Love all?

Sportspersons are held to a higher standard on several counts — we all know that. They must not just win cleanly and with humility, they must also lose with grace. They must further conduct themselves with dignity and submit to prevailing norms of morality for as long as they live in the public eye — as golfer Tiger Woods found out to his peril.

Some things, as we are fond of saying in this country, are just “not cricket”. For instance, Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth or over-the-top sledging by Australian cricketers, or in what is the most infamous episode of questionable sportsmanship, the Bodyline series which pitted Douglas Jardine of England against the great Australian, Don Bradman. In all these, though, the implication is that once off the field, opposing sides rush out and drink a beer together. What happens in Vegas, as it were, stays in Vegas.

But sometimes we witness — disconcertingly — the other side of sporting rivalry. This week, former tennis greats Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi played a charity exhibition doubles match in Indian Wells, California, to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. But what was a fun match soon turned into a nasty display of bad manners and oneupmanship that left their fellow players — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — and a host of spectators and television viewers squirming with discomfort.

There may well be no love lost between Sampras and Agassi, who were great rivals during their playing days. Sampras is counted the superior player since he amassed a record 14 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career. But Agassi, who has eight Grand Slam titles, managed to become only the fifth man in history to win all four Grand Slams on all four surfaces as well as an Olympic gold medal — neither of which Sampras managed to achieve. Each player became a thorn in the other’s side.

Yet, both have now retired and the stage belongs to newer generations. But they clearly have not managed to get rid of the anger and bitterness of the past. What a contrast to the rivals of the era before them, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, who remain friends today. Sampras and Agassi revealed to us this week what it is that makes us human. It’s not a pretty picture and serves as a reminder to us all, that when the hatred is visceral, no amount of public pressure can change the way you feel. Perhaps, Tiger Woods has an easier time of it, after all.