Andre Agassi suggests talent is a weird thing because there are no guarantees as the American tennis icon reveals there was a time when he felt "sorry" for Pete Sampras and his game.
If you can recall, Agassi achieved a big success early since he had three Grand Slam titles in his collection by the age of 24. But Sampras, who is one year younger than Agassi, became a Grand Slam champion earlier than his fellow compatriot and had seven Majors by 1995.
In an interview with Tennis365, Agassi - who concluded his career with eight Majors - was asked how much in tennis it comes down to talent and how much to mentality. The American tennis legend started by using Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev as great examples of how a big talent doesn't necessarily mean that a player will become a Grand Slam champion. The 55-year-old then recalled watching a 17-year-old Sampras and thinking he wouldn't make it far in tennis.
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Agassi: I looked at Sampras and thought he wouldn't get anywhere
If you take Pete as an example, I watched him practice when he was 17 and I hadnt seen him since he was a kid playing 12 and under tennis," the former world No. 1 told Tennis365.
I see him at a professional tournament and I am like ranked three in the world and I feel sorry for him. I looked at him and thought this guy is not going to get anywhere. I feel so bad for him. He is not going to amount to anything. I mean, he cant hit a backhand, he looks so lazy and thoughtless out there practising and then he rolled over his arm, his mind went somewhere and look what he achieved. You just dont know who can do it, when it happens."
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When Sampras finished his career, he held an all-time Grand Slam record with 14 Majors. He also finished with a 20-14 head-to-head record against Agassi.
