In it, he reveals, among other things, that he used crystal meth - and that he wore a hairpiece in the 1990 French Open to hide a bald spot.

So over the course of a career that keeps him in constant motion, he's had to find ways to cope - cortisone shots, altering his game and eventually retirement.Īgassi's book is called Open. Andre Agassi's autobiography 'Open' was recently released in paperback.Īndre Agassi, widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, admits in a new autobiography that he hates tennis, 'with a dark and secret passion' - and always has.īecause he was born with spondylolisthesis, a spinal condition where one vertebra parts from the other, leaving less room for the nerves in the spinal column, the slightest wrong movement can leave Agassi awash in pain.

It was more you had your times where you were just sort of getting through some tough moments.This interview was originally broadcast on Nov. It's done a lot for my life and given me some financial security, which is great,' said Sampras. And I just felt an appreciation for the sport. The 14-time Grand Slam champion added that he never shared Agassi's antipathy towards the sport. 'Most 20-year-olds were looking at what they're doing with their lives and getting in and out of college. decided to bring it out now, which was a little surprising, but Andre always likes to separate himself from the rest, good or bad.' On the revelations Agassi makes about himself in the book, such as confessing to hating the sport and taking crystal meth in 1997, Sampras said, 'Everyone's sort of asking about it and talking about the whole crystal meth. Now being retired for six, seven years, I can do what I want.' 'I did it my way, and I have no regrets when I look back on my career that it was just a big focus for me. 'I'd like to sit with him man to man and ask him about it. 'I always felt like Andre and I had risen above taking shots at one another,' said Sampras.

In his book, Agassi remarks on Sampras' 'lack of need for inspiration' and also suggests his great rival was a poor tipper. Sampras has he had not read the book -'I'm not much of a reader' - but said he 'got wind of a few things that he said about me, and, you know, I was a little surprise and a little disappointed.'

Pete Sampras, speaking to reporters in advance of his exhibition match at San Jose in February, has said he was 'surprised and disappointed' at some of the descriptions of him in Andre Agassi's autobiography 'Open.'

Open agassi book