Review: Open By Andre Agassi

"Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

-Excerpt pp. 298-299

I grew up with Andre Agassi. He was and still is, my mother's favorite tennis player.
I remember going on summer vacation with my family. Our beach weeks always coincided with The Championships Wimbledon. The only time my mom would leave the beach during the day was when Andre was on TV.
This is how I remember him most. Me, a little kid, watching this bald guy move the other guy across the net back and forth. I had to ask what all this thirty-love-deuce stuff was all about, but this is how I learned about the game. I learned from Andre. I knew when my mom shouted, "Go, Andre, GO!" that he was winning, that he was punishing the opponent.

What I didn't know was his struggle with tennis. I only witnessed his rebirth in the sport, better yet his re-commitment to it. No one in the media or his fan base ever knew the real Andre Agassi, at least not until Open.

At first, the only storyline reported was his flirtation with crystal meth and his subsequent lie to the ATP. People who have admired Agassi all their lives and modeled their tennis after him, publicly berated him for it.

"It's tainted his career."
"It's terrible for tennis and it's fans."
"Every win in 1997 should be forfeited along with prize money."
"Why would he now admit this lie?"

The likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin, and Martina Navratilova have all "lost respect" for the sportsman in Agassi.

What I want to know, truthfully, is how many of those naysayers read the entire book, read the words: the soul of Andre Agassi?

When I reached "the chapter," I knew Agassi had no idea what he was doing, only that he wanted an escape. His marriage is unhealthy, his tennis is struggling, and his family is suffering. He wants an end to the pain but he doesn't want to face it. He hits rock bottom because all the warring fractions inside of him have now caught up: the dragon and his father, perfection, winning and losing, hating tennis but having nothing else to do.

We've witnessed athletes falling from grace. Recently, Mark McGwire and Tiger Woods. In the past, MJ and O.J..

When athletes aren't happy with themselves, they fall. Athletes are human, they are just like us. They can turn toward drugs that offer relief from pain (or to buff up the body) among other recreational activities. They make unhealthy choices because they're so blinded by their suffering.

Everyone has points in their life where they withdraw from the world, even themselves, because it's easier to run and hide from the reflection in the mirror.

Andre did just that. His life, up until '97, was held together in a delicate balance. Always with a chip on his shoulder and hatred, he hit the wall. He needs control but is too afraid to take it.

He only makes it out of the bottom from wanting change, from facing demons, from finding new inspiration.

Mandela.

"No matter where you are in life, there is always more journeying ahead."

Andre finds inspiration in caring and educating others. His school becomes his motivation for playing tennis. It even helps him become quite fond of the sport he hates decisively.

The second storyline: Pete Sampras. He's hurt by the remarks reported in Andre's book and wants to have a sit-down chat, man-to-man, about them. It's also reported, Pete hasn't read the book. I'm sure if this sit-down chat ever comes to fruition, it's sure to be like one of their tennis matches: epic, thrilling, dangerous.

The problem dear, Petey, is you neglected to read the book before getting all emotional and making public statements.

Andre and Pete. Pete and Andre. Synonymous with one another. Andre (and Pete) know, if it weren't for Pete, Andre would've won more. But there is respect to the highest degree.
When Pete had food poisoning before a match, instead of playing on time, Andre agreed to postpone it. Andre lost.

Andre takes Pete to the musical Grease to watch Brooke. His description:

"I like Broadway. I find the ethos of the theater familiar. The work of a Broadway actor is physical, strenuous, demanding, and the nightly pressure is intense...If they don't give their best, they know it, and if they don't know it, the crowd lets them know it.
All this is lost on Pete, however. From the opening number he's yawning, fidgeting, checking his watch. He doesn't like the theater, and he doesn't get actors, since he's never pretended anything in his life."

Pete is Andre's antithesis. Sturdy, dependable, dull, robotic.

