Hit for Haiti, Indian Wells

Friday night, eight of the greatest tennis players of all time joined forces to raise money for a great cause. Unfortunately the more than $1,000,000 they helped to raise hasn’t been the prevailing theme since the match ended, all anyone wants to talk about is the dynamic between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

There is no denying things got awkward when the barbs got a little too personal, but I would be remiss if I didn’t try to point out how tough it is to entertain 16,000 people in the stadium and millions on TV in a spontaneous manner and play quality tennis at the same time.

Andre Agassi is the greatest entertainer and most philanthropic tennis player the sport has ever seen. Pete Sampras is a class act and one of the all-time legends of the sport. They both gave up their valuable time for free to help raise money for the devastated country of Haiti. That should be the overwhelming theme.

It should also be acknowledged that for the first 7 games, Andre was as charming and funny as any act that sells out in Vegas, pure entertainment gold. However, Andre went too far pounding home the tipping/generosity comment and then Pete responded with a brush back serve that zoomed by Andre’s head.

Now, if there is anyone in the history of tennis that I would feel confident serving at MY BIG HEAD with the intent to shock but not hit, it would be Pete, who notoriously can put his serve on a dime. Regardless, at that point the tension was high, the mood was awkward and the rest of the match was played under a cloud of hostility.

These two guys have been competing against each other for decades and with that comes the normal baggage, especially when they have such contrasting personalities. A couple of uncomfortable games shouldn’t mar that, and I guarantee you it won’t with them.

Since the match ended and the necessary cooling off period ensued, the appropriate overtures and acknowledgements have been made. Any illusion to any type of significant rift is misleading and irresponsible. Furthermore, any rumors of lockerroom conflict or post-match arguing are ridiculous, it simply did not happen. All of the players involved said their good byes then went their separate ways with their families and guests when the night was over.

Tennis has benefited so much from Pete and Andre, perhaps we can give these guys a mulligan for a few minutes that we all wish didn’t happen.

~ Justin