There Is Only One Thing Left to Do Again Ball So Hard
E ight years ago, in his raw and poignant autobiography, Open, Andre Agassi wrote: "My father yells everything twice, sometimes three times, sometimes ten. Harder, he says, harder. Hitting before. Damn it Andre, hit earlier, Crowd the brawl, crowd the ball. Now he'southward crowding me. He'south yelling. It'south not enough to hitting everything the dragon fires at me: my father wants me to hitting harder and faster than the dragon. He wants me to beat the dragon."
Andre was vii years erstwhile, in 1977, and the dragon was a ball machine his dad, Mike – a old Olympic boxer from Iran – turned into a beast. "Zero sends my father into a rage like hit a ball into the net. He foams at the mouth … My arm feels like it'south going to fall off. I want to ask: How much longer, Pops? Just I don't ask. I hit every bit hard every bit I tin can, and then slightly harder."
Forty years on an hour of conversation with Agassi is like little else in sport. The lost boy from Las Vegas is now a venerable educationalist whose eight thousand slam titles and happy marriage to Steffi Graf dwarf his previous hatred of lawn tennis and cursory brush with crystal meth. But how did his dad, now 86 and described as "loyal" and "passionate" by Agassi, react to his depiction?
"When people didn't have my nuanced accept on him they only represented him every bit calumniating. Simply my dad was articulate. He said: 'Andre, I know how I've lived and I know who I am and who I'm not. If I could do everything all over once again I would change simply ane matter – I wouldn't let you play tennis.' I'd pulled the automobile over when he said: 'I would only modify 1 thing.' I said, 'Wow, why's that Dad?' He said: 'Because I'd make you play baseball or golf so you can do it longer and make more than coin.' I got dorsum on the freeway with a chuckle."
Agassi's knowing laugh echoes his belief that "you can't spread who you lot are without existence broken first. Sometimes, when you've been broken into pieces, you come dorsum and give much more to people. You lot can see my scars and they're key to me making a difference in other lives at present. Y'all can't have any wounds in this game that don't leave scars. They never quite heal but they make yous who you are."
Agassi is then obviously intelligent information technology's tempting to wonder what he might have done if his father had been obsessive nearly teaching rather than tennis. "Yeah, only my dad is the reason I'thousand in education now," Agassi says. "My lack of education, a lack of choice, had a huge impact. The question always remains: what might you have done? But I don't accept whatsoever deep regrets."
A possible outcome, if his dad had turned the classroom into his battleground, is Agassi would have ended up hating learning and buried himself now in middle-aged games of tennis. Instead he has made a substantial impact on instruction. He was only 24 years old, wearing a mullet and hot lava pink shorts, when he started his first education foundation for underprivileged children in Vegas. In 2001, he opened a school which became an educational model in Clark County.
"That school is nevertheless thriving and our endowment allows it to live in perpetuity," Agassi says. "I and then figured out a way to scale that mission across the land and in the final 3 and a half years I deployed over $650m nationally to build 79 new schools."
How many kids has Agassi helped brainwash? "I've got 1,200 kids in my foundation school and they revolve annually. I now accept 38,000 kids nationwide revolving. I can't do the math only the numbers go up pretty quickly."
He has also launched an online lawn tennis coaching grade with Udemy, which chimes with his philosophy that education should be bachelor widely. The most interesting facets of the course focus on Agassi's lawn tennis psychology – and his attempts to help players of different levels empathize that comeback cannot always be measured in victory or defeat.
Agassi knows more about winning and losing than nigh – and his fall from being the world No1 in 1996 contains a pregnant lesson. "The real tragedy in my turn down was happening during my success – information technology was the disconnect I felt from the game. Despite existence good at information technology I had a deep resentment and fifty-fifty hatred of lawn tennis. That disconnect later on getting to No1 was fifty-fifty worse because you believe being the all-time will fill up the void. I felt nothing. Every day is Groundhog Solar day and what'due south the signal? I declined in different ways. In some cases it was lack of work. In others information technology was the self-inflicted damage of drugs. I found many ways to hurt myself.
"But I got to a point where I realised that just because I didn't choose my life doesn't hateful I tin can't have ownership of it. That was the epiphany. But epiphanies don't alter your life. It'due south what y'all do with them that changes your life. That'south when I saw children whose lack of selection was far worse than mine. I found myself feeling pretty blessed but compelled to confront the unconscionable reality of these kids – which is that, without education, there's no hope, no choice, no breaking the downward spiral. Once I started to focus on that, tennis became a vehicle for me. I started to appreciate information technology. I learned a lot when trying to become back to No1 as it's much harder. I realised you had to programme your work and piece of work your plan. That became my mantra."
