Things get tense between Agassi and Sampras at Charity match

It didn't seem like big deal to me. Sampras's impersonation was better than Agassi's lame attempt at a comeback. But neither seemed too upset

 

I decided to google Sampras' cheap reputation because I had never heard of it before. Here's a blog post I came across about Agassi's book. More at the link.

http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog...appointed-by-criticism-in-Andr?urn=ten,213683

 

Why did Andre ask how much Pete tipped? Was he trying to coordinate tips?

 

not that pete and i sit around and discuss his feelings about his endorsement career, but when did he ever give the impression that he cared for being in the limelight and being a celebrity? he seems to have actively tried to keep a low profile.

as for tennis, he won the head to head with andre, had almost as many wimbledon's as agassi had total grand slams (would you trade the grand slam record for one French Open?), and was number 1 significantly longer. and he married a former Miss Teen USA so i doubt he cries himself to sleep because he didn't marry steffi graf (she may be my favorite female tennis player ever, but i'll take bridgette wilson).

 

As I said before... Pete was the better tennis player, but Agassi had a more successful, more watched, and longer career. The Graf marriage made him even more popular worldwide and continued his role in the tennis spotlight long after Pete had left the game.

I don't know what Pete is like, and whether or not he really cares, but if I was the "best" player of my era, I'd sure want a little of the spoils that normally come with it (media coverage, $$, popularity)... instead, most of that went to Andre.

 

More successful? In what sense? Marketing? Tennis? No one is going to argue that Agassi has been one of the (if not THE) most marketable Tennis athletes ever. But I honestly don't remember Sampras ever wanting to be in the spotlight and had wanted endorsement deals. The only time I ever remember Sampras ever being in a commercial was the one for Nike with Agassi playing tennis on a NYC street.

More watched? I'd like to see some hard evidence of this. Agassi was a great player but tennis is a sport where people will watch a Championship match almost regardless of who's in it.

Longer career? Agassi's 20 years of being a pro tennis player might sound great but that mental/physical/whateveryouwannacallit lapse of his back in the 90s took him down and out of the rankings completely. Sampras was ranked in the Top 10 for almost 6 years out of the 15 years he was pro.

I don't even think Sampras is jealous of Agassi at all and why should he be? Any tennis historian or fan will have no issues putting Sampras in a Top-5 All-Time conversation and that, in itself, is something that lasts a lot longer than any popularity contest.

I'm not an Agassi hater by any means and I think that if he didn't have that short-term meltdown during the Brooke Shields era, he could have had a few more Grand Slam titles but that is to no fault of anyone except for Andre himself.

 

You cant get to that level without having a competitive edge...you just cant, specially in an individual sport.

Therefore, there is no way that Pete wasnt annoyed with the fact that, although he was #1 for such a long period of time, there was someone else that was stealing his thunder.

From everything I have heard, there was always some resentment towards Andre.

 

More successful = more money (endorsements, public appearences) + grand slam wins. It would be one thing if Agassi was just a popular player without wins. He had both. I would guess his overall net worth more than quadruples Sampras'.

More watched = more popular worldwide. Agassi was the bigger draw for tv. Agassi was the bigger draw for non grand-slam tournaments around the world.

Longer career = longer career. Don't know why you argued with that point. Sure, he pissed 2-3 years away, but he played into his mid-30's to compensate (and played at a high level).

I'm guessing a lot of you guys obviously prefer Pete over Andre... and thus the need for the long point-by-point responses. Question... if you feel the need to argue the above observations, which you guys obviously are... how do you think Pete felt?

 

I think all that Pete cares about is who the better tennis player was... and he wins hands down.

 

Meh, I don't think it was that big of a deal.

DD

 

Well apparently he also cares about being called a cheapskate...

 

Hate to be jumping back and forth on this, but seemed Sampras was more dismayed that Andre talked behind his back about him in a not so positive light. They hung out together, seemed to be friends, and Andre decided to talk smack about him to sell a book. Some friend.

 

sampras did seem to take it a little too personally but the book issue is a pretty big one. i would be pissed if my friend wrote some negative crap about me in his book too.

 

**** Agassi.

He's still butt-hurt over the fact that Sampras slapped him around in the head-to-head rivalry, especially in Grand Slam Finals. Plus, Pete took him down in their last meeting ever in the final of the US Open in 2002.

Pete Sampras > Andre Agassi.

 

You guys are acting like they were best friends and Agassi went and talked crap and dissed his good ole buddy.

They were cordial and they both did a great deal in promoting the game together, but from day 1, there was a rivalry between them. They were never butt buddies. In fact, I'd say they were more enemies than friends.

 

Well obviously he cares about more than just tennis... but specifically between him and Agassi, I doubt he loses sleep over who the more popular player was, when he was clearly the better player.

 

Yes, he knows he was the better player, but he definitely has jealousy issues in regards to Andre. I know this from people within the tennis circle.

 

I think it's because Sampras is half Jewish and they're overly sensitive about ****.

On another note, Andre's always been very generous with his money because his dad supported the family on tips working as a captain in Vegas. Like a lot of people (waiters etc) who have depend on tips, being a bad tipper = moral character I guess. Which to me is equally as stupid as being insulted by someone pointing out that you're a cheap tipper.

How is this a big deal? Dudes razz each other all the time and get pissed all the time and then shrug it off. Doubt this affects any longtime friendship. Sampras took a shot, he should expect a shot back.

 

Pete was unquestionably the better player. He's probably the best or 2nd best player of all time.

But Andre might have had more talent. A lot of contemporaries like Courier, McEnroe etc all say Andre had the best and most natural hand-eye of any player.

Dont know personally about the jealousy issues but Andre was pretty much that guy in the locker room where everyone else is like "**** how does he do that?" Andre had so much immediate talent he was being groomed by Bollettieri at 12 or 13. Sampras wasn't even the best player in the California junior circuit and used to get owned by Michael Chang. So I guess he could have had some resentment towards Agassi... although I've read biographies of both and that's never been reported.

 

Weird, I thought it was because Jewish ppl are cheap?

:grin:


jk