Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and the Rivalry That Could Have Been

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at Internationaled.org

Published: June 15, 2010

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If it weren’t for Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Boris Becker could’ve had quite the rivalry.

Both men tried to be rivals to Sampras, but rather unsuccessfully. Becker’s game matched up poorly with The Pistol’s, who had all of the German’s strengths plus better movement. The only truly real classic matchup between Becker and Sampras was the 1996 ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover, where Sampras weathered Becker’s hot streak and crowd support before taking a five-set victory.

Agassi’s game, with its immaculate returns, made for a fun contrast with Sampras, but he couldn’t match The Pistol’s dedication and often responded to losses from his compatriot by going into deep dry spells.

Sampras therefore won a combined 32 matches against these two and lost 21. He defeated Becker in all three of their Grand Slam meetings, and Agassi in six of nine. He finished with as many majors as Boom-Boom (6) and Double-A (8) put together.

Agassi and Becker, though, could have provided an ideal contrast to one another as players. Both were men of charisma with loyal fan bases, though Becker’s serve and net-rushing approach was mostly favored by classicists, while Agassi’s enormous groundstrokes and flashy wardrobe appealed to younger fans. 

Throw in the fact that they had very little use for one another, and they could’ve had the most interesting – and most contentious – rivalry since McEnroe-Lendl, if not McEnroe-Connors.

But this never came to pass. One reason for that was their careers were not parallel, despite Becker only being two years older: Becker won his first major in 1985, then peaked in 1989, winning his third Wimbledon and only US Open, while also leading his nation to the Davis Cup crown. Agassi didn’t win his first major until 1992 and didn’t get to No. 1 until &...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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