"He approached me saying I looked terrible"- When Pete Sampras opened up about why his relationship with controversial ex-coach soured after jail time

Pete Sampras once opened up about how relationships with his ex-coach Pete Fischer soured due to the latter's conduct toward the American tennis icon. Fischer was sentenced to six years in prison in 1998 for multiple child molestation cases.

Fischer was influential in Sampras' career and made him the player he was. The pair worked together in the 1980s for most of the American's developmental years. Out of loyalty, Sampras even defended Fischer when the latter was convicted of gruesome charges in 1998.

However, after his release from prison, Fischer was rude to Sampras which led to their fall-out. Speaking to The Guardian in a 2007 interview, Sampras was asked if he still talked to his former coach.

"I stood by Pete when he was accused of child molestation in 1998 because he had been a good coach. In 2002, after he had been released from prison, he approached me at the US Open, saying I looked terrible and was quite critical," Pete Sampras said.

He revealed that they had not spoken since that incident.

"After the loyalty I had shown him, I didn't think that was right. We haven't spoken since," he added.

Fischer, a pediatric endocrinologist, is a registered sex offender. Although Sampras admitted that Fischer did not behave inappropriately with him, multiple others had a different story. According to a 1998 report from the LA Times, Fischer pleaded guilty 'to two counts of unlawful penetration of a minor.'

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When Pete Sampras' controversial ex-coach claimed the American would have won 24 Grand Slam titles if he worked as hard as Andre Agassi

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi at the The Championships - Wimbledon 1999 - Source: Getty

When Pete Sampras was nine, he started working with Dr. Pete Fischer who was an amateur at the time. Fischer is credited for changing Sampras' two-handed backhand to one-handed.

After receiving parole from jail time, Fischer was interviewed by the New York Times where he opened up about Sampras' work ethic.

''I think if he had the attitude to prove he was the best still, then he might be able to go out and do it. I think physically, he probably still is the best. If Pete was working as hard as Andre Agassi, he would have won 24 majors by now,'' he opined.

''But it's not in his nature. I don't even know if that would change his approach to the game. He certainly can still win a couple of more Wimbledons with probably minimal effort, which probably means I'm not convinced he's putting in minimal effort," he added.

Sampras won 14 Grand Slam titles in his career which was a record in the men's games until the Big 3 of Roger Federer (20), Rafael Nadal (22), and Novak Djokovic (24*) came along.