These two men were so beautiful and charismatic. I love watching them and even thinking about them. We will never see the likes of Becker or Agassi on a tennis court again. It is all so bittersweet.
Look at this incredible court speed, just lovely! The fastest courts of today's tennis (AO, Dubai, Shanghai, Wimbledon) is medium paced compared to this, let alone the other hardcourts, it's basically clay in disguise. Agassi and Becker are offensive players with different styles. Becker being the 'hyper aggressive, wants to finish the point at the net player' and Agassi the 'aggressive baseliner who rips balls on the rise as much as possible player, and he's not shabby at the net either'. This is varied, skilled and creative tennis. Current state of tennis however (excluding the top guys), is: hanging on the baseline, or even 5 meters behind, hitting crosscourt FH and BH, an occasional slice for the "variety" till one player has busted their lungs after 40+ shots is the norm because they can't finish the point off properly. Oh, and some miss-timed dropshots not reaching the net because some are being dragged out of their comfortzone to do something else and easy putaway volley missers because volleying is almost non existent anymore.
I read your comment before watching. Then I hit play and saw the first serve and thought to myself, OH MY GOSH he’s right… that’s lightening fast. Then I realized my playback speed was at 1.5 haha.
It is your opinion and probably a minority opinion. There is a reason why they slowed the courts down: People were bored by the median 2 shots per points. And I feel so lucky that courts were slowed down. I was super bored by Wimbledon back in the day in let's say 1999.
@@Stu49583 back in the day there were fast courts as well as medium paced and slow courts. That made possible the existence of different styles of play, different strategies, specialists on each kind of court, and the most important thing: it made it very difficult to win consistently on every surface. Slowing down all courts has made tennis more boring (imo) because it is played virtually the same way on all tournaments. I totally agree with @Askaa88 these courts were part of the show and I miss them so much
Boris last final. The same year 1999 he retired during Wimbledon. I miss him and his kind to play, to fight, to struggle with himself, his passion and his spirit. He is a hero. And I dont care and not interested his tax issues today.
He added a lot to the game for sure, he was part of the mix. He beat Lendl in an AO quarterfinal I think it was, they were both pushing to the max, Becker was almost in tears at one point. He won though. Great stuff.
@brendanbrown3100 Agassi also said at some point Boris stopped doing the tongue thing and it became more difficult to read his serve. Which would line up, as after rolling Becker 7 ir times in a row Becker started to be a much tougher opponent, beating Andre at Wimbledon and a tough match that year at the Open, and this match here.
I miss so much the beautiful style of BB. Starting from that incredible serve movement, and all shots. He was a mix between power and poetry. Greetings from Rome Italy
I did mention the net play, didn't I...I thought Wawrinkas serve is pretty potent and powerful, but I don't have any official stats to support that, it was just my observation.@@hw343434
@@Smudgeroon74 Vince Spadea also stood in the way, having beaten Agassi in the fourth round of the 1999 AO. So his 'clean sweep' of the majors had sadly been long ended by the time he lost to Sampras in the '99 Wimbledon final.
@@Smudgeroon74Sampras missed both Australian Open and US Open in 1999,he had some some issues with his back,pity,because was probably playing the best tennis of his career,beating Andre in straight sets at Wimbledon,Washington,Cincinnati and ATP final,still Andre was amazing that year.
@@Michael-zw5or Yah, 'Tampaed' did, but 'Smudgeroon74' (who I was replying to if you look more closely) said Agassi would have done a clean sweep of the majors if Sampras hadn't have beaten him in the '99 Wimbledon final. But a clean sweep of slams wouldn't have been possible for Agassi that year because he also lost to Vince Spadea in the AO in '99.
Agassi had such a different style from all the other players of his time...probably one of the first to encourage baseline playing in an era of serve & volley players
There have always been baseliners. In the 1970s claycourt tennis was dominated by baseliners: Borg, Vilas, Orantes. Lendl was the first true power baselner.
He was one of the first to use his wrist in the kinetic chain when he would hit a forehand. It’s what made other players talk about how hard he hit the ball.
Only final indeed. Agassi denied Becker 3 GS finals in semis through the years. Since 1989 though Agassi had the beating of BB apart from his capitulation at SW19 in 1995.
