A FORGOTTEN RIVALRY- Pete Sampras & Andre Agassi
The nineties decade was on of the finest in men’s tennis, producing quality players and nail biting matches. It was the decade best known for the rivalry between two American greats, the simple yet intimidating Pete Sampras and the flamboyant yet accurate Andre Agassi. No grand slam was considered complete without a face off between these two giants of the game. This was the kind of game that influenced the next generation of tennis stars. But this was not the only rivalry that bought out the spark in the game; there was another one that was overlooked over the years between Andre Agassi and the champion from Germany Boris Becker. Their countless encounters were a paradigm for all tennis fans and critics alike but somehow it got lost in the shadows of the Sampras-Agassi rivalry.
Both these players did try to match up to Sampras but in vain. Sampras beat Becker in all three grand slam finals that they played against each other and six of the nine he played against Agassi. So a face off between Agassi and Becker always managed to become an epic battle with the threat of Sampras looming in the background. On the court both these players were poles apart with Becker more known for his serve and volleying whereas Agassi preferred a baseline game with strong ground strokes. But it was off the court that their similarity caught media attention, it was the charm that both players exuded. Had it not been for the inconsistent career graph of both these players, they could have etched their names in history books in the form of a very contentious rivalry.
Becker steamed to the top of his career for the first time in 1985 winning his first major tournament. But he actually peaked four years later when he won his first ever US Open title and his third Wimbledon. Agassi on the other hand won his first grand slam in 1992. So considering the fact that there was only a two year age difference between these two, their careers never really ran side by side of each other. And when their paths did cross the encounters, it seemed to be quite one sided with Becker winning their first three matches and then Agassi coming into form and defeating Becker the following eight times. It seemed as if Becker did not know how to read Agassi’s shots and was always stunned as the passing shots flew past him. Becker tried to change his game from a classic serve volley to stay at the back of the court; a tactic that almost always backfired. Agassi on the other hand learned to deal with Becker’s huge serve in a rather unusual way; looking at which side Becker’s tongue was pointing. So as entertaining as their matches always were, they lacked the nail biting elements.
There were some exceptions to the one sided encounters between these two. The first of them was the Davis Cup semi final match in 1985. The stage was set; Becker was under pressure playing in front of his home crowd, losing the first two sets. But Becker did not want to repeat his past mistakes and came from two sets down to win the match. A match of the same magnitude was also played in the Wimbledon final of 1992, when Agassi was looking for his first major title. It was a tense five set encounter but in the end the long haired Agassi prevailed over the German.
In 1995, Agassi was at his career best, ranked number one in the world with the US Open and Australian Open titles to his name. He went into the Wimbledon semi final against Becker on a high, confident of his dominance over his opponent. This was an encounter that still has tennis fans trembling with excitement. Becker came from a set and two breaks of serve down to win the second and third set, and then there was no stopping the fire from the Becker racquet that landed him a spot in the finals.
The rivalry heated up off the court with Becker calling Agassi arrogant and unpopular with all the other players. Agassi rallied back calling Becker names in his memoir. This was a rivalry in true letter and spirit both on and off the court.
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