Agassi–Sampras rivalry the 1990 US Open, with Agassi the favorite because of his top-three ranking even though Sampras had defeated former World No. 1 players Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe on the way to the final. Sampras defeated Agassi in straight sets. The next time the pair met at a Grand Slam final was at the 1995 Australian Open. Agassi beat Sampras in four sets. In one of their matches, played in the 2001 US Open quarter-final, Sampras won with the score of 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5); throughout the match, no player managed to break the other's serve. The last match in
Andre Agassi 2000 also saw Agassi reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Rafter in a match considered by many to be one of the best ever at Wimbledon. At the inaugural Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon, Agassi reached the final after defeating Marat Safin in the semifinals to end the Russian's hopes to become the youngest No. 1 in the history of tennis. Agassi then lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the final, allowing Kuerten to be crowned year-end No. 1. Agassi opened 2001 by successfully defending his Australian Open title with a straight-sets final win over