They don't play tennis like this anymore. Becker's old-school style goes without saying, but even Agassi's defensive Murray-like style feels very old-school here and you just don't see it played like he did anymore. Agassi was a much better shotmaker than the Medvedevs today. Balls and courts being faster certainly do more good to tennis than bad, matches were more exciting. So what if the rallies are shorter and they serve more aces? Short rallies make for better shot-making, and big serving will require even greater returning, like Agassi's.
Yeah these refs were absolutely crazy. Becker would have never lost his serve in 2nd set because they took away his game point by making the wrong call. And several others where the ball was clearly in, not even on the line, but still a bit of green between ball and line and they gave it out... Both players were clearly flabberghasted.
Incredible match with pure brilliance on scintillating paced court. Only difference between Becker n victory was few shots at critical stages went wrong or called by the referee. Even in 1999 so much power in those Boom Boom serves. This should have been his 50th title. Lady Luck played a few times against him otherwise 6 Grand Titles not good for such a chrismatic and crowd lover every where. No one will be like you and the matches against top players in that time are golden memories and of course Golden Years on Tennis. Long live Boris Becker... ❤❤
If anyone tells you they miss the old days of line judges calling balls, point them to this clip. Great example of how disruptive to the players this “was it in or was it out” clusterF was.
And it’s still happening on clay. When there is a literal film image, in slow-motion, of the ball grazing(or not grazing)the line in addition to the digital image, I don’t understand why most of the clay court events haven’t moved past their desire to hold on to “tradition”. Hope it changes soon.
@rehmenada5552 Yepp borned and raised with that, but Becker 1990 would loss to Becker in 1995-1996. Much more powerful and aggressive. Look at the Sampras Rivalry ATP Finals
Unbelievable how many crazy bad calls these refs made. Becker was completely robbed in sets 2 and 3 several times on calls where they said ball was out but it was either fully on the line or still in.
Beckers forehand with 40:30 and 2:2 in the 2nd ( at 4:58 ) was definitely in ! Unfortunately the umpire was a bit shaken by Agassis lamento directly before that ! Becker could have won this set and the match then -- so definitely a crucial mistake ofd the umpire !!
Great to see this, pity those matches were all in such low resolution. Did I really watch tennis for 30 years with such low resolution? Also, those were the days when the top players were all mentally tough, they make the next generation look like babies.
He admitted to being on speed during his *worst* season on tour. It was one year and clearly did not help him. You should be embarrassed for writing this tripe.
Look at how many awesome returns Agassi makes PER GAME..... Novak hits ONE good return in a set and he's called the greatest returner ever??? Sorry but Novaks good returns are nowhere near the same frequency as Agassi's. PER GAME.... vs PER SET (if even per set).
At 8.16 Becker's backhand was so unbelievably INSIDE the line, and it was called out. It was a winner. Agassi saw perfectly everything, and didn't say a word, taking away an important point from Becker. How unfair.
Two hands on the backhand is just too much of an advantage and has ruined tennis as a spectator sport. Ban the shot and make tennis interesting again. I'm serious.
After 22 years off the calendar, Hong Kong is back! Watch the final between Rublev & Ruusuvuori on Sunday ->> tnn.is/TH-cam
These two men were so beautiful and charismatic. I love watching them and even thinking about them. We will never see the likes of Becker or Agassi on a tennis court again. It is all so bittersweet.
Look at this incredible court speed, just lovely! The fastest courts of today's tennis (AO, Dubai, Shanghai, Wimbledon) is medium paced compared to this, let alone the other hardcourts, it's basically clay in disguise. Agassi and Becker are offensive players with different styles. Becker being the 'hyper aggressive, wants to finish the point at the net player' and Agassi the 'aggressive baseliner who rips balls on the rise as much as possible player, and he's not shabby at the net either'. This is varied, skilled and creative tennis. Current state of tennis however (excluding the top guys), is: hanging on the baseline, or even 5 meters behind, hitting crosscourt FH and BH, an occasional slice for the "variety" till one player has busted their lungs after 40+ shots is the norm because they can't finish the point off properly. Oh, and some miss-timed dropshots not reaching the net because some are being dragged out of their comfortzone to do something else and easy putaway volley missers because volleying is almost non existent anymore.
