Hall contemporaries hold door for Agassi

NEWPORT, R.I. -- Pete Sampras had a piece of advice for one-time rival Andre Agassi as he gives his induction speech today at the International Tennis Hall of Fame:

Bring tissues. Lots of tissues.

"It will be emotional for him, having his family and friends there," said Sampras, who was inducted in 2007. "I know it was for me. It hit me like a ton of bricks."

Sampras and Agassi might not be close friends, but they respect each other, which led Sampras to say, "It's a well-deserved honor, and I congratulate him."

Sampras said he always had to be at his best whenever Agassi was across the net.

"You knew it was going to be a battle," said Sampras, who had a 20-14 advantage in head-to-head meetings, the most memorable being a 2001 U.S. Open quarterfinal match, which Sampras won in four sets, with each one going to a tiebreaker. "Andre was a great shot-maker. He knew all your weaknesses and would always exploit them. Never once did I take him for granted when we played each other."

Todd Martin faced Agassi 18 times, with Agassi holding a 13-5 edge. He always looked forward to the challenge.

"Guys like Pete had one weapon you had to overcome," Martin said. "With Andre, he wasn't going to beat you with one weapon. He had multiple ways of beating you, and that's what made it such a challenge."

Martin said as Agassi got older, he grew wiser, adjusting his game to allow him to keep playing at a high level.

"Early on, everyone saw him as a big shot-maker. He was like a boxer going for a knockout," Martin said. "But he learned to move his opponent around on the court, and he had such great hands, he could put the ball wherever he wanted to. He went from being a slugger to a boxer."

Jim Courier, a fellow Hall of Famer and another of Agassi's contemporaries, said Agassi's ability to handle the changing technology in tennis equipment was amazing.

"He's to be applauded for his ability to adjust -- especially as he grew older," said Courier, who was inducted in 2005. "But one thing that never changed was his ability to hit the ball where he wanted. Andre's hand-eye coordination was clear from the get-go.

"I remember when he was 15 or 16 and he was playing up at Stratton Mountain (Vt.) and he pushed (Ivan) Lendl to three sets before Lendl finally beat him. At that point, it was clear he was going to be a significant player."

Tennis journalist and Hall of Famer Bud Collins said Agassi was one of the game's best returners of serve as well as being one of its best ball-strikers.

"He was an incredible shot-maker," Collins said. "He took the ball very early, and he was an exceptional returner of serve."

Collins, a voting member of the Hall committee, said Agassi's admitted use of drugs while competing was never an issue in his induction worthiness.

"Never came up," Collins said.

Agassi said his admission to having used crystal methamphetamine in 1997 concerned him regarding his status for the Hall.

"Sure, it worried me," Agassi said. "But I worry about a lot of things. I worried about my children, what they would think."

But it ultimately had no bearing on Agassi's honor.

"There's no metric that gets you in," Courier said. "It's what you accomplish on the court, and with what Andre's accomplished he was a lock.

"He was the most visible, charismatic person in our sport. But what I admire most about Andre was his willingness to help others, and for Andre to find his focus in his life -- helping kids (philanthropically) and making a bigger mark on life. I'm proud of the choices he has made."