What Andre Agassi was told to do every time he played against Pete Sampras but he refused

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Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras played out one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history, with the duo leaving an indelible mark on the sport.

Darren Cahill thinks Jannik Sinner is benefiting like Sampras and Agassi did during their careers, which produced a combined 22 Grand Slam titles.

Eight of those titles were secured by Agassi, who completed the career Grand Slam, with Sampras winning 14.

Only Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have enjoyed more success than the latter in that regard.

But American duo Agassi and Sampras both reached the pinnacle of men’s tennis, each climbing to number one in the ATP rankings.

What Andre Agassi refused to do for Brad Gilbert against Pete Sampras

And Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert has now shared insight into one factor of the thrilling rivalry between the two players.

Gilbert said on the Tennis Insider Club Podcast: “I tried with one player to make one change and I never could.

READ MORE: Andre Agassi explains why he got so stressed out about facing Boris Becker every time they met

“Andre stood on the baseline [to return] and when he would play Pete Sampras I said just one time for me, move back. Just move back.

“He would say no. He’d say I’d rather die than move back. He felt that if he moved back he would open up more angles and all of a sudden he didn’t feel comfortable being a little bit further away.

“He just felt like if he was on it, it would work. But against a couple of guys sometimes it wouldn’t. I tried every single time but he just wouldn’t.”

How many Wimbledon titles did Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi win?

Just like Sampras and Agassi on the court, Gilbert has gone down as a legendary figure in coaching terms.

He is a former world number four player, with his career then involving coaching the likes of Agassi, Andy Roddick and Coco Gauff.

READ MORE: He’s the former number one who made Andre Agassi feel like the rules of tennis needed to be changed when he played him

Gilbert has a good relationship with Agassi and remains active in the tennis world, and will undoubtedly be tuning into Wimbledon, which is now underway.

His former player Agassi triumphed at the All England Club just once in 1992, with Sampras boasting seven Wimbledon titles.

That included four successive victories between 1997 and 2000, one of which arrived against familiar foe Agassi.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Sampras who ended their head-to-head on top, winning 20 and losing 14 of their meetings.