LONDON, Dec 7: Andre Agassi has said he will not follow his great rival Pete Sampras back into the U.S. Davis Cup fold.

Both players retired from the national team earlier this year but Sampras has since had a change of heart and has made himself available for next year’s competition.

But while Sampras is expected to partner Andy Roddick in February’s first round clash with Slovakia, Agassi — whose 30 singles wins in Davis Cup place him second only to John McEnroe on the U.S. all-time list — has no regrets about calling it a day.

“I made a decision a while ago to leave that stage of my career and give the younger guys an opportunity to play,” Agassi told tennisreporters.net.

“It’s been an incredible part of my career but the question I have to ultimately ask is, ‘How much do I have in me and where do I give that?’”

Agassi’s new wife, seven-time Wimbledon champion Steffi Graf, recently gave birth to a son.

“I want to play as long as I possibly can,” said 31-year-old Agassi.

“While the Davis Cup has given me a lot, it also demands a lot. It’s my belief that I don’t have the same ability to give to it and that leaves me not really wanting to take the position away from those who are out there for all the great reasons.”

Agassi last played Davis Cup in April 2000 under former coach John McEnroe, who he led the team to a quarter-final victory over the Czech Republic in Los Angeles.

Even though Agassi has one of the best Davis Cup singles records of all time, his last appearance in the final with a wiining Davis Cup squad was in 1992, when a U.S. team of Agassi, Jim Courier, Sampras and McEnroe beat the Swiss.—Reuters