I read the book (long, long time ago). Fed and Rafa don’t quite capture Agassi’s point. Agassi said that he had a hate-love relationship with tennis, and that the hate part came from the fact that he felt that playing tennis wasn’t his choice. His father pushed him into it from an very early age, and he (Andre) felt that he didn’t really have any control over any part of his life: he felt like he was pressured to do what was expected of him (including marrying Brooke Shields). According to him, only in 1997 did he realize that staying in tennis was actually a choice; only then did he take ownership of all of his life decisions, inside and outside of tennis. I think that there is something valuable to learn from Agassi’s story.
Yeah. I was a pro and he used to hit with one of my college teams. Agassi wanted to play soccer growing up, not tennis. I used to hit with someone who was at the tennis academy with Agassi and Agassi didn't always have a serious attitude. Even showed up in jeans to beat another kid one day. Seemed he turned things around when he felt more in control as you say. I watched him from front rows of a tourney during his bad days with Shields. We locked eyes and I swear he gave me a look like, "WTF do you want to be here watching me?" He spit at a Mercedes promo car on the court and intentionally got defaulted during that match. Glad he mentally turned things around for himself and those around him.
No matter what, Andre has been a negative force. Yes, he played tennis under heavy pressure and yes he had a very strained relationship with his dad, but that would have been strained no matter what, and no matter what he would have chosen to do, as his dad desparately wanted him to succeed. Andre's contribution to tennis is mixed and I believe that he continues to be a fairky confused human being who can be a negative influence
Says a lot about Steffi.Steffi grabbed the cash and ran, gave very title back to WTA and her sport wasn’t WTA president didn’t serve on any any board . Rarely gave interviews, retired on the spot, gave no advance notice.fought c9 rank of Seles when she returned to tennis. Reaped rewards of the tour ing evert Martina supported.
A lot of guys don’t understand Andre’s upbringing. He was forced into tennis at age 2. He was not very different from a child actor. He was making money for his family from the time he was a toddler. He was born under pressure. If you understand his story, his claims make sense.
100% I read the book from cover to cover ….and grew up watching him play and develop. I’m disappointed with what Roger and Rafa said….Andre was great for the sport, and was “Open” about his life and upbringing…at his lowest point he went out to play challengers and heard jeers from the crowd ….not even ranked in the top 100. Then comes all the way back to number 1 and wins more grand slams. Well done Andre
@@prescilianolobato9974 His life story is pretty amazing. With all due respect to Roger and Rafa (2 of my favs) but they both had kind of an ideal upbringing for tennis. Agassi, Djokovic, Williamses, Capriati…not so much. They had a lot of crap to overcome. A more difficult journey.
Andre created a charter school with his earnings. What have these other players done with their earnings to help other people/children. Andre made tennis exciting.
Fed provided 1 million kids with education (by building schools in Africa). Rafa has tennis academy and pretty sure his own foundation (also helped Toger with his charity).
Rafa has set up a school (years ago) in one of the poorest parts of India, and has established a Foundation for charitable work. Federer and Djoko also have charitable Foundations, and Fed has done a lot of work in Africa.
I read the book and really enjoyed it. (He got a legend to ghost write it for him.) I'm surprised by the negative reactions of some players to Andre's book. Everyone is on their own personal journey, and Andre's journey doesn't sully the game, his journey just reveals an interesting personal story.
Seems like Fed and Rafa really don’t know Andre that well. How do they know how he really felt about tennis? When you’re forced to do something (as in Andre’s case) there’s a natural rebellion. Those 2 didn’t have that, so they were never in his shoes to make a comparison. I’m disappointed in them.
I loved Andre as a player- I remember seeing him at the Volvo Tournament in Vermont. He brought a new, fresh and welcome addition to the mens tour. Jean shorts, long multi colored hair and an electric personality in addition to his amazing tennis ability. In his book he expressed that he was forced into tennis by his domineering father and you also have to realize he did not come from a wealthy background like most professional tennis players. During the time he played there was no regular testing so his drug use would not necessarily detected. Many of us have been at jobs we didn’t always love and that includes Andre. I am so happy for him that he married the love of his life, is in a good place and a true ambassador of the sport!
I don't know what he said in his book but I don't believe anyone who achieved what he did in the game could hate the sport. In 1999 he achieved one of the greatest comebacks the sport has ever seen, coming back from 141 in the rankings to no 1 and winning the French and US Opens and the final at Wimbledon. The dedication that something like that requires could not be done if u hated playing, although of course he was blessed with immense natural talent
His book, "Open" was controversial because he said he hated tennis and only played for money and to get his dad off his back, and he also revealed that he did crystal meth in 1997 against the ATP rules and hid it.
