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

Pete Sampras is one of those tennis veterans that young aspiring players look up to. Now also many players can’t touch even the foot of his records and achievements. The only player who could hold a candle to him was Andre Agassi. However, he wasn’t calm and composed like Sampras, and made some serious mistakes.

Even so, they both used to be the apt contender in all the tournaments back in the 90s and early 2000s. Therefore, later, when Agassi decided to compile the highs and lows of his life in a book, he dedicated some lines to his major rival. Though his take on Sampras made Sampras feel misunderstood.

Pete Sampras denies Agassi’s claims

Agassi denoted fellow American tennis legend as dull and a person with a lack of inspiration in his 2010 book. To which the 14 times Grand Slam champion responded, “He was a big rival. I think it’s a reflection that I didn’t know Andre all that well in our competitive days. Got to know him a little bit better as we got older, but in [our] mid-20s and times he was there and at times he was a little removed.”

Thereafter he said, “Little did I know he was getting involved in some bad decisions.” Agassi admitted to using crystal meth and lying to the tennis officials after a positive report.

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“Everyone’s sort of asking about it and talking about the crystal meth. He decided to bring it out now, which was a little surprising, but Andre always likes to separate himself from the rest, good or bad,” the seven times Wimbledon champion added.

Sampras against Agassi

Even though Sampras retired earlier than Agassi, taking a lead would have been a tough feat for him, as he was 6 matches away from settling the score. The head-to-head records favor Sampras 20-14 with their last encounter being in the finals of the US Open.

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Sampras, who was playing his last tournament with an eye on his fifth US Open title locked horns with 8 times Grand Slam champion in the outdoor hard courts of America. He, at the expense of the third set, ended his career with a Grand Slam trophy. Sampras got the better of the Agassi by 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 for one last time.