Sampras Affirms His Position World’s Top-Ranked Player Dispatches Agassi In Cup Final

Pete Sampras is the No. 1 ranked men’s tennis player in the world and looks determined to stay there.

Sampras beat Andre Agassi, who is No. 2 and had been closing ground since the start of the year, 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 Monday to retain his Newsweek Champions Cup title.

It avenged a loss to Agassi in their previous meeting, the Australian Open final six weeks ago.

“Andre played great tennis and I had to be at my best,” Sampras said after winning for the eighth time in 14 career matches against Agassi.

“I know Andre won the last two major titles (U.S. Open and Australian Open), and I’m aware he deserves to be No. 1. The rivalry will continue this year. It’s a good contrast in styles and he’s more emotional, more temperamental than I am. He’s good for the game.”

Agassi had lost just one of 20 matches this year and had not lost a set in the Champions Cup.

“If I’m not on top of the ball, it can result in some errors,” Agassi said. “In Australia, I was 100 percent and he was 97 percent. I was on my game there.

“This was a rough day at the office. It’s disappointing and I’ll think about it for a while. But on the reality side, you know you’re going to have days like this. We’re going to stay at it. It’s a long year.”

Agassi’s father, Mike, an Olympic boxer in the 1950s, is scheduled for heart surgery today.

“It’s hard to deal with it and I was thinking about it,” Agassi said. “But I’m a professional and when I go out on the court, I try to do my best.”

Known for his 125 plus mph serve and superb volleying, Sampras had that and more for the showdown against Agassi, with 18 aces to Agassi’s nine, and 28 service winners to nine for Agassi.

Sampras also held his own with Agassi at his game: matching deep groundstrokes, playing the ball side-to-side and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.

Particularly accurate when he had to run and stretch to hit his forehand, Sampras made 31 unforced errors, the same as Agassi.

“I was a little bit off, a little bit nervous,” Sampras said. “But I played solid. This win is good for me and it’s good for my confidence.”