I think fed meant that players should not go for unethical means like drugs, cocaine or doping and play ethically when he said " he wants the sport to be clean" there is nothing wrong in that.
It makes sense that if someone is forced to do something, they might not like it very much. Andre always struck me as being a pretty honest guy. You can be sure that the players that criticized Andre have at times in their lives hated tennis.
I will always love Andre...he was my favourite player as a kid...loved his playing style and i watched go from long hair and colourful clothing to bald head and plain white clothing...from flambouyant youngster to the ultimate pro❤Agassi was unique...an original
Agassi made terrible comentaries about sampras , because he couldnt accept that sampras beated him in the most important matches , and in some moment he spoke bad about courier , two players that beated him a lot.
I dont believe Federer and Nadal very much. And Andre said many times during the career that he was not having a great time. In fact he even thought of quitting several times. I believe him. And he has a wonderful family and life. He was always a disruptive person, but thats ok as long as you dont harm others. And I believe he hasnt, Ever.
The way I see it is like this: Imagine Agassi playing the part of Michael in Mary Poppins (with Andre magically transformed back into being a child). Then, imagine his father representing Mr Banks (the father of Jane and Michael in Mary Poppins), controlling Agassi's life. Agassi wants to go outside and play with his sister (Jane), but Mr Banks won't let him do that as he wants him to do his chores (clean up his bedroom, which is in such a mess that it would take Agassi hours to clean it to the standard demanded by Mr Banks; let's assume Mr Banks has decided to get rid of the maids in his household in order to save money, which has become very tight). Agassi goes through this for a long time, until one day Mary Poppins suddenly arrives, and offers to perform maid duties pro-bono! She then goes on to help Agassi clean his bedroom with a much more positive mental attitude, helping him to see it as something he can actually enjoy doing and take pleasure out of, with a wonderful sense of accomplishment, doing it because he wants to make his bedroom look neat and tidy - something he discovers he actually desires now that he isn't being forced to do it under Mr Bank's control. This is pretty much the best analogy I can think of for what Agassi went through in tennis and that helps provide insight into why he said in his "Open" book that he had a love-hate relationship with the sport! 😎
Of the players interviewed only Novak had a personal relationship with Andre. The opinions of the other players good or bad pale in comparison to someone who was close with him.
Agassi was so cool at the time he played. I recall funny episodes where he threw out the rule book on what to wear at a grand slam. Back then you had to wear white and he liked to push the boundaries and paved the way for more expression in tennis. And he is genuinely funny (see recent exhibition matches, he is hilarious!). He also would grind down his opponents as he would never ever give up on points no matter the score.
You can’t make everyone happy or get along with everyone in this world. And that’s ok. I’m sure Agassi is okay with that. Such a polarizing book is a good thing. Makes you think and creates discussion.
The bottom line is only Andre. Billy knows what he felt and experienced at those times in his life. Who are we really to judge him or take stock of his life? I mean, he might have actually hated the sport, but maybe he did it out of obligation, I don't know. I'm not in his brain but I know one thing. Imagine being a very young kid. Having your father hit 2500 to 3000 Tennis balls. At you a day, I don't think I'd like that after a while. But you know people are too quick to judge. So people like Roger, Federer and Rafael Nadal You know you're entitled to your own opinion. By the way, there are lots of people in life who make lots of money and I guarantee They're not happy with what they're doing.
That's not even sort of funny. It's as though you can think of only two people without a lot of hair -- Agassi and Simon (who otherwise look NOTHING like one another; oh, and Agassi's like half a foot taller). Ignoramus...
You should have asked Sampras whether he liked being called a monkey by Agassi. And Marat Safin, too. (He does not qualify as a legend?) Safin said Agassi should return all his titles and prize money because he was a drug cheat.
Every one of the top 10 players are jacked on steroids! If there was proper drug testing in the USTA the entire top 10 players in the world would be suspended from dirty test! Andre’s family life as a child was harsh, and he turned to a drug for a short period of time!
Does it not speak volumes of what kind of people they are that Federer and Nadal attacked him. None of the others did. What have either of those guys done to better the lives of people less fortunate than them, because we know what Agassi has done?
The agassis, Sampras, were mature complex mens with nuanced opinions. They grew up in the 70's, 80's, 90's... Federer and the others arent from the same era. They are 2000 people. Those years for westerners who catched opportunities were generous years. They cant really relate to an agassi...
Federer’s comments about “Our sport must be kept clean” must be about Andre admitting he failed a drug test (meth) and lied about being given a tainted drink to avoid suspension and negative publicity. It makes no sense that his statement could be referring to Andre hating tennis.
