"I thought he was mocking me... I wasn't in a joking mood"- When Pete Sampras was furious with Jim Courier for speaking to him during emotional moment

Pete Sampras once stated that he thought Jim Courier was mocking him when he broke down during their Australian Open quarterfinal. Sampras was overcome with emotion due to his then-coach Tim Gullikson, who had seizures the previous year and collapsed during the tournament, because of which, he had to return to the Uited States.

The then-World No. 1 entered the 1995 Australian Open as the defending champio n and reached the quarterfinals with wins over Gianluca Pozzi, Jan Kroslak, Lars Jonsson and 15th seed Magnus Larsson. Here, he faced ninth seed Jim Courier, and the latter won the first two sets, both via tiebreaks. Sampras, however, bounced back and took the match into a decider.

Early in the final set, the then-23-year-old went to his chair after the conclusion of a game and broke down in tears. Even when Sampras tried to serve, he was unable to do so because of his emotions. At this point, Jim Courier offered to finish the match the next day.

Pete Sampras spoke on this in an interview that was shared on the International Tennis Hall of Fame's YouTube channel. The 14-time Grand Slam champion said that he thought Courier was mocking him when he offered to finish the match the following day, and that it did not "sit well with him".

Sampras also spoke about the crowd "kind of laughing" at this, which got his focus back into the match.

"I think the emotions sort of came out in the fifth set where I lost my composure and got upset and just, felt that I needed to breathe a little bit and let that go. I was about to serve, and Jim said, 'We can do this tomorrow Pete if you want', and when he said it, I thought he was mocking me. It didn't sit well with me for a second. I felt like I was having this private moment and the crowd kind of laughed and I wasn't in a joking mood. So, it got me refocussed into the match, and something clicked, and I ended up winning the match," Pete Sampras said.

Sampras eventually beat Courier 6-7(4), 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open. This turned out to be his last meeting with his compatriot at the Melbourne Major.

Tim Gullikson's illness turned out to be brain cancer, which eventually claimed his life in 1996.

Pete Sampras lost the 1995 Australian Open final to Andre Agassi

Pete Sampras in action at the 1996 French Open (Image Source: Getty)

After beating Courier, Sampras came back from a set down to beat Michael Chang 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second successive final at the Australian Open. Here, the then-World No. 1 faced his rival Andre Agassi and started well by winning the first set 6-4. However, Agassi bounced back to win the next three sets and triumph 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-4 to clinch his maiden title at the Melbourne Major.

This was the only time Pete Sampras lost an Australian Open final, and he won a second title at the tournament in its 1997 edition by beatig Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

The American reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 1998 before losing to unseeded Karol Kucera. He withdrew from the Melbourne Major in 1999 but reached the semifinals in 2000, losing to Andre Agassi who went on to win the tournament.

Sampras' final appearance at the Australian Open came in 2002 when he was seeded eighth. The then-30-year-old beat Jarkko Nieminen, Juan Ignacio Chela and 30th seed Nicolas Escude before losing to eventual runner-up Marat Safin in the fourth round.