I read your comment before watching. Then I hit play and saw the first serve and thought to myself, OH MY GOSH he’s right… that’s lightening fast. Then I realized my playback speed was at 1.5 haha.
It is your opinion and probably a minority opinion. There is a reason why they slowed the courts down: People were bored by the median 2 shots per points. And I feel so lucky that courts were slowed down. I was super bored by Wimbledon back in the day in let's say 1999.
@@Stu49583 back in the day there were fast courts as well as medium paced and slow courts. That made possible the existence of different styles of play, different strategies, specialists on each kind of court, and the most important thing: it made it very difficult to win consistently on every surface. Slowing down all courts has made tennis more boring (imo) because it is played virtually the same way on all tournaments. I totally agree with @Askaa88 these courts were part of the show and I miss them so much
You say 40+ shot rallies are the norm but actually 70% of rallies are 4 shots or less...
Agassi was not super aggressive.Ferrero , Nalbandina or Federer made much mor winners as him
Becker was pure strength and talent, such a magnificent player...
I need more videos like this. I was just a kid in the 90's. Please!
What a beautiful style of play from both players!
Boris last final. The same year 1999 he retired during Wimbledon. I miss him and his kind to play, to fight, to struggle with himself, his passion and his spirit. He is a hero. And I dont care and not interested his tax issues today.
He added a lot to the game for sure, he was part of the mix. He beat Lendl in an AO quarterfinal I think it was, they were both pushing to the max, Becker was almost in tears at one point. He won though. Great stuff.
Why are so many people in Britain obsessed by his sex life?
@@kazamshah4543cuz they have none 😂😂😂
Becker never won a clay court tournament, and never finished a year as number 1. Below Wilander, Lendl, and Edberg.
I don't see Agassi reading Becker's serve by the way his tongue sticked out :). Boom Boom was crushing it on serve!
Agassi didn’t want to let on he could read Becker’s serve - he only broke Boris enough to win the match.
@brendanbrown3100 Agassi also said at some point Boris stopped doing the tongue thing and it became more difficult to read his serve. Which would line up, as after rolling Becker 7 ir times in a row Becker started to be a much tougher opponent, beating Andre at Wimbledon and a tough match that year at the Open, and this match here.
And we don’t know at what point Agassi noticed the pattern after watching tapes. Was that in 93 or 95 or 99?
Thanks for showing on YT. I was there!😊
Those courts were Quick. Would love to see today players on those with Natural Gut only strings .
What a great find! Two of my favorite players growing up! Never knew about this match and i thought i saw them all!
It's a great match between two players that I watched growing up also. Pity the video quality was so bad, we're all used to 1080p nowdays! 🙂`
Played over 24 hours? Lol!!!
I miss so much the beautiful style of BB. Starting from that incredible serve movement, and all shots. He was a mix between power and poetry. Greetings from Rome Italy
I know most would disagree but in some ways he played a bit like Wawrinka. (besides net play obviously)
@@kevinstarski1598 no, Wawrinka can’t volley at all like Becker, or serve
I did mention the net play, didn't I...I thought Wawrinkas serve is pretty potent and powerful, but I don't have any official stats to support that, it was just my observation.@@hw343434
Right before Agassi made his incredible run of FO Champ, Wimbledon Finalist, US Open Champ and Australian Open Champ
@tampaed Agassi would've done a clean sweep on majors in 1999 only a certain Pete Sampras stood in his way..
@@Smudgeroon74 Vince Spadea also stood in the way, having beaten Agassi in the fourth round of the 1999 AO. So his 'clean sweep' of the majors had sadly been long ended by the time he lost to Sampras in the '99 Wimbledon final.
@@Smudgeroon74Sampras missed both Australian Open and US Open in 1999,he had some some issues with his back,pity,because was probably playing the best tennis of his career,beating Andre in straight sets at Wimbledon,Washington,Cincinnati and ATP final,still Andre was amazing that year.
@@stephenlow1841this is what he wrote, that is why he put it at the end
@@Michael-zw5or Yah, 'Tampaed' did, but 'Smudgeroon74' (who I was replying to if you look more closely) said Agassi would have done a clean sweep of the majors if Sampras hadn't have beaten him in the '99 Wimbledon final. But a clean sweep of slams wouldn't have been possible for Agassi that year because he also lost to Vince Spadea in the AO in '99.
