TheSportsCampus

< Prev		Next >

The fierce rivalry between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras will be renewed at the 15,000 seat CotaiArena in their first clash in seven years at The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2009.

Sampras, a 14-time Grand Slam champion takes a 20-14 record against Agassi into their exhibition match next Sunday. Agassi, an 8-time Slam champion and an Olympic Gold medallist shared his perspective on the contest, life after retirement, the work he is doing with his foundation and the next crop of young talent that has taken the tennis world by storm in this interview:

Andre, what are you most looking forward to at The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown?
I am looking forward to renewing my rivalry with Pete. It was a v ery important part of my career. We made history together. The Venetian is a spectacular event and I am excited to visit. It's also exciting to come back to the court.

What do you miss about playing Pete?
There's nothing I really miss about playing Pete! Seriously though, I enjoyed how we played the game so differently, both in personality and style. It was good for the game and exciting for tennis to see such contrasting styles.

How often are you playing?
I'm in good shape. I have been playing more this summer and have been playing consistently for the last few months, including in competition last weekend. I am looking forward to getting out on the court and being able to come back and perform match after match.

How do you feel about the current debate about the length of the Men's ATP season? Do you feel they are playing too much tennis?
I always thought it's best to give the players a schedule that enables the players to be at their best. The off-season is healthy for the players and the fans- it builds up anticipation for the fans. I think the tour should tighten up the schedule, so the top players can play more often in a shorter time frame. I would like to see everyone come to the table and work out a schedule that suits everyone.

Do you have any plans to play on the Legends Tour?
Last week I played in Arizona as a favour to my friend Jim Courier, but I have no plans to play on the Legends series. I enjoyed it, but I am focusing on charity events and special moments like this event, which allows me to visit a new part of the World.

This is your first visit to Macao. What is on your Agenda for your visit?
I am hoping to take in all the sights and the sounds. I grew up in Las Vegas which was a great inspiration and has been transcended over to Macao with all the sister casinos. It's great to see two worlds meeting- China and Las Vegas

Will Steffi and the kids be joining you?
Not coming this time due to school and other commitments, but hopefully we can plan another trip to explore Macao together.

When was the last time you met Pete (both on court and personally)?
The last time I met Pete on court was the last match he played professionally, at the US Open final 2002. The last time I saw him was a couple of years later when I invited him to a charity event for my foundation in Las Vegas.

Who wins between you and Steffi?
Well, the problem I have with Steffi is not watching the ball properly, so I find it hard to beat her.

What is your take on the current state of Men's tennis?
It's a great time for tennis. Rafa is struggling with his knee injury, but he can overcome it. Federer winning 15 Grand Slams and the French Open and his Nadal rivalry is great for the game. If Nadal is able to win the US Open he will have won all 4 Grand Slams in addition to the Olympics and the Davis Cup and one would be able to argue that the 2 best players in the history of the sport have come from the same generation. There is a possible changing of the guard with players like Murray, Del Potro and Djokovic and the game will only get better. Nadal is still young and Federer still has the chance to do great things.

What do you feel about the state of Men's tennis in the US?
Tennis is a competitive worldwide game. Players reared on clay have a great advantage as the game has slowed down in recent years. Tennis has become a bit lost in the US. We have 300 million people that can pick up a racquet, we just need to start getting more people playing. Other countries are pouring a lot of money into grass roots. But everything comes in stages and I am sure our time will come again- we've had many generations of success and grand slams. It's great to see tennis leaving it's mark in number of countries.

Do you think Del Potro, Murray and Djokovic will overtake Federer and Nadal?
They have the skill to overtake them. Federer is now late 20s and Murray should win multiple Grand Slams. I predicted Murray to win at Wimbledon and the US Open. What you can't predict is the mindset. After Del Potro's win in New York it will light the fire of Murray and Djokovic and push them to get even better quickly.

Do you feel that tennis at the Olympics has grown in importance since you won in 1996?
I hope it has- that was one of the greatest achievements for me. It has continued to grow and you can see by the strength of the field in Beijing last year that it has and there is a great desire to win, even though it is hard on the players to go from Wimbledon to the US hard courts to the Olympics.

Andre, you've done a lot of work through your foundation, and this event is hoping to raise money for your charity, Pete's charity and the Make A Wish HK/Macao. Call you tell us a bit about your foundation's work?
It's been my life's work. I started with children with needs- clothing, shelter, after school programs. We wanted to take kids off the street, but we realized that it was to late to solve problems in this way. So we built a public charter school all the way from Kindergarten through to end of high school in the poorest neighbourhood in Las Vegas. I wanted to give opportunities to kids that society had written off- it was social experiment- what would happen if someone gave them a chance. We got our answer just recently this year, we had 34 seniors, 34 graduated and 34 are going to college. It's not pumping money that helps, but solving issues and giving these kids a chance. I hope to set up a real dialogue and discuss how this can be repeated with the whole public school system. It's great that the Venetian Macao are such humanitarians and they care about the same issues.

What's your preference for a doubles partner- Yuki or Ryan?
Steffi! We play great doubles on the court, but even better off the court.

File Photograph Copyright: Torvindus