A path-breaker in more ways than one, American tennis legend Andre Agassi is certainly one of the greatest players to have ever graced the tennis court. The 8-time grand slam champion is one of only eight men in history to have won the career grand slam – the extraordinary feat of clinching all 4 majors at least once. Apart from his legendary career as a tennis player, Agassi is a pioneer of sorts when it comes to sports autobiographies when he bared it all in his know-all-tell-all autobiography, quite aptly named ‘Open’.
In his autobiography ‘Open’, Agassi shed light on incredibly personal events from his life, including the strained relationship he shared with his father. The impassioned conversation he had with his father after his maiden Wimbledon triumph is one such revelation from his book.?
Andre Agassi opens up on stirring conversation with father post first grand slam title
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Agassi won his first grand slam title at Wimbledon in 1992 defeating Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, in a five-set thriller, becoming the first American to win the SW19 crown after John McEnroe in 1984. After the memorable win, an ecstatic, yet trembling Andre Agassi called his father only to engage in an intense and emotional conversation, as he mentioned in his autobiography.
“You had no business losing that fourth set. Stunned, I wait, not trusting my voice. Then I say, good thing I won the fifth set, though, right? He says nothing. Not because he disagrees, or disapproves, but because he’s crying. Faintly I hear my father sniffling and wiping away tears, and I know he’s proud, just incapable of expressing it. I can’t fault the man for not knowing how to say what’s in his heart. It’s the family curse.”, an excerpt from the book read.
His autobiography has been revelatory in many ways and is still very popular among millions of tennis fans due to its candid and honest nature.?
Agassi’s relationship with his father, Emmanuel, has never been a smooth ride, right from his childhood. But he hasn’t shied away from opening up on this chapter of his life.
Agassi detested tennis because of his father
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Andre Agassi’s father was his first tennis coach. Being a hard taskmaster and overly strict disciplinarian, he brought up his son the hard way. He treated his son’s mistakes in a merciless way and often resorted to physical punishment that sometimes bordered on extremely violent behavior.
It was clear that he desperately wanted Andre to be the best tennis player, and in a way, forced him into the sport. As a result, Agassi was sometimes fed up with the thought of continuing with the sport and wanted to get away from it altogether because of his father’s overbearing nature.
But as destiny had it, Andre Agassi ended up becoming one of the finest talents in the history of the sport. And through the years, the father-son equation also took a turn for the better as they both tried to make amends to the troubled relationship that they had.?
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WATCH THIS STORY: When Andre Agassi openly defended preferential treatment given to Serena Williams at Wimbledon