March 17, 2010
Can Sampras and Agassi coexist?
By Joel Drucker
As the Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi rivalry entered a bewildering emeritus stage amid the rancor of last Friday night's exhibition during the BNP Paribas Open's "Hit for Haiti," it's illuminating to contrast the two Americans with the other two who rounded out the foursome. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were like children in the back seat of a car watching their parents bicker in an old-country dialect.
Justin Gimelstob, the ex-pro and current Fox Sports/Tennis Channel analyst who tried to broker a peace between Sampras and Agassi following the exhibition, said: "Each of these rivalries is marked by mutual respect. But though Roger and Rafa have a similar relaxed philosophy off the court, Pete and Andre are quite different from one another in a great many ways. Even when flavored by respect, conflict is inevitable."
Neither the classy Spaniard nor the baronial Swiss have any understanding of the artificial and occasionally genuine trash talk that pollutes the American sporting landscape. Each instead operates under the premise that while you can chide a rival about his tennis, questioning his character in front of millions is off-limits. It's hard to imagine Nadal or Federer mocking anything the other does off the court the way Agassi did in spoofing Sampras' tipping habits. According to former U.S. top-tenner and psychologist Allen Fox, "Agassi knew what button to push."
In contrast, Nadal speaks of Federer with the reverence of a parishioner gazing up from a church pew. And though Federer is nowhere near as awestruck by the man who's beaten him 13 of 20 times, even in defeat Federer's manner is typically more gracious than confrontational, the silky-smooth Swiss usually speaking with the pearl-smooth manner of a UN diplomat.
What Nadal and Federer share is a mutual joy for battle, a hunger for excellence and even a degree of lightness and pleasure in knowing they can earn millions playing a game. It was Federer, after all, who first conceived the initial "Hit for Haiti" on the eve of this year's Australian Open.
Although Federer-Nadal emerged organically and has endured persistently, Agassi-Sampras was conceived far more in a conference room than inside the lines, amid the embers of tennis' charisma drought of 1994. That was the year when a Sports Illustrated cover story asked an unanswerable but challenging question: "Is Tennis Dying?" Titans John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors --- headline-generating rivals on a par with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis --- had retired two years earlier. Martina Navratilova quit in '94, five years after the departure of her great rival, Chris Evert. Monica Seles was sidelined after her stabbing, as was Jennifer Capriati from burnout. Boris Becker's motivation was floundering. Ditto for another recent world No. 1, American Jim Courier. Even the relentless Steffi Graf endured a hiccup that year, surrendering her No. 1 ranking not to the iconic Gabriela Sabatini but to the persistent yet prosaic Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. TV ratings and equipment sales were down. Sampras was regarded less as a racket-wielding genius and more like Warren Buffett --- a humble solo act routinely posting one quarterly profit after another.
Tennis' dynamic duo became Sampras-Agassi. Agassi had long been a tennis messiah of sorts, off-the-charts box-office platinum who in '94 was at last starting to hone his game. Nike, adroitly seeing an opportunity, stepped in with an ad campaign that once again proved sizzle is far more alluring than steak. Figuring it was worth a go in his quest for a degree of greater public appreciation, Sampras signed on. Call it a strategic alliance between Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs. Why not?
To be sure, by sheer numbers, Sampras and Agassi were the two best players of the '90s, between them winning 17 Grand Slam titles that decade (12 for Sampras, five for Agassi). But looking more closely, it's hardly accurate to say Agassi was as consistently right behind Sampras as Nadal had been with Federer. Nadal held the No. 2 ranking for more than three straight years before becoming No. 1 in August '08, and holding on to the top spot for a good deal of '09. Said Fox, "For a while Nadal and Federer each had their spheres of influence, each winning his share of big titles."
As Gimelstob noted, "That Roger and Rafa can coexist so smoothly speaks volumes to the ways each can process pressure."
Sampras-Agassi was marked by one man's unwavering focus and another's life on a roller coaster. As Sampras finished No. 1 in the world six straight years from 1993 to 1998, Agassi was only ranked second or higher from November '94 to February '96. By late 1997 he'd slumped to a career low of 141st in the world. Even in 1999, the only year Agassi ever finished ranked No. 1, he was aided by Sampras' withdrawal from the U.S. Open with a back injury --- and that year lost to Sampras four of five times, including two high-stakes finals at Wimbledon and the season-ending ATP Tennis Masters Cup.
Said Fox: "Agassi and Sampras were fighting for the same bone a lot more than Federer and Nadal. When you're from the same country, for example, only one can be top dog. The closer you are to someone, the more you want to beat them. You've got to see them all the time. And in the big matches, Sampras was the one who won constantly. You've got to think at some level Agassi resented that. Nadal-Federer is beautiful, incredibly gracious. But Sampras-Agassi is more like most rivalries --- zero-sum, emotional, uncomfortable."
