One of the most striking parts of the book is Andre’s experimentation with his personality. His relationships with various women are well-documented. Gil acts as a proxy father to Andre while being his best friend. The hero of this group is definitely Gil, Agassi’s strength teacher. How he tries various combinations and finally succeeds in finding his support group. He then goes on to talk about how he finds his family, his strength, his base. Then he slowly goes on to describe all the pains it takes to become a professional athlete: dropping out of school, leaving his best friend, not having a normal life. Incidentally, it was this dragon that made Andre the best returner in his time. His favorite technique for that was the dragon, which forced Andre to hit a few 100 balls every day. He talks about how his father, Mike Agassi bullies him and prevents Andre from ever loving the sport. But in the course of the book, starting from his childhood coaching, where he was the only Agassi child who showed an aptitude to Tennis, to his final match, he gives us reasons why he hates the game.Īnd that just makes you love the game more.Īndre begins his story at the start. One of the greatest Tennis players of all times hates Tennis. The book starts on the premise that Andre hates Tennis. This sports autobiography, full of metaphors and introspection, is way beyond just the superficial sports pop phenomenon named Andre Agassi. And that’s exactly what you find in ‘ Open‘. It’s like he’s saying, come closer and I’ll tell you all my secrets. But the vulnerable and open (pun intended) expression on his face gets to you. It’s a plain and simple cover: just a close-up of Andre’s face. The first thing that strikes you about this book is the cover. Advantage, service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.”

“It’s no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life.

Open andre agassi review