One of the greatest tennis rivalries was revived on Sunday as 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras faced 8-time Slam winner Andre Agassi at an exhibition match staged at The Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. In the end, it was Sampras who prevailed over his old nemesis, winning the match in three tight sets 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.
This was the first time that the two tennis greats had played each other. The last time they competed was at the final of the 2002 US Open where Sampras went on to win his 14th Grand Slam singles title.
“Somehow when you see Pete, it all comes back to you pretty quickly. I just go, ‘Well, I don’t really have much of a choice here.’ It’s just nice to be so familiar with somebody’s game,” Agassi said after the match.
Agassi started out strong to clinch the first set but Sampras staged a comeback in the second to force the game into a decider. Agassi managed to save two match points before Sampras aced his last serve to clinch the victory.
During their ATP days, Sampras led his rival 20 to 14 in head-to-head series, which includes 4 to 1 in Grand Slam final matches.
