Book Review: Open (Andre Agassi)

  First of all, the time since I picked up this autobiography, I found it  very hard to put it down. Most tennis fans, after the release of "Open"  must be knowing that Andre Agassi took the drug Chrystal meth (speed) at one point, and that he wore a wig during the French Open final against Courier. These are probably the most shocking things that came out of the book, but the fact that he hated tennis was particularly intriguing to me.

For all the continued talk over Agassi’s admission that he took Crystal meth in 1997, after reading "Open", one can understand how that error could occur. It doesn’t condone what happened or how it was covered up, both by Agassi and the ATP, but after reading the book, one realizes there is so much more to the man than that dark period in his life.

Agassi’s story is a roller coaster ride from the very beginning. Basically forced into tennis by his over demanding father, Agassi recounts spending most of his youth rebelling against his natural talent, then against Nick Bollettieri, the ringmaster entrusted with developing his gifts. Once Agassi is free to play as a pro at the age of 16, basically the only career choice available to him, he finally does so with a mixture of joy at finally being able to earn a living, and a good one, but always with a tinge of regret that he really never chose the sport.

Agassi relates with candour his fairytale gone bad marriage to Brooke Shields, his deep friendship with trainer and almost spiritual advisor Gil Reyes and his later courtship and marriage to Steffi Graf. If one hopes to find "bitter gossip" about Agassi’s love affairs, you won’t find it here as even his most painful moments regarding Shields are written in a sad yet guarded tone.

Agassi’s frank talk about life on the tour back in the 90's reminds the reader that it was still not serious, where players could avoid Grand Slams based on “not feeling like it” and cherry-pick events in the hopes of avoiding certain players or surfaces to protect ranking points. Agassi was one of those players who floated in and out of the tennis world, winning big and then losing big. It’s probably a miracle that such inconsistency yielded major wins, Wimbledon and his first US Open, at such improbable times. Agassi finally found meaning in playing tennis when he started his own school for underprivileged children in Las Vegas. He was not playing just for himself anymore, but also to raise money for his charity.

The expression throughout the book is frank and mention must be given to Agassi’s collaborator J.R. Moehringer who allowed Agassi’s voice to emerge with such vivid clarity. Probably, one more reason why Agassi’s book is having so much impact is that Agassi really did transcend the game into public consciousness. Pete Sampras will be remembered for his 14 Grand Slam titles, but Agassi will be the one long remembered for his style and personality which, as we are now finding out, was more of a reaction to his life than a reflection of it.

And just one last thing; he also talks about Federer on several occasions. He had this to say about Roger after he lost to him in the 2005 US Open final:

"Walking to the net, I’m sure I’ve lost to the better man, the Everest of the next generation. I pity the young players who will have to contend with him. I feel for the man who is fated to play Agassi to his Sampras. Though I don’t mention Pete, I have him uttermost in my mind when I tell reporters: It’s real simple. Most people have weaknesses. Federer has none!"