Andre Agassi opened up about his struggles in his book, ‘Open’ in 2009, and that book shook the tennis world. No one knew that a top player like Agassi was fighting several battles and that he did not even like the sport in which he excelled tremendously. Moreover, his constant agony caused by his confusion about what he is doing made the American tennis legend more frustrated.

He opened up about all this in his book. He was accused of tanking his matches or not doing well enough. This all mounted pressure on the player and he eventually felt drained out and frustrated with himself.

Andre Agassi was irritated by his performance, and others’ nagging

Agassi had lost a match to Pete Sampras at the 1995 US Open and this had affected him on a deeper level than he would have liked. He opened up about it in his book, ‘Open’. He said, “I don’t want to admit to Perry or myself that a loss to Pete can have this kind of lingering effect.” 

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Furthermore, he talked about his next encounter with Sampras in San Jose. Here again, he lost the match as well as his temper. Looking back at his performance, Agassi said, “I go to San Jose and get annihilated by Pete. Pete looks bemused.”

Following his humbling against Sampras, he lost to Michael Chang in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells, and Alberto Costa in Monte Carlo. Eventually, he opened up to his fitness trainer, Gil Reyes, and told him the truth about the loss against Sampras. He stated, “I’ve lost the will. Then let’s not do this, Gil says.” He added, “I want to quit, I say, but I don’t know how—or when.”

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At the 1996 French Open, he defeated Jacobo Diaz, but during the match, he got very aggressive. He stated, “I’m one mother f*ing c*ksucker away from getting DQ’d for the tournament.” In the next round, he lost to Chris Woodruff. Subsequently, Agassi noted what sportswriters had to say about him. Agassi stated, “When I tank, they say I’m not good enough; when I’m not good enough, they say I tank.”

Agassi had a rough childhood. His father indulged him in intense training, which obviously helped him become a great player, but killed his love for the sport. Throughout his career, he won eight major titles and 60 singles titles. ‘The Punisher’ eventually married 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf and now lives outside the hustle and bustle of tennis.