Love, on the court and beyond, conquers all.

	Andre Agassi's career seems to improve the more he enjoys life with Steffi Graf. The couple expect a baby in December.

We offer Exhibit A, one Andre Agassi, as evidence. In 1997, when his marriage to actress Brooke Shields was coming undone, Agassi's ranking sank to a career-low No. 141. Coincidence? Today, Agassi seems to have found a tennis soul mate in Steffi Graf. With a child due in December and a wedding in the offing, Agassi is No. 2 in the world, behind Gustavo Kuerten. Bliss is not too strong a word for the warm and fuzzy frame of mind Agassi brings to work each day.

Coincidence?

At 31, contrary to the laws of physiology, Agassi is better than ever. His match record is 40-10 and he has already won four titles: The Australian Open, Indian Wells, the Miami Ericsson Open and, most recently, Los Angeles.

"I'm better now than I've ever been," Agassi said after winning the Ericsson. "I'm stronger, fitter, I'm moving better and I'm more experienced. That makes for a pretty air-tight package."

Agassi is on course to surpass his best year ever, 1999. That was the only time he finished as the ATP's No. 1 player and won two Grand Slam singles titles (The French Open and U.S. Open) in the same season.

The true gauge of Agassi's ascendance, however, is his sudden command of Pete Sampras.

The peak for Sampras, in retrospect, was the 2000 Wimbledon tournament, his record 13th Grand Slam singles championship. Sampras, more than 15 months Agassi's junior, hasn't won since -- a streak that encompasses 15 events, the longest drought since Sampras went 34 tournaments before winning his first ATP title in Philadelphia in 1990. Agassi, who lost four of matches to Sampras in his breakthrough season of 1999, has now won four of the last five matches against Sampras, including three straight.

They have now met 31 times since 1989, with Sampras clinging to a 17-14 lead. They could meet for a 32nd time in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, to be played Aug. 27-Sept. 9.

If Los Angeles was any indication, Agassi has the tools to prevail. When Sampras used to beat Agassi, he did it with his deadly first serve and artful finishing volleys. In Los Angeles, Sampras' serve was shaky; he put only 54 percent of his first serves in, compared to 80 percent for Agassi. Sampras had an uncharacteristic 32 unforced errors, versus only nine for Agassi.

Sampras broke Agassi in the fourth game of their July 29 match, but Agassi broke Sampras at love to get back on serve. Agassi broke Sampras a second time at 4-all when Sampras double-faulted. Agassi closed with a fury, winning 10 of the last 12 games. Sampras, a world-class closer in his prime, essentially collapsed.

"In all honesty, Pete is one of the best closers in the history of the game," Agassi said after the match. "I mean, when he gets the lead he can stretch it, and I felt rather fortunate just to be in the first set and then when I snuck away with it. I think it helped to elevate my game more than it hurt his."

	Despite losing in the first round at a second consecutive Tennis Masters Series event, Agassi is still on track to have a banner year.

Sampras was philosophical.

"It's always tough whenever you lose, but especially when you play Andre," he said. "There's a little bit more to the match and it's always tough losing to a rival. I lost to him the last three times now, and it's not the direction I want to be going."

Although the Grand Slam results don't show it, Agassi began to change the direction his game was going in 1998. After playing only 24 matches in 1997 (and losing half of them), he went 68-18 the next year and finished with a No. 6 ranking. Agassi didn't get past the fourth round of the four majors, but he rediscovered his passion for the game -- and the discipline that went along with it.

In 1999, Agassi produced his fondest tennis memory. He won the French Open, the only Grand Slam title that had previously eluded him. Agassi became only the fifth male player to win all four Slams.

"The French was the last one," he said earlier this year, "the one I spent 10 years thinking about after being in the finals two years in a row. I was feeling like clay was a surface I couldn't win on anymore, and I was coming off a pretty difficult period in my life with a divorce.

"Winning the French was the greatest thing I'd ever done."

Winning that same French Open was a final flourish for Graf. Several months later, Graf had become the most important part of Agassi's entourage. Unlike Shields, Graf was already finished with her professional career. She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second all-time to Margaret Court's 24, and, thus, appreciated as few others the effort they demand. Graf has seemingly been content to support Agassi in his pursuit of an eighth Slam title, which would tie him with Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.

Earlier this year, Agassi talked with USA Today about his difficult marriage with Shields. "It wasn't just the issue of me trying to combine the responsibilities of the marriage and my career," he said. "It was trying to mesh her career, as well. Having to support your dreams professionally and the dreams you have for your life and to support someone else's dreams is impossible to do. Finding a balance is something I negotiated the whole time and struggled but never found a way to make it all work."

That balance, according to Agassi, is in his life today.

"With a lady like Steffi, who is aware of what is required and is incredibly nurturing and supportive of those goals, I believe that achieving that balance is possible," he said. "I like the fact that I'm committed on a daily level to appreciating the gift of life, regardless of the circumstances that might be going on around me. When I won the French Open, regrets weren't possible anymore. To have had the career I had and still be here doing it and enjoying it is something I'm very proud of."

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.