Pete Sampras took to the court at the SAP Open in San Jose last night to play an exhibition match vs. Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco beat Pete 6-3, 7-6 (2), and the 38-year-old admitted afterwards that he felt “a little old” compared to the strapping 26-year-old Spaniard. (Via Guardian) Perhaps next time Nando should play in his underwear.
This was Pete’s first exhibition since October, when he beat Andre Agassi in three sets in a Macau exhibition. It appears that the Agassi/Sampras rivalry is still going strong – and not just on the court. Shortly after the exhibition, Agassi’s controversial autobiography, Open, was unleashed on the tennis world, and Sampras – who still hasn’t read the book – wasn’t thrilled with the way he heard he was portrayed in it. After telling reporters last month that he wanted to talk “man to man” with Agassi about the book (click here for background), Pete said yesterday that they’ve worked things out. Via SF Gate:
“It was fine, no ill feelings,” Sampras said after the Verdasco match. “I know Andre likes to push the envelope, with everything he does, but with me, I thought we were above all that. He chose to be open and honest about everything, and I was a little surprised he went down that road.”
“I think it freaked out Andre that I did my thing,” Sampras said. “To me, that extreme focus was no big deal. That’s how (Bjorn) Borg, Federer, some other guys did it. That was normal to me. But Andre was amazed by it.”
“I didn’t want to offend anyone in my book (“A Champion’s Mind”),” he said. “It wasn’t about that for me. I wanted it to be something I could be proud of, something my kids could read, all about how I became a champion. It wasn’t about money, or about shocking people.“
I’m glad that Pete wasn’t above taking that subtle dig at the end. (Though I’d argue that Andre’s book also sought to entertain and engage people – two things that Sampras’s autobiography did less successfully.)
Of course, subtlety has never been Andre’s thing. Remember this gem from 1993?
“Nobody should be ranked No. 1 who looks like he just swung from a tree.”
Agassi later apologized to Sampras for that doozy – I guess old habits die hard.
Here’s one Andre quote that I’m sure Pete agrees with: “I think both of our worst nightmares would be to wake up the next morning and be the other.” – Andre on being polar opposites with Pete (2002)
Time to play another exhibition, guys! It’s always better to work things out between the lines. Speaking of, real tennis continues this week at the SAP Open, with both Roddick and Verdasco playing on Wednesday. Click here for the tournament website.
Agassi quotes via: “You can Quote Me on That” by Paul Fein.
Thanks to Judy for passing along the SF Gate article!
Tags: agassi, ATP, Sampras, San Jose, SAP Open, tennis, Verdasco
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contrasts make life more interesting. watching agassi and sampras go head to head was always fascinating. contrast in styles, personalities, etc. good stuff.
it’s even cooler that rog and rafa are such good friends off court, while they have their amazing contrast in playing styles and nike attire. definitely get along much better and are both excellent ambassadors for the sport. they seem to handle the pressure and media better as well. however, as rog recently said (paraphrasing), the legends and past greats created the platform for fed and modern tennis players to play on, and he is very grateful.
the most intriguing tennis autobio of all time would be fed’s! one day we shall bask in the glory of fed’s career and life off court, even more stuff than we know now! a gal can dream, right?
I agree, Judy — Pete and Andre will always be linked, because of the rivalry but also the contrast in personality. And there’s room for both styles! I always felt a little sorry for Pete, because he tried to live up to his idea of a how a champion should behave, and got slammed for being boring.
this is why i love rog. he’s the entire package. people used to call him boring because he was so calm and ruthless on court and led such a stable and normal life off court- none of the brash talk, models on the arm or partying. he is the ideal ambassador- brilliant all court game, goat, great with the media and accessible to fans too. makes sense that he’s the best!
always appreciated pete’s and andre’s games, their fight and each of their strengths. they made the most of what they had. didn’t always like their personalities though. i did however love edberg because he had the smooth game, volleys, cuteness and friendly personality. guess that’s why i now like rog too!
“Nobody should be ranked No. 1 who looks like he just swung from a tree.”
Did he really say that about Pete? Ouch!!
i’m team agassi, and not just because pete sampras once mowed me over at a party then looked at me like it was my fault.
i never appreciated sampras as a player… such a robot. that being said, it took me years to like agassi, but now i regard him as a respectable elder statesman.
i haven’t read the book but am torn on how to take the true confessions nature of it. i’m not really sure who it serves/helps?
PD, Crazy story about Pete at that party. Doesn’t surprise me. Pete personality doesn’t impress me, but his game always did. Watching him play in the photog pit against Courier at the LA Tennis Open was pretty impressive to say the least even in retirement.
Agassi’s book is a VERY entertaining read and highly recommend it. The end sort of drops off, but cover to cover, you’ll be turning those pages faster than you can say “whoaa”.
It’s not just a “confession”. It’s an expose on the tour really and the people exist in it.
Oh FYI, hollah at C-J. DuPont Manual alum here.
that’s so funny – small world!
what year did you graduate? i have a good friend who went there.
i want to read the agassi book. i wasn’t bothered that he admitted to drug use or wig use. i admire honesty in people and didn’t get the vibe he was doing it to be sensationalist. i did wonder, though, who it would help, the true confessions.
i have a funny agassi story, too. i get the feeling he’s grown up a lot.
Hey PD. Graduated from Manual ’95, VA dept.
Went to Cleveland Institute of Art thereafter.
met pete once at a promo event, seemed friendly, but also reserved and laid back, if that makes sense. watching him play fed at msg in nyc a few years back was awesome. we had great seats and the pistol pete magic was certainly there and he held his own vs fed. very close, think it was 3 sets inc a tie break, with rog prevailing. pete will have that booming serve when he’s in his 60s i bet.
such a beautiful, fluid motion, plus the accuracy.