Agassi Puts Australian On Slam List
Andre Agassi absorbed a 28-ace barrage by Pete Sampras, wore him down from the baseline and lifted his Australian Open title Sunday in a spectacular match to close in on the No. 1 ranking.
Agassi captured his second straight Grand Slam championship with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory over the weary Sampras and is in position to snatch his top ranking soon.
Sampras, who endured two fiveset matches and a four-setter coming in, simply couldn’t keep running around the court to keep up with Agassi. Serves kept Sampras in the match, but it was Agassi’s 10th ace that beat him.
Agassi, playing in the Australian Open for the first time, added this title to his two other Grand Slams - Wimbledon in 1992 and the U.S. Open last year.
“He was just too good for everyone and he deserves all the success he’s gotten,” Sampras said.
Then, choking back tears, Sampras spoke to the crowd of his coach, Tim Gullikson, who suffered an apparent stroke last week when he became dizzy and lost his speech and vision for most of a day.
“I just want to let him know I keep thinking about him, and that I wish he was here,” Sampras said. “I’ve been praying for him the last couple of weeks.”
Agassi praised Sampras’ courage in playing through the emotional stress of Gullikson’s illness.
“I have to say what I witnessed Pete do in the past two weeks, with the difficulties about his coach, his courage on the court and off the court is absolutely inspiring,” Agassi said. “We can all learn from what he did. He’s a class act. I think he’s shown these past couple of weeks why he is No. 1 in the world.”
The Australian Open was won by an American for the fourth year in a row, Jim Courier taking the title in 1992 and ‘93, and Sampras last year. Agassi double-faulted, his second serve clipping the net and hopping past the service box, on set point in the first set after he allowed only one point in each of his four previous service games. Agassi had his first two double-faults in that game and went to break point for the first time on a superb backhand slice down the line by Sampras.
It was the first time in four matches that Sampras won the opening set, and the first set Agassi lost in the tournament.
But Sampras gave away the second set without much of a struggle as Agassi cruised through it in 26 minutes. Sampras double-faulted to start the set, was broken three times, the last with the help of the fifth of his six double-faults and a forehand crosscourt by Agassi on break point.
Gilbert called the third-set tie breaker the pivotal moment of the match, and Sampras agreed, saying whoever won that duel would win the match. Sampras lost all five tiebreakers he played in the tournament, and this one cost him the title he won a year ago.
Sampras fell behind 3-0 in the tiebreaker, won the next four points and served for the set at 6-4 with a brilliant reflex volley past a stunned Agassi.
But Agassi then ripped a forehand return that nicked the net cord and skipped past Sampras for a winner. That was the first of four straight points Agassi won as he closed out the set with a backhand volley drop shot that spun away from Sampras.
As weary as Sampras was, he still managed 13 aces in the fourth set, but despite three in the ninth game, Agassi broke him once more with a backhand pass on the final point. Agassi had just been picking his spots, and he picked this one to put Sampras away.