Agassi had such a different style from all the other players of his time...probably one of the first to encourage baseline playing in an era of serve & volley players
There have always been baseliners. In the 1970s claycourt tennis was dominated by baseliners: Borg, Vilas, Orantes. Lendl was the first true power baselner.
Connors. Borg. Lendl.
They could all volley of course unlike the baseliners of today who only go to the net to shake hands.
@@JD-jc8gpthis doorknob also claimed Sampras would have no chance at winning Wimbledon… total ignorance - and confidence in sharing it. lol
He was one of the first to use his wrist in the kinetic chain when he would hit a forehand. It’s what made other players talk about how hard he hit the ball.
This was the only time Agassi and Becker played in a final of any tournament as far as i know
Only final indeed. Agassi denied Becker 3 GS finals in semis through the years. Since 1989 though Agassi had the beating of BB apart from his capitulation at SW19 in 1995.
They don't play tennis like this anymore. Becker's old-school style goes without saying, but even Agassi's defensive Murray-like style feels very old-school here and you just don't see it played like he did anymore. Agassi was a much better shotmaker than the Medvedevs today. Balls and courts being faster certainly do more good to tennis than bad, matches were more exciting. So what if the rallies are shorter and they serve more aces? Short rallies make for better shot-making, and big serving will require even greater returning, like Agassi's.
Wtf ? Agassi like bulshiter Murray ? Medvedev ?
Hahahahahahahah
Agassi did not have a "defensive style". He was an attacking player. He didn't go to the net much, but the term "defensive" is mistaken.
My takeaway from this match is thank God for the invention of Hawk-Eye.
Yeah these refs were absolutely crazy. Becker would have never lost his serve in 2nd set because they took away his game point by making the wrong call. And several others where the ball was clearly in, not even on the line, but still a bit of green between ball and line and they gave it out... Both players were clearly flabberghasted.
Great returns by Agassi at 12:21 and 14:11
Pretty much the whole video is Agassi hitting great returns
fantastic players
Would be Becker's last opportunity to secure a 50th title of his tennis career.
In almost all the calls the umpire was correct . Terrible decisions by the linespeople
Incredible match with pure brilliance on scintillating paced court. Only difference between Becker n victory was few shots at critical stages went wrong or called by the referee. Even in 1999 so much power in those Boom Boom serves. This should have been his 50th title. Lady Luck played a few times against him otherwise 6 Grand Titles not good for such a chrismatic and crowd lover every where. No one will be like you and the matches against top players in that time are golden memories and of course Golden Years on Tennis. Long live Boris Becker... ❤❤
Becker never won a clay court tournament, and never finished a year as number 1. Below Wilander, Lendl, and Edberg.
If anyone tells you they miss the old days of line judges calling balls, point them to this clip. Great example of how disruptive to the players this “was it in or was it out” clusterF was.
A Lot of people that idoloze those years would be bored the f out if tennis was the exact way today
And it’s still happening on clay. When there is a literal film image, in slow-motion, of the ball grazing(or not grazing)the line in addition to the digital image, I don’t understand why most of the clay court events haven’t moved past their desire to hold on to “tradition”. Hope it changes soon.
@@diegosotomiranda4107 what? this was not a boring match at all. It is all around tennis, not 20 balls back and forth in a rally like they play today.
Becker just got better in the 90s, but so did Sampras and Agassi. But Becker here what a power =)
@rehmenada5552 Yepp borned and raised with that, but Becker 1990 would loss to Becker in 1995-1996. Much more powerful and aggressive. Look at the Sampras Rivalry ATP Finals
so almost retired Becker almost won against prime Agassi.
A month later Agassi wins the French Open.
which means this match was not played in Hong Kong as the title reads.
Not a phone in sight
4:12 Djokovic approved ⭐
Show us the full match on TennisTV
What a fitting end to a fantastic rivalry. Becker finished with 49 titles and Agassi 60.
