Jan 20, 2010 04:01 PM
5291 Views
(Updated Feb 06, 2010 03:17 PM)
AA(Andre Agassi) was the greatest reason why I got interested in tennis 23 years ago.He seemed like a breath of fresh air when he burst onto the scene in 1987 when men's tennis was like a pack of underworld gangs headed by Connors,Mcenroe,Lendl,Becker,etc gunning for each other throat.(I remember fondly the first ever article I read on AA in 1987 with the headlines "All the talent of McEnroe without the temper").Infact my first ever tennis article in the press published in Midday in the summer of 1992 was also on AA and hence his autobiography was a "must-read" for me even though my work ethic is more of the kind of Seles,Lendl and Nadal rather than Agassi.I must say that this one is a "must-have" for every person who loves tennis and,most importantly,loves great human beings.
In "Open",AA talks about his troubled childhood in detail under his atrocious dad(and that is being kind to his dad) who was just as pathetic a human being as Andre is a class one.Andre describes his struggles at Nick Bollettieri's thanks to his greedy dad and his constant dislike with the sport and his breaking away from living his life being controlled by others(first his dad,then Nick Bollettieri,Wendy Stewart) with a lot of insight.He reveals why he almost quit the game in 1987 and why he skipped Wimbledon and the Aussie Open for several years as well in his younger days although now he would certainly feel he lost out on atleast half a dozen Slams there.
Andre's comments on why people thought "Mr Image is Everything"(he did an ad in his teens which made him say so) was just that and no substance and his mental battles to overcome this perception is written well.AA also speaks about his failures at the 3 Slam finals before winning unexpectedly his first one at Wimbledon 1992.
His relationships with all his girlfriends from Wendy Stewart to Brooke Shields who he later married and then Steffi is described with the brain and heart of a sincere and honest person out for a serious commitment.The way he pursued and romanced tough Steffi(which is called "desperation' in India) is marvellous as is his description in 2 lines about how the relationship changed from a serious one to a committed one.There is a lot to laugh about as well like how he wrote down Steffi's number on a paper napkin and by the time he reached another city he misplaced it and spent an awful lot of time tracing the telephone number urgently of the call he made to Steffi from his home!:)))))))))))))
From the tennis point of view,you also get an insight as to how AA could take the ball so early consistenly which is not the easiest thing to do in a tennis court just as well as how Andre could get away with such little practice/training in the early part of his career and still beat the hell out of his opponents.Andre's focus on tennis when he was "on' and determination is evident several times-while writing about the 1994 US Open,his 1995 US Open semis against enemy Becker,his "revenge' US Open semis match 1999 US Open against Kafelnikov,his amazing training Christmas 1999 and 2000 both of which resulted in his winning Aussie Open a couple of weeks later.
,Andre talks very well of the recent developments in tennis before he retired esp about Roger Federer and the racket strings.He states that he knew from the moment he lost to Federer in the 2005 US Open final that RF s the greatest player ever even better than Sampras.He also talks about how the drastic improvement in racket strings technology has revolutionised the sport and made power baseline hitting a lot more easier and difficult to miss.(He is dead right here.That has been the biggest change in the sport in the last 20 years)
Andre's description of his opponents proves that he is very straight-forward and had no malice towards them unless there was a rational and logical reason(unlike other top stars like Becker,Connors,etc whose middle names were "Attitude").He describes his relationships with al his 3 main coaches-NB,Brad Gilbert and Darren Cahill extremely well.Donot miss the chapter where he talks about his first meeting with Gilbert:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Andre shows the highest respect and gratitude,not to any of his coaches,but to his trainer Gill Reyes and it shows that his injuries in the early part of his career were more due to his lack of knowledge rather than anything else.The fact that he's named his son after Reyes give you an indication just how much respect he had for him which is emphasised again and again in the book.
One of the best things about this book is the way he voices his opinion about players,competitors,rivals,circumstances,etc in a very concise manner.What normally takes people 10 pages to write,Double A does it in 1 paragraph.For instance the transition of his romance with Steffi from a potentially serious relationship to a committed one is indicated clearly in just one "streetsmart" line.His describing the extemely volatile meeting between his dad and Steffi's is described in only 2 and a half pages.His dislike for Jeff Tarango,Chang,Kafelnikov,etc is done with the precision of a surgeon but the skill of a master writer in a consise manner and this is exactly the way I like to write and read as well.No wonder after reading 388 pages,you are still wanting more!Similarly the way he voices his opinion on other competitors,Hewitt,ridiculously goodlooking Juan Carlos Ferrero,Edberg,Paes,Kucera,etc all in one concise par is a treat to say the least.Also look at the way in which he reduces Connors to pulp towards the end of his book(referring to the last professional match he played at US Open 2006) in just one small sentence.His explanation as to how and why he beat Becker regularly is very insightful.
AA's human side is expressed when he allowed defaulter Sampras to play the championship match of the Key Biscane tournie in 1994 against him late as Pete was sick(against the rules which would have declared AA a clear winner).Sampras went on to beat Andre in a tight 3 setter and his coach Gilbert told Andre he should have never allowed Sampras a chance to play the match late.Andere tells Gilbert thats just the way he is which shows Andre had a far greater vision that "winning is everything and the only thing" most people have in life today at any cost and clearly emphasis the greatness in character of AA.
The flip side of Andre's performance as explained in his book as well) is his inability to beat Sampras in most Slams finals especially the 3 US Open finals he lost due to overconfidence.I always wondered how and why Andre lost in 4 sets to Sampras in the 1995 USOpen finals where he was read-hot with a 26 match winning streak.This book also answers it clearly.This book also shows why Andre was not a "thinker" of a player till he met Gilbert who taught him the most important lesson in life of 'Dont be a perfectionist.All you need to do is to beat the guy opposite,not hit the best backhand in the world" and to strategise.Also his determination being "on" and 'off" faster than a tubelight hurt the number of Slam titles he desreved.
