Why I would pick Agassi over Sampras

Right at the onset, I’d let out the secret: Agassi is more human. One can relate to him and hence I’d pick Agassi.

One of the fiercest rivalries in tennis history, Pete Sampras v/s Andre Agassi is a battle of class against tenacity. The ever so calm and perfect Sampras never let out any emotion; he was more like a gentleman on the tennis court who was out there to do his job and earn his living. He played with such professionalism that it was almost taken for granted. I never venerated him in a way a player of his caliber deserves to be. Maybe I am just biased towards Agassi but I was almost in love with his way of playing.

I was a teen back then and there were times when I despised Sampras. He was like that obedient kid who’d raise his hand every time a teacher would ask a question and on occasions, he’d raise both his hands! Agassi was the back-bencher, he was the notorious truant. He ran around the court like a maniac and covered distances hard to imagine; only to be beaten by Sampras, again and again. Why? Because Pete was perfect; he did his homework. He went home after every game and analyzed each and every point while Andre went out and not sounding mean, but lived a life.

Sampras won 16 grand slams while Andre won 8 and their head to head match stat stands at 20-14 in favour of Sampras. But as it is said, stats often lie; data is many a times statistically insignificant. Andre, the man who rose up struggling against all odds, his autobiography, “The Open” was like the last laugh. The book puts him on the top step of the podium, more morally than statistically. Pete also had his “A Champions Mind” but being sure of what it would be, a perfect gentlemanly act, I never managed to get my hands on it.

The only time when I believed Sampras to be human and grew sensitive towards him was the 1995 Australian Open quarter-final against Jim Courier. Before the match, Sampras came to know that his coach and best friend, Gullikson was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The incident took its toll on Sampras and he lost the first two sets. Someone from the crowd egged him on, “Do it for your coach Pets” and he broke down in tears. He wept and played; an emotional Sampras kept on serving aces and took the next three sets. He lost to Agassi in the finals but it was a moment when the world saw a different side to Sampras.

This is only one point which highlights the ‘human’ life of Sampras while Agassi’s life is full of such incidents. Agassi displays the power of human will; the power to fight and come out triumphant; the power to struggle against all tides and not lose hope; the will to win. Sampras might have all of these and even at a higher level but he was something one would look up to, not put an arm over the shoulder. Agassi is more relatable, Agassi is more associable, Agassi is pure and simply more humane and hence I’d pick Agassi over Sampras.