They are two of the most charismatic champions of the Open Era, who shared a love for the game's greatest stages and were both coached by Nick Bollettieri, but don't hold your breath waiting for Andre Agassi and Boris Becker to join forces on the senior circuit anytime soon.
They were bitter rivals during their days on the ATP Tour and time has not sapped much of the sting from the contentious relationship between the two champions.
In an interview with the German publication Bild, Becker blasts Agassi for "doing harm" to tennis in his admission that he did crystal meth in 1997, tested positive for the drug and later lied to the ATP about how it entered his system.
"He is only doing harm to tennis," Becker told Sport Bild in comments published by AFP. "I am asking myself 'why is he making this confession?' You could forget about it if he had had too many beers or smoked a joint. But we are talking about one of the worst drugs: crystal meth is a synthetic stimulant and one of the most dangerous drugs."
Agassi largely owned Becker on court during their playing days, posting a 10-4 record against the Hall of Famer, including winning 10 of their final 11 matches. Becker, who lost four of his five Grand Slam meetings to Agassi, said Agassi's use of the drug — and the ATP's complicity in staging a cover-up — was "unfair."
"I feel disappointed as an athlete. He has won many Grand Slams, some of them against me," Becker told Bild. "If he won those because he was on speed it's simply unfair. He sent a letter to the ATP that it wasn't deliberately. And then they, whoever was responsible there, turned a blind eye. That should not happen on either side."
Drug revelations appeared in the books of both champions. In his own autobiography, Becker admitted he battled an addiction to sleeping pills.
According to his autobiography, Becker began taking the prescription sleeping pill Planum in 1987 to cope with the pressures of playing competitive tennis and the stress of a demanding schedule. He became addicted to the drug and soon began taking other drugs as well as drinking.
"Sleeping pills were my problem," Becker writes in his book. "Against the lack of sleep there was Planum, against the pain there were a few other pills. Against loneliness, women and whiskey helped."
In his new memoir "Open" set for release on November 9th, Agassi recounts his 1995 season he calls his "Summer of Revenge" including his four-set US Open semifinal win over Becker in which the bad blood built to a boiling point.
"Before we take the court, as Becker and I stand in the tunnel, I tell the security guard, James: 'Keep us apart. I don't want to see this fu--ing German in my sight," Agassi writes in "Open". "Trust me, James, you don't want me to see him."
During the match, Becker, according to Agassi, resorts to gamesmanship in a bid to bait Agassi into losing his temper by blowing kisses at Agassi's wife Brooke Shields.
"He tries to play with my mind. He's seen me lose my cool before, so he does what he thinks will make me lose my cool again, the most emasculating thing one tennis player can do to another: he blows kisses at my box. At Brooke (Shields)," Agassi writes in "Open". "It works. I am so angry I momentarily lose focus...The crowd is now wild. They seem to have figured it out, that this is personal, that these two guys don't like each other, that we're settling old scores...He blows more kisses at Brooke, smiling wolfishly."
After Agassi completed the four-set win, he took his time walking to net leaving Becker to stand alone waiting for the post-match handshake. Agassi writes: "I leave him standing there like a Jehovah's Witness on my doorstep."
