Andre Agassi retired after the US Open in 2006 after a career that spanned some 20 years. He is only one of 3 players with a Career Grand Slam in the Open era and is best known for his return of serve. This is Agassi's story of his childhood under a domineering father, his trials and tribulations in his tennis career as well as his relationships with the people he loves and the charitable foundation he started.
Our group felt that this is a compelling story which gives an insight into the world of professional tennis in an era where the large amounts of prize money have encouraged players to start training at an ever younger age. Many of us who had watched some of the tight matches he described appreciated his description of the mental side of competition. We felt particularly disturbed by the behaviour of his father with regards to giving his own children speed in his ambitions for winning and the fact that Agassi was sent away to Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy for much longer than he wanted to when he was 13 and how that affected his attitude to education. It is admirable that his philanthropy focuses on education for disadvantaged youths. Some of us felt he had not been completely honest and open about his later drug use nor some of his relationships. The recurring claim that he hates tennis throughout the book is also borderline annoying. We found the scene describing the meeting of his father and Steffi Graf's father both amusing and telling of just how domineering these two parents were.
We suggest that it might be interesting to read Pete Sampras's book "A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis" as a comparison because Agassi and Sampras were rivals with such different personalities. Coincidentally, Yannick Noah's autobiography "Secrets etc" also revealed his use of marijuana and demonstrated how completely divorced from reality some of these tennis players can be during the tour.
Photos by Prue Platt-Hepworth
Our next book is The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
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