Who Andre Agassi picked as his favorite ever opponent during his entire tennis career over Pete Sampras  

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Andre Agassi enjoyed a legendary rivalry on the ATP Tour with fellow American Pete Sampras.

Agassi and Sampras played one another 34 times during their professional careers, as the latter came out on top, 20-14, in their head-to-head.

The pair combined for a mightily impressive 22 Grand Slams, with Sampras winning a then-record 14 titles and Agassi winning eight.

Their ATP Tour rivalry was one for the ages, facing off in five Major finals, as the Americans battled it out for the sport’s biggest prizes.

However, regardless of the legendary status of the Sampras/Agassi rivalry, the latter named another player his favorite-ever opponent in 2022.

Andre Agassi picked Pat Rafter as his favorite tennis opponent ahead of Pete Sampras

Speaking ahead of the 2022 Australian Open, Agassi picked the player he enjoyed playing against the most during his tennis career.

“Pat [Rafter] and I had so many great matches, he was truly the most enjoyable player for me to compete against because he was such a sportsman, such a good guy,” he said.

“He was a class act in victory and defeat.

“His game was opposite of mine, but yet unlike [Pete] Sampras he allowed me to get into a rhythm out there and I always knew I was going to play well against him and we would raise each other’s game.”

In 2001, Agassi and Rafter made their way through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where they produced a classic on Rod Laver Arena.

2001 Australian Open – Andre Agassi’s route to the semi-finals

• QF – Andre Agassi beat Todd Martin, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
• 4R – Andre Agassi beat Andre Ilie, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0, 6-3
• 3R – Andre Agassi beat David Prinosil, 7-6, 5-0 (RET)
• 2R – Andre Agassi beat Paul Goldstein, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1
• 1R – Andre Agassi beat Jiri Vanek, 6-0, 7-5, 6-3

2001 Australian Open – Pat Rafter’s route to the semi-finals

• QF – Pat Rafter beat Dominik Hrbaty, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, 6-0
• 4R – Pat Rafter beat Tim Henman, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
• 3R – Pat Rafter beat Michel Kratochvil, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5
• 2R – Pat Rafter beat Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6
• 1R – Pat Rafter beat Scott Draper, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5

“I’ll never forget the heat and humidity that was there off of the court building up over the day, I’ll never forget the amount of sweat, we were both heavy sweaters,” said Agassi.

“The noise when I went down two sets to one, you felt like you were sitting in front of a giant speaker at a 100,000-seat concert.

“My head was ringing it was so loud, I had to leave the court to go change my shoes, they were sopping wet.

“I remember Pat starting to struggle with the depletion that was happening, the physical depletion, I started to feel the rewards of all the work that I’d put in to get ready for a tournament that was so important to me.

“Getting across the finish line and watching the crowd go from rooting for him to kind of rooting for competition, the true sport of it, I felt that shift and that’s a moment.”

Agassi fought back to win in five sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, advancing to his third Australian Open final.

He made light work of his French opponent, Arnaud Clement in the final, winning in straight sets, as he lifted the title in Melbourne once more.

Andre Agassi and Pat Rafter’s head-to-head record

Agassi picked Rafter as his favorite opponent ahead of Sampras but who got the better of their ATP Tour rivalry?

Facing off 15 times in total, it was the American who enjoyed more success, winning ten times, to Rafter’s five.

Having lost to Agassi in a five-set classic at the Australian Open earlier in the year, Rafter exacted revenge at Wimbledon in 2001.

Trailing by two sets to one, just as Agassi had in January, Rafter battled back to win 8-6 in the fifth, booking his place in the final.

The Australian was unable to capture the title, however, losing out to Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic in the final, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-9.

Agassi and Rafter’s rivalry was a memorable one, as the pair produced several excellent displays that won’t soon be forgotten.