In memoir, Agassi drops bombsell about meth use

Last update: October 28, 2009 - 8:01 PM

So much of Andre Agassi's life has been spent in the public eye that it was possible to wonder how much more there was to be said about it all. Plenty, it turns out. Excerpts of Agassi's upcoming autobiography published Wednesday by Sports Illustrated and the Times of London contain graphic depictions of his use of crystal meth, an account of how he wriggled his way out of a suspension by lying to the ATP tour after failing a 1997 drug test, and the jarring contention that he always hated tennis "with a dark and secret passion" because of his overbearing father. Among the material excerpted from "Open: An Autobiography":

• He writes about making money by hustling people on tennis courts and remembers when, at 9 years old, he beat former NFL great Jim Brown in a match to win a $500 bet for his father.

• He poignantly recalls a telephone conversation with his father after winning Grand Slam title No. 1 at Wimbledon in 1992. Dad's initial reaction? "You had no business losing that fourth set," Agassi writes.

• He writes about using crystal meth "a lot" and in sometimes-positive terms, including reference to "a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful -- and I've never felt such energy."

Agassi, who won eight Grand Slam singles titles before retiring in 2006, is not explaining himself at the moment. He's set to appear on "60 Minutes" on Nov. 8, the day before the book's scheduled release.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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