May. 19, 2010

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Agassi: No regrets writing tell-all book

Las Vegan says he has spoken with some of autobiography’s critics

By STEVE CARP
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Seven months after his autobiography "Open" debuted on bookshelves, Andre
Agassi has no regrets about his decision to let the world in on his life.

Agassi is not second-guessing his decision to write the tell-all book, even
though he admitted using drugs, which resulted in some of tennis’ greatest
performers criticizing and questioning whether the Las Vegas legend’s
accomplishments were tarnished.

"The choice was to write the book or not," Agassi said Wednesday at the
Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, where five students received
college scholarships. "The choice isn’t to write the book and kinda talk
about your life. It’s about telling my story honestly and transparently."

"Open," which reached No. 1 on the New York Times’ best seller list in
November, has sold 530,000 copies. The book’s paperback version goes on sale
Aug. 10 with a first printing of 200,000 copies.

"I don’t know how many books have been sold," he said. "It wasn’t about
that. My hope is whoever reads it was profoundly impacted, one way or the
other."

Agassi said he has spoken to a few of his critics, including Martina
Navratilova, who condemned Agassi’s use of crystal methamphetamine when he
was 22 years old and likened it to today’s athletes using steroids and
performance-enhancing drugs.

"I did talk to Martina, and she said she felt bad how she was represented in
her comments," Agassi said. "I told her not to worry about it.

"When I talk to people who spoke out about me, I asked them, ‘Did you read
the book or not?’ They hadn’t read it. I don’t have any resentment toward
anyone."

The one regret Agassi does have was his joke about fellow legend Pete
Sampras when the two were playing in a fundraising match with Roger Federer
and Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells, Calif., for victims of the January
earthquake in Haiti. Sampras had made fun of Agassi’s pigeon-toed gait, and
Agassi made a joke about Sampras being a cheap tipper.

Sampras bristled at the crack and launched a less-than-friendly serve in
Agassi’s direction. It put a damper on what had been a fun evening.

"There were probably 150 jokes told during that match and one that bombed,"
Agassi said. "I have great respect for Pete, and I did call him and
apologize."

Now 40 years old, Agassi said his appearances on the tennis court will be
few and probably just for charity purposes. He will not play another season
of World Team Tennis after spending last summer with the Philadelphia
Freedoms.
"I’ve always been supportive of Team Tennis," he said. "I enjoyed it, but
it’s hard to get out there at my age."

Don’t look for a sequel to "Open," either. "I think my days as an author are
over," he said. "It wasn’t easy, and writing the book in a present tense was
the hardest part. It’s a real high-wire act."