1996 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Pete Sampras was the three-time defending champion but lost in the quarterfinals to Richard Krajicek, in his only loss at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000. Krajicek defeated MaliVai Washington in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3 to win the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 1996 Wimbledon Championships. Krajicek had originally been unseeded, but as the 17th ranked player in the Wimbledon seedings he replaced 7th seed Thomas Muster in the draw, when Muster withdrew shortly before the start of the tournament. A number of high-seeded men were eliminated early, including 1992 champion Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi with Rafter using traditional serve & volley methods against Agassi's variety of return of serves and passing shots as main weapons. Agassi led 8–2 on hard courts, but Rafter surprisingly won their sole match on clay at the 1999 Rome Masters. They played four matches at Wimbledon with both winning two matches each. Agassi won the first two in 1993 and 1999, while Rafter took their 2000 and 2001 encounters, both the gruelling 5-setters often being presented on the lists of best matches ever played. Agassi also won both their meetings at the Australian Open, in 1995 and 2001, on