Agassi became the world No1 once again in 1999 and competed in 1000 slam tournaments for another 7 years. In 2005 he lost the Us Open concluding to Roger Federer while, the following summer, he was defeated in his concluding friction match at Wimbledon past Rafael Nadal. Agassi watched his one-time adversaries play the Australian Open concluding in January – with Federer winning his 18th slam over v sets.
"I don't think anyone who cares about tennis could have missed that match. I was as neutral every bit possible considering they've both given so much and have great stories. Of grade seeing Roger win at that age was special. He never ceases to impress me but he's stopped amazing me. I expect it from him. And Nadal persevered through and so much adversity and with people writing him off. I didn't believe that with the amount of physicality he's put into his career he'd e'er get his game dorsum to that level. He certainly proved me incorrect. It was a beautiful lucifer and ane of those times you truly wish there wasn't a loser."
Did Agassi also wish he could be on court playing Federer or Nadal? "No. Y'all tin't believe you lot once were at that level – and, fifty-fifty if I could do it, I call back of my life now and ask: 'Why do they practise information technology?' Steffi said: 'Can you believe what these guys are yet willing to put themselves through?' It'southward remarkable but if I went back in time I would probably retire sooner."
Surely he misses the intensity? "I miss that the least. That was always the tough part for me. I enjoyed the work that went into making yourself the best you can exist just I hated what the scoreboard doesn't say. Information technology but tells yous if yous won or lost. Simply the biggest upshot for nigh athletes is you lot spend a third of your life not preparing for the adjacent two-thirds. 1 24-hour interval your unabridged style of life comes to an terminate. It'southward a kind of decease. You simply accept to go through it and figure information technology out. In her own tranquillity way Steffi feels stronger than me. She's pretty linear in how she lives. I probably do a fiddling more reminiscing than she does – which says a lot."
And so Graf did non mind Serena Williams overtaking her, after they had been locked on 22 slams, by winning the Australian Open? "It has no relevance in her world. The hardest function of Serena chasing down those numbers was respecting the game. Steffi doesn't desire people to feel she doesn't care about lawn tennis. She cares simply she's so asunder. Every time she was asked she felt obligated to put importance on information technology for the sake of lawn tennis and an incredible champion in Serena."
After Djokovic won the French Open terminal twelvemonth, his 12th slam title, it looked like the Serb might challenge Federer's record. But he has since lost every major, relinquished his No1 ranking to Andy Murray and was defeated again last calendar week by Nick Kyrgios in Indian Wells.
"If it was a concrete thing it would be obvious," Agassi says of Djokovic. "You don't lose it chop-chop unless you're dealing with a significant injury. So in that location'southward got to be something emotional, mental, behind the drapery that only he and his team know. Merely he's way too good to not detect the solution. He's also going to find perspective given his history. After clearing the courts of bomb shrapnel to practice I'chiliad sure he understands how cruel and tough life can be."
Murray likewise lost early in Indian Wells and, like Djokovic, will miss Miami this week with an injured elbow. "Andy has skills that are rarely outmatched. I was never the best athlete and had to think strategically. But he has so much athleticism he has a tendency to rely on that and make matches harder than they need to be. If you brought down his speed, matches might get easier considering he'd have more than confidence to go after [opponents]. He's getting more assertive and that volition assist because long-term wear and tear is a factor. Only Andy would be terribly disappointed if he didn't win another slam or ii. There'southward no question he can win more."
Who would Agassi similar to coach if he returned to tennis? "I tin point to people that would be fun and interesting. To me there's a gap between what [John] Isner, [Gaël] Monfils and Kyrgios do and what I think they could practise. That's interesting and heady simply if they don't want to be coached it would be short-lived and painful. I would pay to lookout all of those guys play just information technology'south impossible to say whether I could coach them."
The idea of Agassi working with Kyrgios is fascinating. Could it exist a brusk-term option? "I would non have whatever room now with my kids, who are xv and 13. And then the answer is no. I wouldn't be able to do it because I couldn't exercise it the way I would need to do it."
Has Agassi learned to like tennis? "There'due south a deep appreciation for the sport. That's the best style to put it."
Agassi pauses when asked if he and his wife sometimes hit a few assurance in Vegas – for old time's sake? "No. It sounds a prissy idea only as soon equally you hit the offset couple of balls you call back you can do this but y'all're besides reminded of what you lot can't do. I just thank God I played the game long enough to bask lots of good moments. Information technology gave a lot and it took a lot. I think me and tennis are about even now."
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/mar/20/andre-agassi-life-after-tennis-steffi-graf
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