They didn’t attack him. They were asked on separate occassions and they answered that specific question. I’m sure they don’t hate him. They played in era of social media and they talk according to it.
@HTHAMMACK1 you have obviously no idea what Fed and Nadal have done worldwide for underprivileged kids. Both have set up schools, in Africa and India respectively, both have charitable Foundations, and both have been doing this almost from the start of their careers. Look it up, before you attack them.
What I don't like are guys who became billionaires thanks to tennis,and after continue spitting in the pot,the stew...shut up!!!...especially when they still run tennis schools...
What do you think of Andre Agassi? Is everyone right with this opinion? Let us know down below in the comments... 👇
I read the book (long, long time ago). Fed and Rafa don’t quite capture Agassi’s point. Agassi said that he had a hate-love relationship with tennis, and that the hate part came from the fact that he felt that playing tennis wasn’t his choice. His father pushed him into it from an very early age, and he (Andre) felt that he didn’t really have any control over any part of his life: he felt like he was pressured to do what was expected of him (including marrying Brooke Shields). According to him, only in 1997 did he realize that staying in tennis was actually a choice; only then did he take ownership of all of his life decisions, inside and outside of tennis. I think that there is something valuable to learn from Agassi’s story.
Depth of life~~~
I also read the book and I disagree about other professional tennis players saying something like that. The liar is the one who made this video.
Well said. Agreed completely. Rafa and federer always had pea brains
Yeah. I was a pro and he used to hit with one of my college teams. Agassi wanted to play soccer growing up, not tennis. I used to hit with someone who was at the tennis academy with Agassi and Agassi didn't always have a serious attitude. Even showed up in jeans to beat another kid one day. Seemed he turned things around when he felt more in control as you say. I watched him from front rows of a tourney during his bad days with Shields. We locked eyes and I swear he gave me a look like, "WTF do you want to be here watching me?" He spit at a Mercedes promo car on the court and intentionally got defaulted during that match. Glad he mentally turned things around for himself and those around him.
No matter what, Andre has been a negative force. Yes, he played tennis under heavy pressure and yes he had a very strained relationship with his dad, but that would have been strained no matter what, and no matter what he would have chosen to do, as his dad desparately wanted him to succeed. Andre's contribution to tennis is mixed and I believe that he continues to be a fairky confused human being who can be a negative influence
The fact that Steffi fell in love with him and still loves him, says a lot about this man.
and considering her father spent time in prison for tax issues, I believe that adds to your point as well.
Very true
Says a lot about Steffi.Steffi grabbed the cash and ran, gave very title back to WTA and her sport wasn’t WTA president didn’t serve on any any board . Rarely gave interviews, retired on the spot, gave no advance notice.fought c9 rank of Seles when she returned to tennis. Reaped rewards of the tour ing evert Martina supported.
A lot of guys don’t understand Andre’s upbringing. He was forced into tennis at age 2. He was not very different from a child actor. He was making money for his family from the time he was a toddler. He was born under pressure. If you understand his story, his claims make sense.
100% I read the book from cover to cover ….and grew up watching him play and develop. I’m disappointed with what Roger and Rafa said….Andre was great for the sport, and was “Open” about his life and upbringing…at his lowest point he went out to play challengers and heard jeers from the crowd ….not even ranked in the top 100. Then comes all the way back to number 1 and wins more grand slams. Well done Andre
@@prescilianolobato9974 His life story is pretty amazing. With all due respect to Roger and Rafa (2 of my favs) but they both had kind of an ideal upbringing for tennis. Agassi, Djokovic, Williamses, Capriati…not so much. They had a lot of crap to overcome. A more difficult journey.
Andre created a charter school with his earnings. What have these other players done with their earnings to help other people/children. Andre made tennis exciting.
Fed provided 1 million kids with education (by building schools in Africa). Rafa has tennis academy and pretty sure his own foundation (also helped Toger with his charity).
Rafa has set up a school (years ago) in one of the poorest parts of India, and has established a Foundation for charitable work. Federer and Djoko also have charitable Foundations, and Fed has done a lot of work in Africa.
@@e1977k What the hell's "Toger"?!
I read the book and really enjoyed it. (He got a legend to ghost write it for him.) I'm surprised by the negative reactions of some players to Andre's book. Everyone is on their own personal journey, and Andre's journey doesn't sully the game, his journey just reveals an interesting personal story.
Seems like Fed and Rafa really don’t know Andre that well. How do they know how he really felt about tennis? When you’re forced to do something (as in Andre’s case) there’s a natural rebellion. Those 2 didn’t have that, so they were never in his shoes to make a comparison. I’m disappointed in them.
