Pete Sampras, speaking to reporters in advance of his exhibition match at San Jose in February, has said he was "surprised and disappointed" at some of the descriptions of him in Andre Agassi's autobiography "Open."
Sampras has he had not read the book --"I'm not much of a reader" -- but said he "got wind of a few things that he said about me, and, you know, I was a little surprise and a little disappointed."
In his book, Agassi remarks on Sampras' "lack of need for inspiration" and also suggests his great rival was a poor tipper.
"I always felt like Andre and I had risen above taking shots at one another," said Sampras. "I'd like to sit with him man to man and ask him about it.
"I did it my way, and I have no regrets when I look back on my career that it was just a big focus for me. Now being retired for six, seven years, I can do what I want."
On the revelations Agassi makes about himself in the book, such as confessing to hating the sport and taking crystal meth in 1997, Sampras said, "Everyone's sort of asking about it and talking about the whole crystal meth. [He] decided to bring it out now, which was a little surprising, but Andre always likes to separate himself from the rest, good or bad."
The 14-time Grand Slam champion added that he never shared Agassi's antipathy towards the sport. "Most 20-year-olds were looking at what they're doing with their lives and getting in and out of college. And I just felt an appreciation for the sport. It's done a lot for my life and given me some financial security, which is great," said Sampras. "I never once hated the sport. It was more you had your times where you were just sort of getting through some tough moments."