Like many individual and team sports, tennis has a long history of fierce rivalries that have driven players to greater heights fueled by their desire to defeat one particular opponent.
While it’s undoubtedly true that some of these rivalries are completely fabricated by the media, many of them do exist, with several players showing extra levels of motivation against certain opponents. These rivalries often develop due to two players being at the top of their games and competing against each other for Grand Slam titles, although can also arise because of other motivations like personal dislike.
“Styles make fights” is a popular expression in boxing that is used to explain how fights between boxers with contrasting styles are often the most entertaining, the same can also be said for tennis, where styles make matches, and rivalries.
Here are some of the greatest rivalries of the open era.
Agassi v Sampras
Still the last American to win the French Open, Andre Agassi is a legend of the sport, whose name evokes memories of one of the most entertaining characters we’ve ever seen in tennis.
His 20-year career was filled with incredible triumphs on the court, along with some headline-worthy moments off it. His penchant for celebrity relationships and parties led to comparisons with other eccentric sports stars of the 90s, such as basketball’s Dennis Rodman, but like the Chicago Bulls Star, he was all about business when it came to competing.
Agassi’s competitive spirit was fuelled by his rivalry with Pete Sampras, who despite being a fellow American of a similar age, seemed made to be Agassi’s antagonist.
While Agassi was known for his passionate game, full of harsh self-criticism and anger towards umpires, Sampras usually remained calm during matches, relying on his composure to get him through difficult moments.
Their conflicting personalities made matches between the two fascinating spectacles, made even more entertaining by the fact they often met in major Grand Slam knockout matches.
The two faced each other 34 times in total, with Sampras coming out on top in 20 of those matches, including four of the five finals they played against each other. Despite their fierce desire to beat each other as players, the pair have formed a closer bond since retiring.
Federer v Nadal
Since 2004 tennis fans have been blessed to be able to enjoy the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. They are two of the greatest players of all time, who have each enjoyed impressive levels of success in their own right, but their rivalry has certainly helped further endear them to fans.
Federer is the older of the two by five years and had already won his first Wimbledon and Australian Open titles by the time they first faced each other at the Miami Masters in March 2004.
A 17-year-old Nadal shocked the tennis community that day by beating Federer in straight sets to announce himself on the world stage. Since then, the two have contested over 40 matches, with Nadal coming out on top to win the majority. Like Sampras and Agassi, Nadal and Federer’s contrasting styles make their matches unmissable events for die-hard fans and casuals alike.
Evert v Navratilova
The rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, which was played out between 1973 and 1988, is one of the greatest rivalries ever seen in sport.
Evert was a right-handed player from Florida, USA, who wowed fans with a 17-year career full of impressive performances which led to 18 singles Grand Slams and three doubles titles. Between 1974 and 1986 she achieved the astonishing feat of winning at least one Grand Slam each year, a record which hasn’t been matched since.
Evert met her match in Martina Navratilova, who turned professional just one year after her, and ended up matching her 18 Grand Slam titles by the end of her career, which is evidence of how competitive this rivalry was at its peak. They faced each other 80 times with Naratilova winning 43 to Evert’s 37.