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INSIDE TENNIS: So how are you feeling about saying
goodbye?
ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I'm looking forward to this summer. I feel
every bit as good about my decision as the days have passed.
But, obviously, there's a certain sadness to it and bittersweet
feelings. You sort of want it to last forever, but you know it
can't.
IT: Arguably, no other athlete has changed so markedly over the
years. When all is said and done, what are the two or three keys
about transformation, about changing yourself? Is it about listening
to yourself? Facing fears? The willingness to change?
AA: For me, it's always been about the process - the battle,
not the destination. Whether it's trying to figure out my tennis
or something else, it's about everyday actuality and appreciating
that life happens in between your plans. That's where the joy
is for me.
IT: You've told us that tennis is such a great teacher. Does
it teach you patience, discipline, a willingness to go to plan
B?
AA: You're out there by yourself and have to figure a way to
get the most out of yourself regardless of how good you are.
Some days you're at 100 percent and produce your best. Other
days, you can't, but you have to realize that getting 100 percent
out of an 80 percent day is a major accomplishment. It's about
always trying to find a way of getting the most out of yourself.
It's discipline, problem solving, perseverance, patience.
IT: Was your best fighting result on court in '99 in the French
Open final, when you were down two sets to Andrei Medvedev?
AA: For sure, because I was paralyzed out there. I was nervous.
Seeing how I started and how I finished, it was probably the
greatest example of problem solving because I was fighting myself
first. Then, once I started to loosen up, I still had to deal
with him and being two sets to love down.
IT: That win was even more important than your first Grand Slam
- Wimbledon '92 - after seven years of futility in the majors.
AA: There was just so much more on the line, from where I was
personally at the time, coming off a difficult time in my life
[his divorce with Brooke Shields]. Plus, clay was never my best
surface. It was the last of the four Grand Slams that I won.
It was the pressure and what was on the line for me personally
and professionally which brought out the worst and the best of
me all in one match.
IT: And as a kid you were more than feisty. What do you think
that young teenage persona would think of Andre Agassi the family
man, the community man, the reflective guy who talks with such
insight?
AA: All those qualities were in that teenager. So I hope he would've
recognized a lot of it. I'm not sure if that's the case, but
I always cared about a lot of things. I just never knew how to
communicate, never understood or really accepted responsibility
for myself, and that's a growing process. I don't know if any
of us would recognize ourselves when we were 17 or 18 years old.
IT: I sure wouldn't
have. Where do you think you picked up the stand-up quality of
accountability, where you take responsibility for all your actions
in word and deed?
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AA: It's been a hard evolution. I always had a certain level
of desire to face the truth. I just grew into a lot more than
my little world.
IT: Always a desire to face the truth? So what about facing the
truth this spring when you were struggling with your body and
knew the end was near?
AA: This year was the toughest part of this whole process. The
decision to retire wasn't as difficult or emotional a decision
as I anticipated. But the process to get there was uncomfortable
and frustrating. It's so easy to question yourself at 36, to
second guess, to be unsure. And at the same time, you're pulling
a lot of people along with you, your family and coaches and years
of hard work, so you just don't want to get out there and feel
ordinary. So it was a real struggle this year, missing Australia,
plus that two good days/two bad days rhythm that I had for months.
But the time off and skipping the clay allowed me to get my arms
around it. I managed to hold it off as long as I could. I held
off on more injections until after Wimbledon, and it became pretty
clear how I wanted everything to go from there.
IT: So you're happy?
AA: Yes, absolutely. Parts of it were tough. I don't feel like
there's any real heavy drama to this process outside of the emotion
of feeling very connected to a lot of people that I won't be
around as much. That's why it's good I live in Vegas. It gives
people a reason to say, "I'll go to Vegas. Hey, Andre is there."
They'll [come to] say hello. [The time] after the U.S. Open and
early this year was very difficult on me. I tore all the ligaments
in my ankle and couldn't compete, move or train the way I wanted...
I got behind the eight ball. The process of fighting to still
have a competitive year was quite frustrating. I was in torment
because you never like being ordinary out there. You're not used
to it. You're not comfortable. But I don't regret any decisions
I've made. I know it's the right time for me. There's just too
much to do out there.
IT: You've said that when you're operating on your instincts,
you don't trust yourself. Why's that? Do you think you didn't
have a chance in terms of your life as a young kid and then going
off to Nick's academy, then finding yourself - plunk - right
on the circuit that you just didn't have the chance to work with
your instincts?