"There's so much I'd like to ask him- about how he stays so focused, about whether or not he regrets devoting so much of his life to tennis. Our different personalities, our ongoing rivalry, precludes such intimacy. I realize that despite the effect we've had on each other, despite our quasi-friendship, we're strangers, and may always be. I wish him the best, and I mean it."

Andre knows Pete is a man he could never be, and there were times he wished he could be. He knows without Pete, there would be no Andre or there would be an Andre but without a fueled, competitive nemesis.

Maybe what Pete really wants to ask him is why he wrote in the book about tipping the valet boy only a dollar when he has millions. Maybe he's embarrassed. Sure keeps a lock on his dirty laundry.

The third storyline: Andre's just trying to sell books. It's not him being honest. He doesn't hate tennis, he's only making a story.

I've come to realize, Andre Agassi is one of the most misunderstood sportsmen of all time.

When he first started, Andre was "the punk," with jean shorts, Mohawk, and earring.

Image Is Everything. The slogan sportswriters likened to his inner being, his philosophy and religion. They called him an empty image for a line in a commercial. They treat him as a rebel, a kid who doesn't have what it takes.

When in reality, it's a premature balding kid who worries more about his hairpiece staying on during the French Open final and making his own choices about his life, than what image he projects. In fact, he can't really believe that people would want to put on wigs and bright shirts to be like him.

He says,

"Transformation is change from one thing to another, but I started as nothing. I didn't transform, I formed. When I broke into tennis, I was like most kids: I didn't know who I was, and I rebelled at being told by older people. I think older people make this mistake all the time with younger people, treating them as finished products when in fact they're in process...I didn't alter my image, I discovered it. I didn't change my mind. I opened it."

All throughout his career, Andre was doubted. Doubted he could win eight majors, the career slam and the gold medal (the only player to ever do so) and give millions of his own money to his academy for children.

For a man just selling novels, I'm sure he'll give most of what he makes to his academy, to helping others because that's what is most important to him, the real him.

He gives back more than you, so don't be brass enough to say he's a cocky bastard wanting more for himself.



Open is by far the best autobiography I have ever read.

Andre is pure.

It's honest. It's deep, powerful, and an inspiration.

He has been utterly selfless in sharing his story, his life. The confusion and pain in being a child forced to do what he hates. The young pro making all the mistakes on the court, off it, in love, in relationships, and in image. The pit of 1997. The turning point. Starting over. The re-commitment to the game and finding love in it. The elder statesman, the ambassador, that everyone looks up to and feels is the realest person in sports.

Andre Agassi is as charismatic, charming, and hilarious as I've ever witnessed in an athlete.

He is raw. Unfinished. Imperfect.

He has helped me love tennis.

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last twenty-one years I have found loyalty: You have pulled for me on the court, and also in life. I have found inspiration: You have willed me to success, sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I have found generosity: You have given me your shoulders to stand on, to reach for my dreams- dreams I could have never reached without you. Over the last twenty-one years I have found you, and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life."

-Andre's farewell speech at the 2006 U.S. Open.

It's giving back to his fans. It's a note to all those who've helped him on his path and all those who didn't. It's a note to himself on his goals to keep moving, living.

He's determined, even in retirement, to make a difference.

I think what is most important about Open is how Andre has helped me put words to the pains of growing up and forming an identity.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself.
I never knew this was an acceptable point of view. Now I steer by it. Now it's my North Star. And that's what I'll tell the students. Life is a tennis match between polar opposites. Winning and losing, love and hate, open and closed. It helps to recognize that painful fact early. Then recognize the polar opposites within yourself, and if you can't embrace them, or reconcile them, at least accept them and move on. The only thing you cannot do is ignore them.
What other message could I hope to deliver? What other message could they expect from a ninth-grade dropout whose proudest accomplishment is his school?"

For the sportswriters and athletes and fans who doubt the sincerity of Andre's book, I shall say this, and only this on the matter:

Andre Agassi is more Open than you or I will ever be.