I loved Andre as a player- I remember seeing him at the Volvo Tournament in Vermont. He brought a new, fresh and welcome addition to the mens tour. Jean shorts, long multi colored hair and an electric personality in addition to his amazing tennis ability. In his book he expressed that he was forced into tennis by his domineering father and you also have to realize he did not come from a wealthy background like most professional tennis players. During the time he played there was no regular testing so his drug use would not necessarily detected. Many of us have been at jobs we didn’t always love and that includes Andre. I am so happy for him that he married the love of his life, is in a good place and a true ambassador of the sport!
I don't know what he said in his book but I don't believe anyone who achieved what he did in the game could hate the sport. In 1999 he achieved one of the greatest comebacks the sport has ever seen, coming back from 141 in the rankings to no 1 and winning the French and US Opens and the final at Wimbledon. The dedication that something like that requires could not be done if u hated playing, although of course he was blessed with immense natural talent
Love him or hate him. He changed Tenis forever suckers 👍🏻
What exactly did Agassi say that Roger and Rafa upset by him? This video doesn't really break it down. Just that he didn't really like the sport?
His book, "Open" was controversial because he said he hated tennis and only played for money and to get his dad off his back, and he also revealed that he did crystal meth in 1997 against the ATP rules and hid it.
I think fed meant that players should not go for unethical means like drugs, cocaine or doping and play ethically when he said " he wants the sport to be clean" there is nothing wrong in that.
Misspelling Federer's and Djokovic's name is beyond me
Garbage sensationalization. These are the tabloids of videos.
Well he is the most charitable tennis player of all time
It makes sense that if someone is forced to do something, they might not like it very much. Andre always struck me as being a pretty honest guy. You can be sure that the players that criticized Andre have at times in their lives hated tennis.
I will always love Andre...he was my favourite player as a kid...loved his playing style and i watched go from long hair and colourful clothing to bald head and plain white clothing...from flambouyant youngster to the ultimate pro❤Agassi was unique...an original
YOUR TITLE IS NOT GOOD . YOUR CHANEL IS A GOSSIP CHANEL ABOUT FAMOUS SUPERSTARS . 🤷♀🤷♀🤷♀🤷♀
Agassi made terrible comentaries about sampras , because he couldnt accept that sampras beated him in the most important matches , and in some moment he spoke bad about courier , two players that beated him a lot.
I dont believe Federer and Nadal very much. And Andre said many times during the career that he was not having a great time. In fact he even thought of quitting several times. I believe him. And he has a wonderful family and life. He was always a disruptive person, but thats ok as long as you dont harm others. And I believe he hasnt, Ever.
The way I see it is like this: Imagine Agassi playing the part of Michael in Mary Poppins (with Andre magically transformed back into being a child). Then, imagine his father representing Mr Banks (the father of Jane and Michael in Mary Poppins), controlling Agassi's life. Agassi wants to go outside and play with his sister (Jane), but Mr Banks won't let him do that as he wants him to do his chores (clean up his bedroom, which is in such a mess that it would take Agassi hours to clean it to the standard demanded by Mr Banks; let's assume Mr Banks has decided to get rid of the maids in his household in order to save money, which has become very tight).
Agassi goes through this for a long time, until one day Mary Poppins suddenly arrives, and offers to perform maid duties pro-bono! She then goes on to help Agassi clean his bedroom with a much more positive mental attitude, helping him to see it as something he can actually enjoy doing and take pleasure out of, with a wonderful sense of accomplishment, doing it because he wants to make his bedroom look neat and tidy - something he discovers he actually desires now that he isn't being forced to do it under Mr Bank's control.
This is pretty much the best analogy I can think of for what Agassi went through in tennis and that helps provide insight into why he said in his "Open" book that he had a love-hate relationship with the sport! 😎
Of the players interviewed only Novak had a personal relationship with Andre. The opinions of the other players good or bad pale in comparison to someone who was close with him.
How dare fedal tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t reveal in their own damn memoir. The more fedal speaks, the more l can’t stand them!
Agassi had no reason to tell the truth in 1997, just as Jannik Sinner had no reason to tell the truth in 2024. Image is everything.
Agassi was so cool at the time he played. I recall funny episodes where he threw out the rule book on what to wear at a grand slam. Back then you had to wear white and he liked to push the boundaries and paved the way for more expression in tennis. And he is genuinely funny (see recent exhibition matches, he is hilarious!).
He also would grind down his opponents as he would never ever give up on points no matter the score.
This title is a lie
Because..?