AA: I'm the kind of guy who feels something and then has to understand
it down the road. I'm not one of those who thinks something and
then puts it into practice and ends up feeling connected to it.
I'm very reactive. My heart leads my head in many cases. Experience
has taught me that I can't always trust what I feel. That's one
of the things I love and hate about myself. It has its good points
and its difficult ones. It's been a lot of tough lessons, but
it's been very fulfilling.
IT: And then there's your concern over order on the court. The
ball boy has to be exactly here, the balls have to be exactly
there, etc. Is that because you want your world to be set so
you can go out there and perform or ...
AA: Strangely, I'm highly sensitive to what's around me in many
cases and in some cases, I'm clueless. When it comes to the parameters
of the playing arena, I'm just very aware of where everybody
is, and I just prefer to keep the focus.
IT: I want to talk about generations. Your family story is just
incredible. Your great-grandfather comes from Armenia to make
furniture. Your grandfather goes from Russia on foot with a donkey
over the mountains to Tehran. Your father leaves Tehran and ends
up in Chicago with a few bucks in his pocket. Then you break
through and now you have this incredible family.
AA: I only hear the stories as you hear them. I know my father's
history, but for me, they are just stories, too. It's amazing
when I hear it. [But what touches me] is what his life was like
in America. Then I'm amazed. I have two kids now, and my parents
had two kids and a dog and got in a car in Chicago and drove
to the West to figure out where my dad could play tennis twelve
months a year, not knowing whether he was going to work. So he
set up shop in a little desert town called Vegas and took care
of two courts at the Tropicana to teach lessons on one and have
his kids play on the other. He held down two jobs for most of
our lives to raise four children. I marvel at that. I know what
it takes just to raise the two we have with a lot of resources.
IT: You sound like
you are at peace with your father, a man who was very difficult
for you.
AA: We've been through our moments. As I took his passions upon
my shoulders, it created a lot of confusion and conflict inside
me. At the same time, I realize as I've gotten older, just how
honest he's always been with what he cares about.
IT: What a sense of purpose and work ethic.
AA: Yeah, he's driven. He still works every day. The man has
a fire in his belly that I admire.
IT: If you had the choice again, would you go to Nick's academy?
Or maybe scratch it?
AA: Life was going to have a lot of trials and tribulations for
me, whatever road I ended up choosing. No, I needed to go for
this career, and tennis has been a great friend. It's been a
great relationship. I've learned a lot and grown a lot and have
a lot as a result of it. It's been 20 years of me practicing
for tomorrow. I've learned a lot to prepare myself now for the
rest of my life. Hopefully, God willing, my life will be a lot
more than the 20 years in tennis.
IT: All of us make mistakes in our lives. You just make it in
the public square. If the gods from the rewrite desk said, "Hey,
you can go back and change any of your decisions," whether it
was skipping the Wimbys and the Australian Opens, or winning
that 22-point rally against Pete [on set point in the '95 U.S.
Open final], or passing on doing the "image is everything" ad
campaign, what would you choose?
AA: If I could avoid the mistake while maintaining the lessons
learned, I would rewrite all of them. But if I had to give up
what I learned as a result of them, it's impossible. It's been
a tough road, but it's been well worth it. So if I didn't have
to give up what I've learned, I would go back and rewrite every
moment that I made somebody feel less than they deserve.
IT: And the entertainer George Lopez said, "This guy has gone
from 'image is everything' to 'humanity is everything.'"
AA: That comment speaks volumes. It meant a lot to me to hear
it.
IT: Your trainer and friend Gil Reyes says the character of any
athlete can be judged not so much when he retires but in ten
years or so afterwards, when you can see what he's given back.
What's your vision of the future?
AA: Giving back is something I've valued since I was a teen,
something I committed to in my own mind as early as 15. The question
was how and when. I didn't know what success, what resources
I'd have. But I knew it mattered. For me, it starts with children
and ends with children. That's a responsibility that falls on
everybody's shoulders. They're our future, so I started my foundation
13 years ago. Now I have dreams of my school becoming the model
for how education can be in our country. Our academy is taking
kids one year to two years behind in education, and we're bringing
them up to grade level inside a year. We're nationally recognized
for our achievements. So we're not just throwing money at a problem;
we're proving you can change a child's life by teaching them
that there aren't shortcuts, by creating a culture. My hope would
be to connect the dots and create a road map on how this can
be duplicated all across our country. That would make me feel
good.