Beyond the lines, for all the swoosh-concocted sizzle and expectation surrounding Agassi and Sampras, Agassi's wavering engagement with tennis undermined the rivalry's credibility as the sport's marquee act. Even as Sampras admitted Agassi was the peer he feared most, not until 1998 did Agassi commit to tennis for the duration. Even now, with one of the central messages of Agassi's recent autobiography being his hatred for the sport (which he's since revised as a "hate to love" relationship), Agassi's long-standing aptitude for prevarication and repenting has infected the intermittently sublime tennis he and Sampras played.
No such fog has clouded the Nadal-Federer wars. Another piece of good news for tennis is that while Nadal-Federer is a delightful storyline, it's but one of many. With stars like the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova, with the emergence of superb players from all sorts of new and old tennis nations --- Serbia, Great Britain, Russia, China, Argentina, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium --- the sport's global reach has never spread deeper.
Like Sampras throughout his entire career, like Agassi from 1998 on, Nadal and Federer are supremely dedicated, constantly looking to drive themselves as much as possible and leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of the game's biggest titles. If that entails coming across one another, so be it. Certainly Federer relishes the chance to earn a win over Nadal at Roland Garros. And Nadal hungers to regain his throne in Paris and compete at Wimbledon for the first time since he won there in 2008. But tennis is hardly defined by the Roger & Rafa Show the way it once so desperately craved Sampras-Agassi.
March 16, 2010
Hits keep on coming for Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi
By Bill Dwyre
A tense moment during a charity exhibition Friday has been rehashed endlessly and negatively affected the relationship between the two tennis greats. They and the sport will be better off when it AA's blown over.
This too shall pass, and not a moment too soon for Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
What was supposed to be a Hit for Haiti exhibition last Friday night at the Indian Wells tennis tournament turned into a Rift for Rivalry. The charity got some cash, but the legend got some lumps.
It's the age of the Internet, of YouTube and Twitter. It happens, the world knows in seconds, and the mindless noise and texting begins, even if it isn't the slightest bit interesting.
The tension between Sampras and Agassi was very interesting. Two of the greatest players in history, having a tense exchange in a charity event, created chat-room heaven. No chance that Agassi's over-the-edge teasing of Sampras would end in public shrugs.
Tuesday at Indian Wells, the buzz continued. Agassi, on site for a charity event, came and went before the media knew, feeding media appetite. Former player and current television commentator Justin Gimelstob knew and got an exclusive interview with Agassi.
In it, Agassi said, among other things, "In an attempt to try and be funny, you say things, and you don't hit 100%. I spoke up, it fell flat."
Agassi has taken swings at apologizing in several TV interviews since Friday night. Sampras has appreciated that, but dislikes how it feeds the beast and keeps the story alive. Agassi is outgoing, articulate, likely to go for the one-liner. Sampras is shy, less comfortable in public situations.
Sampras wants this to pass, to let time heal it. Unheard until now, he also has a side in this story.
"Mostly, this just bums me out," he said Tuesday night. "It makes our relationship uncomfortable now.
"It saddens me. Time will tell. I like Andre. I always had great respect for his game. What happened is regrettable. It is a very awkward situation."
The Sampras-Agassi relationship was never one of close friendship, always one of close competition.
They played 34 times and Sampras won 20. They played nine times in Grand Slam events, which mattered the most to both. Sampras won five, four in finals. Agassi beat Sampras in one Slam final. The last match Sampras played was the 2002 U.S. Open final. He had struggled for most of the year, appearing to be past his prime. Then he beat Agassi, one more time.
Sampras officially retired well after that '02 final. He went out with little fanfare. Agassi retired after a loss in the third round of the '06 U.S. Open. Before he left the court, he made a stirring speech of gratitude to tennis and its fans.
Gimelstob said he was in the locker room before Friday night's Hit for Haiti and marveled at the awe current players had for the pair.
"It was like they were past presidents," Gimelstob said.
Agassi will be 40 next month, Sampras 39 in August. Agassi runs a foundation that funds, among other things, an entire school in Las Vegas. He makes many appearances on behalf of that foundation and his annual dinner in Las Vegas, which raises millions, is among the most successful events of its kind.
Sampras has quietly raised a family, invested his money in several things, including the Indian Wells tournament, and given to charity. One charitable contribution was $70,000, to Agassi's foundation. He didn't volunteer that information, nor would he. It was dug up by normal newspaper reporting.
That's why it was so unusual for Agassi, in his recent autobiography, to make fun of Sampras for being cheap and tipping a parking valet just $1, something that happened nearly two decades ago. Also a strange thing to bring up again in the charity event.
"We've done this before, the imitating each other," Sampras said. "He usually just sticks out his tongue at me."
Years ago, the legendary pair teamed with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal at Bob Kramer's L.A. Open. It was a wonderful night, highlighted by Agassi's stopping the action to point out to doubles partner Crystal that he was hitting to the wrong guy.
"That's Pete Sampras," Agassi said. "He's won six Wimbledons."
Time will bring back that sort of mutual respect. Tennis needs that. So do Sampras and Agassi.