Among the book’s revelations:
■ Agassi snorted crystal meth for a time in 1997 and 1998 and, when busted for a tainted urine sample by the Association of Tennis Professionals, lied about it. He was cleared.
■ Agassi has no love for rivals Boris Becker (who recently blogged with sanctimonious dismay about Agassi’s drug use) or his greatest opponent, Pete Sampras, whom he tellingly dismisses as a piker. (Sampras again beat Agassi in an exhibition match in Macau in October. Their prior record, notched in epic battles in the ’80s and ’90s, was 20-14 in favor of Sampras, including 4-1 in Grand Slam finals.)
■ For years, Agassi wore a hairpiece. It was only in the late ’90s that he came to accept, even embrace, his baldness.
■ The former champion insists that he hates tennis. Despite that, like his second wife, Steffi Graf, he lives for it.
■ Press speculation, notwithstanding, the presence of then-president Bill Clinton at the 2001 French Open had nothing to do with Agassi losing concentration in his loss to Sébastien Grosjean. Anxiety about Graf’s pregnancy with their first child was the main distraction.
Such dish marbles more substantial material including sharp insights into sportsmanship, celebrity, and family.
Agassi details his years-long battle to become his own man, escaping the shadow of his tyrannical, punitive dad and early trainer Nick Bollettieri to find his own mentors in Gil Reyes and Brad Gilbert, men who saw beyond the meal ticket.
He also learned to listen to his heart, divorcing chilly Brooke Shields and eventually marrying the warmer, more simpatico Graf. Clearly the first marriage reflected how out of touch Agassi was with himself:
“Before we leave the church, a decoy bride, a stand-in for Brooke, leaves first. To throw the paparazzi off the scent. The first time I heard about this plan, I tuned out, refused to pay attention. Now, as I see the Brooke look-alike leaving, I have a thought no man should have on his wedding day: I wish I were leaving too. I wish I had a decoy groom to take my place.’’
