yes, I know somewhere Andre Agassi probably would like to fire a down the line backhand at me for even mentioning that infamous phrase. But live with it, Dre.
I ripped through his new book, “Open”, over the weekend and recommend it as an interesting read. Andre worked with a ghost writer, so I don’t know how much to credit the good prose to him or to the scribe. Who ever wrote what did a nice job.
It’s got enough tennis dirt to make the geeks like me happy. For those who aren’t fuzz heads, there should be enough in there to make them happy too.
Bottom line: Andre is lucky he survived his own self-destructive nature, and his dad’s cruelty, to become a productive member of society. Michael Chang, Jeff Tarango, Nick Bollitteri, Jommy Connors, Dad Agassi are not portrayed well in this book. Hopefully Benedicte Tarango doesn’t come to Vegas to hunt Andre down (inside tennis joke.)
I grew up loving watching Agassi play. I wanted to play like him and McEnroe – go for broke, rip your groundies, and get to net and take care of business (obviously the Johnny Mac forte).
What people don’t realize is that immense talents often come with deep wounds. Some of the most amazing athletes I know have been the most depressed or insecure people. It’s like the curse of the gift. Agassi was certainly there, and thankfully, he got his life together by finding people that loved him for more than his skills on the court.
Some are freaking out over his crystal meth revelation. I’m surprised he toyed with such a dangerous drug, but not shocked he tried something to ease his pain. Thank God it didn’t destroy his life.