
11	1994	Paris	Carpet	QF	Agassi	7–6(6), 7–5
12	1994	ATP World Tour Finals	Carpet	SF	Sampras	4–6, 7–6(5), 6–3
13	1995	Australian Open	Hard	F	Agassi	4–6, 6–1, 7–6(6), 6–4
14	1995	Indian Wells	Hard	F	Sampras	7–5, 6–3, 7–5
15	1995	Miami Masters	Hard	F	Agassi	3–6, 6–2, 7–6(3)
16	1995	Canada (Montreal)	Hard	F	Agassi	3–6, 6–2, 6–3
17	1995	US Open	Hard	F	Sampras	6–4, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
18	1996	San Jose	Hard	F	Sampras	6–2, 6–3
19	1996	Stuttgart Masters	Carpet	QF	Sampras	6–4, 6–1
20	1996	ATP World Tour Finals	Carpet	RR	Sampras	6–2, 6–1
21	1998	San Jose	Hard	F	Agassi	6–2,6–4
22	1998	Monte Carlo	Clay	R32	Sampras	6–4, 7–5
23	1998	Canada (Montreal)	Hard	QF	Agassi	6–7(5), 6–1, 6–2
24	1999	Wimbledon	Grass	F	Sampras	6–3, 6–4, 7–5
25	1999	Los Angeles	Hard	F	Sampras	7–6(3), 7–6(1)
26	1999	Cincinnati	Hard	SF	Sampras	7–6(7), 6–4
27	1999	ATP World Tour Finals	Hard	RR	Agassi	6–2, 6–2
28	1999	ATP World Tour Finals	Hard	F	Sampras	6–1, 7–5, 6–4
29	2000	Australian Open	Hard	SF	Agassi	6–4, 3–6, 6–7(0), 7–6(5), 6–1
30	2001	Indian Wells	Hard	F	Agassi	7–6(5), 7–5, 6–1
31	2001	Los Angeles	Hard	F	Agassi	6–4, 6–2
32	2001	US Open	Hard	QF	Sampras	6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5)
33	2002	Houston	Clay	SF	Sampras	6–1, 7–5
34	2002	US Open	Hard	F	Sampras	6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4

Breakdown of their rivalry

• All Matches: Sampras 20–14
• Hard courts: Sampras, 11–9
• Grass courts: Sampras, 2–0
• Clay courts: Agassi, 3–2
• Carpet courts: Sampras, 5–2
• Masters Series matches: Agassi, 5–4
• 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
• All finals: Sampras, 9–7

Performance timeline comparison (Grand Slam tournaments)

Main article: Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)

Key

W

F

SF

QF

R#

RR

LQ (Q#)

A

P

Z#

PO

SF-B

F-S

G

NMS

NH

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

• Bold = players met during this tournament

1986–1991

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

1992–1997

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

1998–2002

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

See also

• List of tennis rivalries

Further reading

• "Head To Head". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 

Videos

• 1990 US Open Final Part 1
• 2000 Australian Open Semi Final 4th Set Tiebreaker
• 2002 US Open Final Highlights – Sampras' and Agassi's final match
• Things get ugly between two legends