My favorite (there's another
vid with only the TB but the picture quality here is better):
What I love about this TB is how both Dre and Pete play with an incredibly thin margin for error but they keep nailing their shots. I tend to think of this as a microcosm of how their rivalry might have unfolded Down Under. After getting torched in the
3rd-set TB 0-7 Agassi realizes he can't be too safe anymore and ups his aggression this time (see how at 1-all he goes for an I-O FH winner clipping the service line as opposed to how in the earlier TB he was content to keep the ball in play only to get whacked by Pete's running FH). But he still finds himself down 4-5 after Pete fires not one but two 2nd-serve aces, so he decides himself to go for two of the biggest serves of his career and miraculously makes both down the T as service winners. And Pete's next 2nd serve was far from a bad one, but his problem was that against this Agassi it had to be perfect (I remember a fellow poster claiming that he'd never seen another match where the players respectively served and returned better), so he gets the ball right back at his feet and while he manages to volley it back he gives Dre too much time to run down the short ball and put it away CC.
The AO match overall might not have been as good as their more famous '01 USO showdown (Pete IIRC tore his hip flexor sometime during this AO SF), but I don't think these two ever reached the peak they did here, at least not at the same time anyway. That said I rather doubt Agassi would've been able to keep it up for long, say over 10-20 matches (there's no way he nails two DTT bombs every time), which is why I tend to think Pete would've gotten the better of Dre even at the AO in the long run. It's a shame we never got to see more of this pure awesomeness from the duo.
I remember him holding off a GOATing Pim Pim at the AO one year. JJ hit around 50 aces and was just a winner factory, seems like every ball he touched was an ace or winner, yet Andre persevered somehow (5 setter if I remember right).
Edit…4 sets
Pim-Pim's serve was indeed on that day but he had "only" 51.0% (76/149) of his serves unreturned, which means Dre was still able to get half of the balls back in play. While it's indeed a good % I've seen as high as 60%, even 70%. That's why you should underrate Agassi's return at your peril. Sure, he might not have gotten as many serves back as say somebody like Murray, but once he got his racquet on the ball nobody did more with it.
Speaking of which....
Op, Agassi doesn't have the dominating performances in major finals like some other greats, so you have to look a bit deeper.
One of his most dominating performances was vs Rafter at the 95 Australian Open, it was called one of the most anticipated matches in AO history by media. Agassi didn't even face a break point that day, was in the zone.
Another great match was vs Eltingh at Wimbledon later that year, probably the most winners I've seen him hit.
Also his match vs Philippoussis at 00 Wimbledon was pretty impressive.
As you know Dre was pretty ridiculous in '95. Some of his returns at the AO and Wimby that year would literally make some commentators chuckle. I was checking the
AO Vault and though I don't see the Rafter match I do see Dre's wins over Krickstein and Pete in '95. Maybe I should check out the former just as a reminder of sorts.
