Andre Agassi appears on "60 Minutes" to answer criticism, discuss "Open" (pictures and video)

November 9, 2:53 PMTampa Tennis ExaminerSean Craft

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Andre Agassi on the cover of his autobiography
Photo courtesy Knopf Publishing

Monday, Nov. 9 - Former world #1 tennis player Andre Agassi appeared on the CBS newsmagazine program "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening to discuss his autobiography "Open", and to answer some of the criticism which has resulted from his admissions of drug use, lying about it to authorities, and a deep, lifelong hatred of tennis which he reveals in the book.

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While several details of the career Grand Slam champion's autobiography were offered to the press ahead of the book's release date, Agassi did open up to CBS reporter Katie Couric in greater detail on a variety of topics including his relationship with his father - who by Andre's estimation first instilled the hatred of tennis in him as a 7 year old child by rigging a ball machine to fire tennis balls at him in excess of 110mph.  He also revealed that it was after nearly a year into what had become a full blown crystal meth habit in 1997 that his coach challenged him to either get serious about the sport or move on to another line of work.  It was then Agassi says that for the first time in his life, the choice to play tennis became his and not his father's.  It was a choice that re-invigorated his career and led him back to the top echelons of the sport.

On the criticism he has received from tennis's top stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and most notably Martina Navratilova, who called Agassi "a liar" comparable to beleaugured ex-pitcher Roger Clemens, Andre became visibly tearful and asked for compassion.  He said to Couric "How could I write a book called Open and not be completely honest about everything in my life?"

With "Open" being released today, several excerpts have now been made available for the press, and some of the more notable tidbits are as follows:

• On Pete Sampras: Agassi says Sampras "sounds more robotic than" a parrot. At his depths, Agassi thinks: "I envy Pete's dullness. I wish I could emulate his spectacular lack of inspiration, and his peculiar lack of need for inspiration." Agassi tells of betting coach Brad Gilbert about how much Sampras tipped a parking valet; they ask the valet, who says $1; Agassi's conclusion: "We could not be more different, Pete and I."

• On Michael Chang: "He thanks God -- credits God -- for the win, which offends me. That God should take sides in a tennis match, that God should side against me, that God should be in Chang's box, feels ludicrous and insulting. I beat Chang and savor every blasphemous stroke." When Chang wins the 1989 French Open, Agassi thinks, "I feel sickened. How could Chang, of all people, have won a slam before me?"

• On other opponents: Agassi writes about holding grudges against Boris Becker (who Agassi says blew kisses at Shields during a match), Jim Courier, Thomas Muster, Yevgeni Kafelnikov, Jeff Tarango (who Agassi says cheated during a match between them when Agassi was 8).

• On "tanking": Agassi says he lost on purpose against Michael Chang in the Australian Open semifinals one year so he wouldn't have to face Becker in the final, writing: "It's almost harder than winning. You have to lose in such a way that the crowd can't tell." He also says of sports writers: "They never get it right. When I tank, they say I'm not good enough; when I'm not good enough, they say I tank."

• On his fake hair: Of the 1990 French Open final, Agassi writes, "Warming up before the match, I pray. Not for a win, but for my hairpiece to stay on."

• On the 1999 French Open final, which he won to complete a career Grand Slam: "I've already obsessed about this tournament for the last 10 years. I can't bear the idea of obsessing about it for another eighty. ... If I don't win this thing right now, I'll never be happy, truly happy, again."

Early reviews on the 8 time Grand Slam champion's autobiography have been mostly positive, even if only to praise Agassi for being much more forthright in the telling of his own story than the overwhelming majority of athletes who often gloss over the less savory chapters of their lives and limit themselves to re-telling stories we've all seen play out on our television screens over the years.  "Open" is available now at newsstands everywhere.

Excerpts provided by the Associated Press