‘Had This New Lease of Life..’- Pete Sampras Once Narrated a Heart-Warming Tale of Arch-Rival Andre Agassi’s Sportsmanship

Before Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi ruled the sport. With their different styles of play and presence on the court, they kept the audience on the edge of their seats in almost all of their match-ups.

Further, they are one of those veterans who still receive admiration from the younger generation for their epic on-court encounters and achievements during their time on the ATP tour. Although they were fierce rivals, the two never showed any disrespect but rather utilized their unique skills to overcome the other. Therefore, it didn’t surprise tennis fans around the world when a story portraying the level of their sportsmanship resurfaced on the internet.

Pete Sampras about Agassi’s nature

Sampras and Agassi often met each other in the finals of the tournaments, owing to the unrivaled talent they harbored. However, this story is from when one of them was struggling with a serious ailment. Sampras in a 2018 interview narrated the tale of Agassi’s sportsmanship. He said, “I remember the 1994 Lipton final against Agassi. I woke up feeling sick, and he was the ultimate sport about it. The best sportsmanship move I have ever seen.”

“Little did I know I had ulcer that makes you feel sick, and I was throwing up in the morning. They asked him if he would delay the final to get an IV in me and see if I could play. He was nice enough to say okay. I got an IV in me and was able to play and had this new lease on life. Crazy enough, I came out relaxed and ended up winning the match.”

Read more: ‘He Was a Little Removed’ – Pete Sampras’ Honest Response Once, After Andre Agassi Took Shots at Him in His Autobiography

The 14-time Grand Slam champion built an unhealthy reliance on sleeping pills in order to get rid of the jet lag during tours. As a result of which, the pills became a kind of addiction and caused a painful and persistent ulcer.

Sampras against Agassi

The two legends of the game, each had one of the best serves and returns during their dominant era on the tour. Both Hall of Famers dominated their games from the baseline but had different ways of executing their shots during a match.

They locked horns 34 times before Sampras finally hung his racket in 2002. In fact, his last match was also against the 4-time Australian Open champion. Speaking of the head-to-head records, Sampras came out victorious in 20 out of the 34 clashes.

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They last squared off for the 2002 US Open trophy in New York and the 50-year-old gave a perfect farewell to the profession by thrashing Agassi in a four set long match of 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.