Didn't know they played again. Thought the last time they played was US open 1995
This was not the last Agassi vs. Becker match. Agassi´s final match of his career was vs. Becker, but Benny Becker ;-)
Unbelievable how many crazy bad calls these refs made. Becker was completely robbed in sets 2 and 3 several times on calls where they said ball was out but it was either fully on the line or still in.
agassi was polite,even when angry
Agassi had a better look at Becker's serve (or tongue) during the day vs at night.
Being a ref was tough !
*Tough.
@@blucat4 :)
Not the best of buddies legend goes
Beckers forehand with 40:30 and 2:2 in the 2nd ( at 4:58 ) was definitely in !
Unfortunately the umpire was a bit shaken by Agassis lamento directly before that !
Becker could have won this set and the match then -- so definitely a crucial mistake ofd the umpire !!
I like this kind of tennis... good stuff! But a ridiculous amount of blatant mistakes from the line judges... they can not be serious!! ;-)
I wonder how much tongue was involved in this last match
Line Caii must be AI not human
Is that Salem cigarettes tho?😂
Wow…hard to believe they played a professional match under such horrible lighting.
It's possible that the lighting looks worse on camera than it actually was for the players on court.
@@gowzahr it might have been brighter than the video shows but those horrible shadows were there. The lighting is so uneven.
Players sure seemed chippy back then....😂
"Great shot mate."
"Oh no, yours was better." 😄😄
“Chippy”?
As in "irritable".
Embarrasing to see all those empty seats on a final
Great to see this, pity those matches were all in such low resolution. Did I really watch tennis for 30 years with such low resolution?
Also, those were the days when the top players were all mentally tough, they make the next generation look like babies.
Hard to believe that we didn’t get HDTV until around 2005 and even then it was very limited in its use, mostly sporting events like American football.
Bekar ball 1000000 PERCENT on the line 😂😂😂😂😂 bad umpiring 😂😂😂😂😂
Agassi admitted he was on drugs during his career in his autobiography.. would've been interesting to see the contest played on a fair ground.
He was on peds thanks to his physical trainer
Drug is different of doping
You think meth improved his game?
lol dumb comment
He admitted to being on speed during his *worst* season on tour. It was one year and clearly did not help him.
You should be embarrassed for writing this tripe.
This is not Hong Kong!
Look at how many awesome returns Agassi makes PER GAME..... Novak hits ONE good return in a set and he's called the greatest returner ever??? Sorry but Novaks good returns are nowhere near the same frequency as Agassi's. PER GAME.... vs PER SET (if even per set).
They were both good players, but the level is less good then Djokovic, Federer and Nadal. They are lucky the stopped in time.
Give those three those old rackets with pre-poly strings and put them to play on a proper fast court like that one... You know nothing about tennis
unfair Agassi behavior that has conditioned the judge with clear wrong call and the second set result.
What? What are you trying to say?
@@chuckfriebe843 he's trying to say that Agassi is the only one that challenged umpire's decisions, which is not true.
At 8.16 Becker's backhand was so unbelievably INSIDE the line, and it was called out. It was a winner. Agassi saw perfectly everything, and didn't say a word, taking away an important point from Becker. How unfair.
@@pierdomenicosommati443 that backhand was called IN
Er.... English please?
Agassi always get mad at players he didint like it! Becker, Kafelnikov,Kucera, Muster
=
Two hands on the backhand is just too much of an advantage and has ruined tennis as a spectator sport. Ban the shot and make tennis interesting again. I'm serious.
Two coaches of the Goat 🐐 Novak Djokovic
Becker only around 1985 to 1999 (14 yrs). Federer, Nadal, Djokovic all 20 yrs +
84 - 99
Becker has lost all his matches to Agassi
Wrong, he won 4 matches against Agassi.
Becker always beat Agassi in his prime. This is OLD Becker, even best Agassi in Wimbledon semis in 95 as a last his prime Becker
He won Agassi at Wimbledon 95 by coming onto his girlfriend.
Nope! Last meeting was as the 2006 US open 🤯
Wrong Becker!
It was Benjamin Becker. No Boris.
Neither Boris nor Benjamin. It was Josephine! 🤯
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
That’s Benjamin Becker. Jesus double check that before you type it
Intramontabile questo tennis.
Beckers serve was amazing
Becker & Sampras unlike Dojkovic , Nadal and Federer never changed their Game