Open: An Autobiography

Open: An Autobiography
Andre Agassi

He is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court – but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game.Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, Agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself, an inner conflict that would define him. In his beautiful, haunting autobiography, Agassi tells the story of a life framed by conflict.Agassi makes us feel his panic as an undersized seven-year-old, practicing all day under the obsessive gaze of his violent father. We see him at thirteen, banished to a tennis camp. A lonely, scared, ninth-grade dropout, he rebels in ways that will soon make him a 1980s icon. By the time he turns pro at sixteen, his new look promises to change tennis forever, as does his lightning fast return.Yet, despite raw talent, he struggles. We feel his confusion as he loses to the world's best, his greater confusion as he starts to win. After stumbling in three Grand Slam finals, Agassi shocks the world, and himself, by capturing the 1992 Wimbledon title. Overnight he becomes a fan favourite and a media target.Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match, and every public relationship. Alongside vivid portraits of tennis rivals, Agassi gives unstinting accounts of his relationships. He reveals the depression that shatters his confidence, and the mistake that nearly costs him everything. Finally, he recounts his spectacular resurrection and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one.In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf.With its breakneck tempo and raw candor, Open will be read and cherished for years. A treat for ardent fans, it will also captivate readers who know nothing about tennis. Like Agassi's game, it sets a new standard for grace, style, speed and power.Note that this ebook edition does not include illustrations that first appeared in the print version.

Open

An Autobiography

Andre Agassi

Copyright (#ulink_89d30976-aa53-5784-adea-a548fda2ce77)

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in the USA in 2009 by Alfred A. Knopf

This edition published in 2009 by HarperCollinsPublishers

© 2009 AKA Publishing LLC

Andre Agassi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

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HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780007281428

Ebook Edition © NOVEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780007346301

Version: 2018-07-11

Dedication (#ulink_8881a39a-aba3-5c56-9b44-f7aee333aafc)

For Stefanie, Jaden, and Jaz

Epigraph (#ulink_9d41a7d6-bdfe-51b0-bc19-447d96452c18)

One cannot always tell what it is that keeps us shut in, confines us, seems to bury us, but still one feels certain barriers, certain gates, certain walls. Is all this imagination, fantasy? I do not think so. And then one asks: My God! Is it for long, is it for ever, is it for eternity? Do you know what frees one from this captivity? It is very deep serious affection. Being friends, being brothers, love, that is what opens the prison by supreme power, by some magic force.

—Vincent van Gogh, letter to his brother, July 1880

Contents

Title Page (#uc49b091c-9d88-55f0-afca-e5e03c74cf53)

Copyright (#u591bfa85-eaec-5b20-86ad-c7082f5e4742)

Dedication

Epigraph

The End (#u7dd6313b-4707-5881-9ca5-f57cbde5bc65)

Chapter 1 (#u15609a5b-8720-5e13-9873-e96c2745b3c6)

Chapter 2 (#u8cde19fa-a8d9-51fe-987f-ae4db461a36a)

Chapter 3 (#ub3bf8eb8-18fc-50d4-9be5-e51df341e984)

Chapter 4 (#u4a0f4795-9486-5b09-a779-127f51d26bc1)

Chapter 5 (#uf542229d-29b4-5b79-af9a-5a64a5ddeff6)

Chapter 6 (#u3c054cb1-a63f-56aa-af9b-bebaef3b36c8)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)