IT: You also heard plenty of kudos at Wimbledon. The event is
so much more than a tennis tournament. It's about tradition,
culture, and how to treat people. What are the things you've
learned from going to Wimbledon?
AA: This was a place that first taught me to respect the sport,
to appreciate the opportunity and privilege to play a game for
a living. People work five days a week to play on the weekend.
We get to call it a job. I learned that at Wimbledon - missing
it for a few years, coming back, being embraced, seeing the respect
for tennis and the respect for the competitors, the appreciation.
The fans are here rain or shine. They sit through some tough
conditions just to see a few minutes of play. Whether they're
queuing up outside or sitting with their umbrellas on Centre
Court, it's quite a love. That's what separates Wimbledon from
every other event.
IT: Is there anything more touching in sports than that incredible
spectator queue that goes on for a mile or so, for 36 hours or
more?
AA: No. It's real humbling to be driving in and see these people
living there for days to, hopefully, get in to see a little bit
of tennis - most likely on the back courts. It really makes you
appreciate.
IT: And what of the U.S. Open, with all its razzmatazz?
AA: New York has taught me how to be a better player and to be
a better person. It's the toughest environment in our sport.
It's challenged me to be more of myself. As a result, I've grown
in places I wouldn't have grown in otherwise. In turn, they've
become my biggest supporters. That relationship means the world
to me.
IT: It must be some charge to go out in front of a full house
at Ashe at night and sense that 44,000 eyeballs are on you.
AA: Oh, yeah. I've had many moments, but I can almost guarantee
you, none will be more [incredible] than this year coming up.
IT: How would you assess your U.S. Open years in '94 and '99?
These were your two triumphs, and then there was your fabulous
run last year.
AA: A lot of ups and downs. I've had some real disappointing
moments there [four losses to Sampras], some great triumphs,
great single-match memories that stand out, the feeling of playing
there at night.
IT: And one or two matches that pop out?
AA: Well, last year's against Blake [in the quarters]. There's
nothing like what I felt out there that night. Playing Connors
at night there when I was a teenager.
IT: Plus, there were
all your matches with Sampras.
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AA: It was amazing to have that rivalry. He gave me things that
I aspired to. In many cases, he taught me what I wanted to be.
And in many cases, he taught me what I didn't want to be. It
was a rivalry that existed on so many layers, the way we played
the game, the way we went about our sport... If we woke up as
the other one, we'd both be living in a nightmare.
IT: He would just not want...
AA: Any part of my life, nor me his. It was that way when we
were going to play on Sunday or if we weren't. We just were complete
opposites, which lent itself to even a more special rivalry.
IT: He had a famous crack, "All I would want from his life was
his plane." What of his would you like?
AA: His serve.
IT: Probably, Pete and Federer are the two best players you've
ever faced. It they're playing against each other in the U.S.
Open deep into the last set, who emerges?
AA: I've been privileged to play them both. It's a pleasure to
watch Roger when you're in the thick of it with him, which speaks
volumes for just what he's able to do on the court, because you're
not in the mindset of giving somebody unnecessary credit when
you're competing against him. But what Roger brings to the court,
I've never seen before.
IT: Andre, let's briefly run through the different strokes and
tell me the toughest ones you've faced. Is Federer's forehand...
AA: It's arguably the best that's ever been in the game.
IT: Sampras' serve?
AA: There are others with better serves, but he defended his
serve well and that makes a difference. When you talk about a
serve versus a hold game, you're talking about two entirely different
things. Wayne Arthurs has one of the most beautiful serves you'll
ever see. If you gave Pete Wayne Arthurs' serve, he would have
been that much nastier.
IT: Best backhand: Connors, Guga Kuerten or...
AA: The first person that comes to mind, in terms of the high
end of what their backhand is capable of, is [Marat] Safin. The
guy can cane the ball and hurt you off returns, off stretch balls.
And [David] Nalbandian's backhand is one of the most controlled
shots that I've seen off the double-handed wing. As far as one-handers,
one of the most beautiful to watch was Guga or Tommy Hass, who
has a beautiful one-hander.
IT: And the volley - Edberg?
AA: Just the fundamentals on volleys? Yeah, Edberg. He's the
one you felt like would miss the least volleys. But then you
got a guy like [Patrick] Rafter who was such an athlete. The
way he could cover the net presented a whole different kind of
problem.
