March 30, 2012
Flashback Friday: Pete and Andre Contest Back-to-Back Miami Finals
By Chris Oddo
A startling figure: To this date, one-third of the men's singles titles at the Sony Ericsson Open (formerly known as the Lipton Classic) belong to two titans of tennis --- or should we say Monsters of Miami? --- Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
As we look forward to Sunday's men's final, we thought it would be fitting to take a look back at the early years of tennis in Key Biscayne. The tournament began in 1985, but not until 1994 did a long string bean with elastic wrists and tree trunk legs, known simply as "Pete," become its first back-to-back winner.
That was 1994, in what would be Sampras and Agassi's ninth of thirty-four career meetings. Neither Sampras, Agassi, fans nor the media had any indication of just how legendary their rivalry would become, but there were certainly hints. Sampras had already beaten Agassi in the 1990 US Open final and the 1993 Wimbledon quarterfinals, while Agassi had defeated Pete in the 1992 French Open quarterfinals.
Compared to those magnanimous Grand Slam venues, the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne --- Cliff Drysdale called it "the house that Butch Buchholz built" in one of the videos shown above --- might have seemed like a small potatoes venue to many, but to Pete and Andre it was the perfect place to develop their ever-evolving battle for supremacy.
With Sampras' school-boy charm and respectful, conservative manner of dress and decorum pitted against the brash and vile ethos of Andre's rebellious leanings, there couldn't be two more perfect personality types to break out into an all-out war for tennis bragging rights.
They were like two alligators smarting after the same prey in the Florida Everglades. And the American tennis community was like a group of people that happened upon them while riding in an air boat --- they couldn't take their eyes of them.
Their first meeting in 1994 was not without drama. Sampras, with Agassi's permission, was given an extra forty-five minutes prior to start of the final to deal with flu-like symptoms that he was suffering in the lead-up.
It would was a friendly gesture from a fellow American, and Sampras was more than happy to accept. He suffered through a poor first set, then rallied to defeat Agassi in three.
Judging from the point played at the 1:38 mark in the first video, Sampras recovered from his illness quite nicely, thank you. The classic Sampras combo: Massive serve down the T, perfect backhand volley down the line, followed by a smash, was in effect against Agassi on that day.
Scroll ahead to the 8:25 mark to see a round-up of the prize money for the event in 1994 followed by a clinic by Sampras in how to serve out a match.
The next year Agassi would take his revenge. Now sporting a crew-cut, some hoop earrings and a suave goatee, a 24-year-old Agassi would embark on a journey to becoming the most dominant player in the tournament's history by denying Sampras the opportunity to win his second consecutive Indian Wells-Miami double.
**In the process, I do believe that Andre single-handedly ushered in the black socks, black tennis shoe look that Novak Djokovic is currently fine-tuning as his night look.**
The crucial moment in this match can be found at 11:58. With Agassi defending a mini-break lead in the third-set tiebreaker, he finishes up the longest rally of the match with a ridiculously good backhand that totally catches Sampras off guard. A bit of showboating ensues, as Agassi urges the already rowdy crowd to show their appreciation for him, then he proceeds to not lose another point down the stretch.
It was another classic moment in a rivalry that in retrospect might be more important than we have thought it was. Not only was it surreal when it happened; now that it's become the last of a dying breed --- a battle between two iconic Americans ranked No. 1 and 2 in the world --- it seems even more transcendent.