@@RallyRackets you did not provide any evidence where he said that. Or am I wrong?
@@vamosdaniel22 I would like to answer you correctly, but I don't really understand your question...
@@RallyRackets ok man😉 you show rafas face and next to it you quote: "Andre Agassi is a liar". Did Rafa ever say it?
@@vamosdaniel22 Not literally, but substantively he has a point
My mum liked Agassi particularly after he got his haircut
Excuse me didn't this book come out in 2009? What the F__K are talking about it now.
There's a lot of even older books that people talk about.....
You can’t make everyone happy or get along with everyone in this world. And that’s ok. I’m sure Agassi is okay with that. Such a polarizing book is a good thing. Makes you think and creates discussion.
The bottom line is only Andre. Billy knows what he felt and experienced at those times in his life. Who are we really to judge him or take stock of his life? I mean, he might have actually hated the sport, but maybe he did it out of obligation, I don't know. I'm not in his brain but I know one thing. Imagine being a very young kid. Having your father hit 2500 to 3000 Tennis balls. At you a day, I don't think I'd like that after a while. But you know people are too quick to judge. So people like Roger, Federer and Rafael Nadal You know you're entitled to your own opinion. By the way, there are lots of people in life who make lots of money and I guarantee They're not happy with what they're doing.
Click bait . Agassi is a legend.. and says it like it is
I thought Andre's rendition of Sound of SIlence was riveting.
That's not even sort of funny. It's as though you can think of only two people without a lot of hair -- Agassi and Simon (who otherwise look NOTHING like one another; oh, and Agassi's like half a foot taller). Ignoramus...
Andre Agassi was and still a legend
I haven't read his auto biography but I'm certain that he craves the spotlight , stardom and wealth , does he really hate tennis?
No idea the point of this video
no clue andre was wearing a wig all those years.
It's not uncommon to hate the job that makes you wealthy.
You should have asked Sampras whether he liked being called a monkey by Agassi. And Marat Safin, too. (He does not qualify as a legend?) Safin said Agassi should return all his titles and prize money because he was a drug cheat.
Did you say Djokovic said he’s always welcome to Poland ?
never a fan. He always seemed to love himself too much. Newver a fan of his wife. either
Thanks for your insight, Peter...based on your astute analysis I've decided to no longer like him...or his wife.
Wie lustig! Versuchen sich das "Heroes" rein zu waschen? Ich denke gerade an Tony Schumacher .... ..Andre is great! Stunning Person.
Every one of the top 10 players are jacked on steroids! If there was proper drug testing in the USTA the entire top 10 players in the world would be suspended from dirty test!
Andre’s family life as a child was harsh, and he turned to a drug for a short period of time!
This video was done very poorly didn't explain a dam thing
You did a nice job with this video!
Does it not speak volumes of what kind of people they are that Federer and Nadal attacked him. None of the others did. What have either of those guys done to better the lives of people less fortunate than them, because we know what Agassi has done?
The agassis, Sampras, were mature complex mens with nuanced opinions. They grew up in the 70's, 80's, 90's...
Federer and the others arent from the same era. They are 2000 people. Those years for westerners who catched opportunities were generous years. They cant really relate to an agassi...
Federer’s comments about “Our sport must be kept clean” must be about Andre admitting he failed a drug test (meth) and lied about being given a tainted drink to avoid suspension and negative publicity. It makes no sense that his statement could be referring to Andre hating tennis.
They didn’t attack him. They were asked on separate occassions and they answered that specific question. I’m sure they don’t hate him. They played in era of social media and they talk according to it.
@HTHAMMACK1 you have obviously no idea what Fed and Nadal have done worldwide for underprivileged kids. Both have set up schools, in Africa and India respectively, both have charitable Foundations, and both have been doing this almost from the start of their careers. Look it up, before you attack them.
There's some truth to that for those who are old enough to remember Andre. Andre was a drug addict. There's a lot to being an addict.
Click bait BS they love andre and andre loves them peace.
Andre ❤
The Williams Brothers
Well that was profound. 🙄
He made us believe it was his real hair. But it wasn't... liar
Nadal didn't lived Andre's life.
No but he was also pretty bullied into the sport.
I hate tennis too. It sucks!! Lmao
Djokovic is the real Goat !
What I don't like are guys who became billionaires thanks to tennis,and after continue spitting in the pot,the stew...shut up!!!...especially when they still run tennis schools...
He’s a Fraud!!!
Fraud? -- what is he pretending to be but isn't?!
Agassi is a hero 😊
Nadal and Federer again telling others what to say and feel😂 Nadal logic cracks me up, amazing tennis player with very limited insight.😢