IT: And quickness? It used to be Chang. Now it's Nadal or Hewitt.
AA: No, no. Hewitt's not in Nadal's league as far as speed goes.
I would put Nadal up there. You could argue Federer, or you could
argue [German] Bjorn Phau. That might shock you, but he's lightning.
IT: Mental toughness - Connors, McEnroe or maybe...
AA: You give value to somebody who's done it for years, but I've
never seen anybody treat every point as importantly as Nadal.
He treats every point like that's the point he wants to win.
He doesn't care what he has to put himself through. I've seen
him be down 6-0, 3-0 against Roddick at the U.S. Open that one
year, and win a game and fist pump and mean it.
IT: Few others have seen more changes in tennis. What adjustments
did you have to make since the early days of Connors, McEnroe
and Lendl?
AA: The fitness level has only increased over the years. Connors
was 5-foot-9. Now you've got guys routinely that are 6-foot-3
and above. It's rare that you play somebody under that. The physicality
has changed dramatically. Compare Nadal at 20 to me at 20. It's
a sport that has started to figure out that the stronger and
more physical you are, the more capable you are as an athlete.
I was onto that earlier than most, building my strength and the
base that was the foundation of my game. As a result, I served
bigger and was able to handle pace better so as the game got
faster, I could just shorten my swing. I got smarter with my
shots. I've had to get more aggressive. It used to be where I
could just run people around until they fell to the ground. But
guys are just too strong now. It's a different game than in the
past.
IT: So how would Andre of today handle Andre the 20-year-old?
Would it be a pretty fast match?
AA: I want to hope so, but if I can't rotate or lunge, or if
I have some of the ailments I've had the last few years and you
stick me on the wrong day, it could be a pain for Andre - whichever
one you're talking about. It depends what day I'm having. It's
been a lot of that for me. But I want to believe that I've gotten
better over the years. This year is a bit of an exception. I
haven't found my best, that's for sure.
IT: Years from now, when Jaden's kid comes up to you and says,
"Hey, gramps, what did you contribute most to that game of tennis?"
what would you...
AA: When I first came onto the scene, I was the first person
to hit
the ball big off both wings, [to] take the ball early and give
it a good ride if I was in position off both sides. I would love
to feel like I was part of that evolution of the game, that I
helped the game and those around me get better.
IT: Let's switch and talk about women's tennis. When you look
at Stephanie's game...it's still hard for me to call her Stephanie...
AA: Sure. You don't have to. Her mom calls her Steffi.
IT: Okay. Steffi had so many weapons. Do you see anyone on the
circuit now who could take her down?
AA: A sport goes through periods where it changes a lot, where
athletes get stronger and better. I haven't necessarily seen
that over the last seven years in the women's game. The Williams
sisters had a real opportunity to raise the athleticism and the
standard of the game. But, it just seems that everyone's been
plagued with injury. And Steff has a game that, to this day,
is tough for people to handle. Her backhand was a low slice,
and she had that big forehand, and she moved really well.
IT: Underrated serve, tough competitor.
AA: Yeah, she moved really well. That's key. You had to be able
to sort of get in on her backhand. That was the most you could
hope for.
IT: You've had exceptional relationships and marriages with incredible
women: obviously Barbra Streisand, Brooke Shields and Steffi.
You've experienced some of the more compelling women of our...
AA: Not just women - people. Barbra is one of the most fascinating
people you'd ever meet.
IT: Because of her intensity, her mind?
AA: Talk about somebody who strives for perfection, who holds
a stronger light on herself than others do. It's admirable in
so many ways, and it's also a curse. It's the simple things in
life, though. It's not how you think; it's how you choose to
live. Sometimes the most profound moments come from the simplest
of actions. That's the beauty of my life now. I get to live with
[that quality] every day. I'm with someone who speaks volumes
with how she chooses to live every moment. It's a beautiful thing.
IT: You've quipped that you feel no more pressure than when you're
cutting your daughter's fingernails? The heck with center court
or a final-set tiebreaker.
AA: It's some of the most pressure when your child is trying
to cough up a piece of fruit that they didn't quite swallow.
Getting that piece out of their throat is as much pressure as
I've ever felt.
IT: So, in the end, this tennis career of yours has been a great
ride, hasn't it?
AA: It's been an amazing, amazing ride.
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