"It hurt, it was personal and it left a deep wound"- When Andre Agassi opened up on being insulted by Boris Becker

Tennis great Andre Agassi opened up on how Boris Becker insulted him after the latter beat the former in the 1995 Wimbledon semifinal.

Andre Agassi and Boris Becker were among two of the most recognizable faces in tennis during the 1980s and 1990s. They had a rivalry that saw them meet in five Grand Slam semi-finals and one quarter-final. It made for some spectacular matches, although it was a little skewed in favor of Agassi.

The two played in the semifinals of the 1995 Wimbledon Championships, where Agassi was the favorite as the World No. 1. However, the German put in a spectacular effort and grabbed the match away from the American, only to lose the final to Pete Sampras.

The eight-time Grand Slam champion recalled how Becker insulted him following their 1995 Wimbledon encounter in a 2009 interview with SPIEGEL. The remark, he claimed, was personal and caused a "deep" wound.

"The worst was what Boris Becker said after beating me in the '95 Wimbledon semifinal: that nobody liked me, that I was an elitist, that tournament directors were giving me special treatment, and that I was not able to win on a windy outside court. It hurt, it was personal, and it left a deep wound," Agassi said.

Despite the feud, Agassi said that he liked Becker and that the hostile feelings they had for each other had long passed.

"I like Boris, and if we had dinner today, we would both say that the unfriendly feelings we had for each other back then is long past and that we both talked like juveniles. But our lives are not connected anymore. We just see each other at various ceremonies on some center court every once in a while for three minutes. That's all," Agassi said.

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"Without him, I would have won more and learned less"- Andre Agassi on Pete Sampras

Andre Agassi pictured at The 2019 Australian Open.

Andre Agassi revealed in the same interview that if his arch-rival Pete Sampras had not been on the tour, he would have won more Majors and learned less.

"There is a lot of respect. I believe that, without Pete, I would have won more and learned less," Agassi said.

He went on to remark that Sampras and he were lonely and that if not the net, there was a wall between them.

"We were all driven. And, of course, there is something strange about tennis: Egocentric and narcissistic behavior can win; torture and the isolation of players may lead you to the top. Pete and I shared our life and our fate; we were together all year long. But we were lonely. If there was not the net separating us, there was a wall," Agassi said.