‘I Don’t Have Any Money..’ – Andre Agassi Had to Apologize to Arch-Rival Pete Sampras Once, After a Joke Went Horribly Wrong

Being a historically rich sport, tennis is not new to on-court rivalries. However, amongst the greatest tennis rivalries, one that remains at one of the top spots is that of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. Walking down memory lane, the American legends gave the tennis world some of its most celebrated matches.

Announcing their respective retirements, the two stepped back on the court in 2010, playing the charity event, Hit for Haiti. The event, also featuring Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, started on a positive note. However, during the event, a joke by Agassi seemingly didn’t go well with Sampras. Following this, he was forced to apologize to Sampras.

The unpleasant banter between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras

Going back to the playing days of Agassi and Sampras, one can recall the opposite personalities of the two. While Agassi had a posturing attitude, Sampras, on the other hand, had a serious and quiet nature. Maintaining the same, the two showed similar traits during the Hit for Haiti. Teaming up with Nadal, Agassi, time and again indulged in hilarious banters with Federer.

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On the other hand, Sampras continued his serious game. Observing Sampras’s seriousness, Agassi opted to direct the banter toward Sampras. Laughing off the banter, Sampras gave it back to Agassi by impersonating him. While many thought it would end here, Agassi had more in his bag.

Recalling an early incident in which Sampras didn’t have money to offer a tip at a restaurant, Agassi took a dig at Sampras. Impersonating Sampras, Agassi pulled his pocket inside out and said “Tip? I don’t have any money… Oh, wait! Here’s a dollar.”

Not knowing the backstory, the majority of the tennis fans laughed off the enactment. However, that wasn’t the case with Sampras. Offended by the jibe, Sampras hit a hard serve on Agassi, who was forced to duck.

Agassi apologizes to Sampras

The match ended with the two hugging it out on the net. However, despite the hug, things didn’t normalize between the two. A couple of days after the incident, Agassi came in public to open up about the incident. The 8-time Grand Slam champion started by expressing his views of Sampras hitting a hard serve during an exhibition match.

“It was out of line,”. “It was inappropriate. The night was on fire. We were all having fun. I was trying to be comedic. I only had a split second to make a decision. I went for it and it fell flat,” he said.

Looking at the records, the two have played each other a total of 34 times in their careers. During their intense clashes, the two hit the hardest serves possible. However, a serve like this at an exhibition match seemingly didn’t go well with Agassi. Going ahead in his comments, Agassi admitted, “I was trying to get past it, but Pete didn’t really let me get past it. He didn’t really roll with it.”

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While he expressed his disagreement with Sampras’s serve, he made sure to apologize to his fellow countryman. “I’ve texted Pete to ask him if I can apologize in person,” he said. “The joke fell flat and I’m sorry. My hope was that the night was still enjoyable,” he further added.