‘Don’t Want This F***ing German in My Sight’- When Jailed Tennis Star Boris Becker’s Mere Presence Frustrated Andre Agassi at the US Open

Andre Agassi is one of those veterans who wore his heart on his sleeve. He brought rage and expressed his emotions in a sport dominated by poker-faced players. He proved that a professional can transform frustration and anger into something useful. Unlike his rival Pete Sampras, the eight-time Grand Slam champion has had several in-match arguments.

He indulged in verbal altercations with both his opponents and chair umpires. However, his banter with the former German star Boris Becker is unique for its own reasons. Let’s take a look back at the time Agassi lashed out at Becker.

Andre Agassi about his 1995 US Open match against Boris Becker

In his autobiography, Agassi detailed what went inside his mind while preparing to lock horns with Becker in the semifinals of the 1995 US Open. He wrote, “A friend asks if I don’t feel even the slightest impulse to drop the racket and go for his throat. When it’s a grudge match, when there’s bad blood, wouldn’t I rather settle it with a few rounds of old-fashioned boxing?”

“I tell my friend that tennis is boxing. It’s violent, mano a mano, and the choice is as brutally simple as it is in any ring. Kill or be killed. Beat or take your beat-down. Tennis beatings are just deeper below the skin,” the former World no.1 explained.

Agassi’s frustration was on such a level that while in the tunnel before the match, he told the security, “I don’t want this fu**ing German in my sight.” After facing a cruel Wimbledon defeat against the German, Agassi, playing as the defending champion, jumped on the hard courts of America to avenge his defeat. He, like always, used his anger to fuel his performance.

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The no.1 seed Agassi took down the no.4 seed Becker in four sets, 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 4-6 6-4. However, following that in the finals, he lost his title to the 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras. Sampras clinched his third US Open trophy at the expense of the third set.

Agassi and Becker’s rivalry

The veterans locked horns 14 times, out of which, Agassi has triumphed on 10 occasions. They first met in the semifinals of the hard-court-based Indian Wells, where Becker successfully snatched Agassi’s seat in the finals.

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Thereafter, he claimed victory in two more clashes and then faced a back-to-back defeats for years. Agassi not only covered the 3-0 drift but also dragged the head to head to an 8-3 lead. Following that came the famous 1995 Wimbledon encounter in which Becker finally outclassed the American in a four-set-long match. However, that was his last win against Agassi. As after the US Open win that year, Agassi snatched the 1999 Hong Kong Open trophy out of the German’s hands in their last tussle.