"We had a friendship, I'm ahead of Andre Agassi, and now it's changed" - When Thomas Muster got into a war of words with American icon

Thomas Muster said that he had a friendship with Andre Agassi, but it changed. This was in response to the American speaking of the Austrian's No. 1 ranking.

Muster became the World No. 1 in February 1996, replacing Andre Agassi. The American reacted to that by talking about his dominance on clay and saying that he didn't put the Austrian even in the top 10 on surfaces outside clay.

"It doesn't undermine the fact that he had to work his butt off for a year to get there on the rankings sheet. But it doesn't change the fact that I don't put him in the top 10 when it comes to surfaces outside of clay," Agassi said as quoted by Deseret.

Thomas Muster responded to Agassi's claims by saying that he was disappointed considering the two had a friendship, which "changed" when Agassi surpassed Muster to become World No. 1.

“I don’t understand why Andre, who is a champion himself and knows what it takes, would say what he did,” Muster said as quoted by the LA Times.

“It’s a little disappointing in one way, we had a friendship. Suddenly, I’m ahead of him and now it’s changed. But the only language that counts on the court and in the locker room is winning. Who wins is right, who loses fails.”

Neither Agassi nor Muster ended 1996 as the World No. 1. Agassi finished that year ranked eighth, while Muster was fifth. Pete Sampras ended 1996 as the World No. 1.

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Andre Agassi faced Thomas Muster in three Grand Slam matches

Andre Agassi at a New York event in 2024

Andre Agassi and Thomas Muster faced each other nine times, and three of their encounters came at Grand Slams.

Their first Major encounter came in the second round of the 1994 French Open, with the Austrian narrowly winning 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. That year, they also locked horns in the quarterfinals of the US Open, with Agassi registering a straight set win, triumphing 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0. He eventually went on to win the tournament after beating Michael Stich in the final.

The final Grand Slam encounter between Agassi and Muster, which was also their last meeting, came in the quarterfinals of the 1996 US Open, with the American winning 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the semifinals. There, he was beaten by eventual runner-up Michael Chang in straight sets.