When tennis player Andre Agassi admitted all of his personal demons was he seeking peace or was it a means of trying to sell books? I can remember watching a young Agassi and thinking that he was hungry for attention. The punk rock hair style and the flashy headbands in my opinion were just Andre saying look at me! I believe Ivan Lendl described a young 17-year-old Agassi best in a scouting report at the Stratton Mountain Tournament in 1987 when he described him as “a haircut and a forehand”.
We all know that people change. The change that we witnessed in Andre may be the best change that has ever happened to tennis. We witnessed a young, attention hungry kid grow up and become the guy that played with more heart than any other player on tour. He changed from the guy who you wanted to see lose to the guy you wanted to watch win. I can remember Agassi’s last US Open and being fortunate enough to watch his last match in person. The guy could barely walk due to his bad back, yet he played every point with everything he had. He chased down every ball and then would hobble his way to the chair during crossovers. It was one of the most incredible performances I have ever witnessed. I remember leaving the Open and walking outside and as I was doing so I actually witnessed Agassi laying on the hot concrete sidewalk waiting for the shuttle back to his hotel because his back wouldn’t allow him to stand up. It was an effort like this that made me forget about that attention craved 17-year-old kid and made me think that Agassi was the poster child, role model for all young tennis players!
Now comes Open, the autobiography where Andre comes roaring back into the spotlight and shocking the world with his recreational drug use confessions. What was he trying to do? Did that 17-year-old attention hungry kid resurface in a means of selling books or was it the gutsiest performance of his career? I tend to believe that it was his gutsiest performance ever. Andre has found peace in the truth and I’m not sure how many of us out there can stand up and face our personal demons in the way Andre has. What do you think?
Tracy Lynch
Wholesale Accounts Manager
Lee Tennis Court Products
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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Having read the book its hard to believe this is a publicity or money grab. Sounds more like someone who has found his way and wants to share his story to teach and inspire. Pretty incredible really for someone with a 7th grade education.
ReplyDeleteBefore your image can be everything, your fame must be sustained. Does it matter if he is being "Open" or if he is selling books? Not to me, I just wish he was still playing, and if he was, maybe we would have won the Davis Cup tie this past weekend.
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