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Open (2009) (edit title/settings)

An Autobiography

by Andre Agassi (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

A stunning memoir by one of the world’s most beloved athletes—a nuanced self-portrait, an intensely candid account of a remarkable life, and a thrilling inside view of the pro tennis tour.

Summary edit see section history

Agassi has always had a tortured look in his eyes on the tennis court. In 1992, when he burst onto the world sports stage by winning the Grand Slam at Wimbledon, he looked like a deer in headlights. Nobody seemed more surprised and upset by his big win that day than he did. For good reason,... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Agassi has always had a tortured look in his eyes on the tennis court. In 1992, when he burst onto the world sports stage by winning the Grand Slam at Wimbledon, he looked like a deer in headlights. Nobody seemed more surprised and upset by his big win that day than he did. For good reason, too. Agassi hated tennis. This is the biggest revelation in his very revealing autobiography. Agassi has hated tennis from early childhood, finding it extremely lonely out on the court. But he didn’t have a choice about playing the game because his father drove him to become a champion, like it or not. Mike Agassi, a former Golden Gloves fighter who never made it professionally, decided that his son would become a champion tennis player. In militaristic fashion, Mike pushed seven-year-old Andre to practice relentlessly until the young boy was exhausted and in pain. He also arranged for Andre, age 13, to attend a tennis camp where he was expected to pull weeds and clean toilets. The culmination of all of this parental pushing came when Andre began winning as an adult. But it didn’t make him happy. Within this framework, Agassi’s other disclosures make sense. He had a troubled marriage to Brooke Shields that didn’t last. He developed a drug problem that sabotaged his career. He was insecure about everything. Only when Andre met tennis star Steffi Graf (whom he eventually married) did things begin to change... --Jerry Eberle

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Andre, she says, what on earth is the matter with you? I leave you alone for forty-five minutes and you shave the baby?”
    Stefanie Graf Agassi
  • “I would never want to deprive anybody of the learning experience of losing.”
    Andre Agassi
  • “Some people are thermometers, some are thermostats. You're a thermostat. You don't register the temperature in a room, you change it.”
    JP to Andre Agassi
  • “I hate tennis more than ever - but I hate myself more. I tell myself, 'So what if you hate tennis? Who cares? All those people out there, all those millions who hate what they do for a living, they do it anyway.'”
    Andre Agassi
  • “Decisions, especially bad one, create their own kind of momentum. and momentum can be a bitch to stop, as every athlete knows. Even when we vow to change, even when we sorrow and atone for our mistakes, the momentum of our past keeps carrying us down the wrong road. Momentum rules the world. Momentum says: Hold on, not so fast, I'm still running things here.”
    Andre Agassi
  • “This why we're there. To fight through the pain, and, when possible, to relieve the pain of others. So simple. So hard to see.”
    Andre Agassi
  • “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.”
    Andre Agassi
  • “What you feel doesn't matter in the end; it's what you do that makes you brave.”
    Andre Agassi
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Even if it’s not your ideal life, you can always choose it. No matter what your life is, choosing it changes everything.
    Highlighted by 553 Kindle customers
  • we must all care for one another—this is our task in life. But also we must care for ourselves, which means we must be careful in our decisions, careful in our relationships, careful in our statements. We must manage our lives carefully, in order to avoid becoming victims.
    Highlighted by 481 Kindle customers
  • This is why we’re here. To fight through the pain and, when possible, to relieve the pain of others. So simple. So hard to see.
    Highlighted by 470 Kindle customers
  • A win doesn’t feel as good as a loss feels bad, and the good feeling doesn’t last as long as the bad. Not even close.
    Highlighted by 437 Kindle customers
  • What you feel doesn’t matter in the end; it’s what you do that makes you brave.
    Highlighted by 434 Kindle customers
  • Life will throw everything but the kitchen sink in your path, and then it will throw the kitchen sink. It’s your job to avoid the obstacles. If you let them stop you or distract you, you’re not doing your job, and failing to do your job will cause regrets that paralyze you more than a bad back.
    Highlighted by 393 Kindle customers
  • There’s a lot of good waiting for you on the other side of tired. Get yourself tired, Andre. That’s where you’re going to know yourself. On the other side of tired.
    Highlighted by 363 Kindle customers
  • The essence of good discipline is respect. Respect for authority and respect for others. Respect for self and respect for rules. It is an attitude that begins at home, Is reinforced at school, And is applied throughout life.
    Highlighted by 351 Kindle customers
  • No matter where you are in life, there is always more journey ahead. And I think of one of Mandela’s favorite quotes, from the poem Invictus, which sustained him during those moments when he thought his journey had been cut short: I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
    Highlighted by 345 Kindle customers
  • Qué lindo es soñar despierto, he says. How lovely it is to dream while you are awake. Dream while you’re awake, Andre. Anybody can dream while they’re asleep, but you need to dream all the time, and say your dreams out loud, and believe in them.
    Highlighted by 337 Kindle customers
Show all 18 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

I open my eyes and I don't know where I am or who I am.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Humor: Agassi is a world renowned tennis champion. His journey as a tennis player is the major focus of this autobiography.This book is also very funny. It is ironic considering the amount of pressure he reports feeling in his life.
  • Self-Discovery: Describe this theme.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 59 of 121 in Whitcoulls Top 100 (2012). (authoritative list)
This is book 18 of 20 in Biography / Autobiography / Memoir. (community list)
This is book 7 of 145 in Whitcoulls Top 100 (2011). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Andre Agassi (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Knopf
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 0307268195
Page Count: 400

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: GV994 .A43 A3
  • Dewey: 796.342092

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • A Champion's Mind
  • The Roger Federer Story: Quest For Perfection
  • Winning Ugly.
  • Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis--Lessons from a Master
  • A Terrible Splendor
  • Venus And Serena: Serving From The Hip
  • Come to Win: Venus and Friends on Life Lessons Beyond the Playing Field
  • On the Court With Andre Agassi (Matt Christopher Sports Biographies)
  • The Agassi Story

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Agassi Story
  • Andre Agassi: Through the eyes of a fan
  • On the Court With Andre Agassi (Matt Christopher Sports Biographies)
  • Agassi and Ecstasy
  • Andre Agassi: Reaching the Top-Again (Sports Achievers)

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