By Scoop Malinowski
Late in the fifth set of finishing my 25th book Facing Andre Agassi which should be complete in February. Here is a sneak peak excerpt…
Facing Andre Agassi
Andy Roddick: There has never been a player with such a transcending effect in the sport over such a long period of time. Hundreds of players have jobs because of the fans and sponsors that he has brought to the game.
Heidi Kitchen: I had three pictures on my bedroom wall – Tom Cruise, Bobby Catalano from Dance Party USA and Andre Agassi.
Luke Jensen: We were in shark infested waters on a rented boat in Australia before Australian Open. Andre got an offer to play an exhibition somewhere in Asia for five or six figures and he declined the offer. I said, Andre, that’s only two hours, you’ll get paid a fortune for a workout session. He said he didn’t want to do it. Then he told me, he would pay me $25,000 to jump in the water and swim around the boat, but really swim around the boat, not with my hands on the sides of the boat. I said, No way, these are Great White shark infested waters. And then Andre said, and I will never forget it, “See, it’s not always about the money.”
That was a lot fun to hang out with Andre back then. He’d pay for everything and he’d always bring some kind of celebrity along.
The girls were everywhere. When I was with (Agassi), you’d see panties, naked pictures with notes.
Andre was the man on the Tour. He was the man that drove this train. Pete Sampras was the world’s No. 1, a great player. Michael Chang – great player. Thomas Muster – a great player, but (Agassi) is the man who sold the game. He’s the one who’s on the Wheaties box for our game.
I beat him one time at 1996 Memphis indoors. He was ranked 2 in the world then and had a chance to regain no. 1 that week from Pete. I was ranked 419 in singles. I served really well that night, he had trouble seeing the ball on the fast court. I got him that night but he kicked my butt so many times in juniors and pros.
Series tied 1-1
1996 Memphis R32 Indoor Hard Jensen 62 64
1987 Stratton Mountain R64 Outdoor Hard Agassi 36 63 63
Mark Harrison: I never played Andre in juniors. I played Jim Courier three times and won all three. At one of the junior tournaments in Florida, I was watching Andre play. I think it was 14s. He was on the baseline ready to return serve. And suddenly a ball from another court, hit him in the head. For a second Andre, didn’t know what happened and then he realized it was a mishit ball from the next court. And as soon as he realized what happened, he refocused and locked in… as if nothing happened.
Peter Haggar: I remember playing Andre in a junior tournament at Sarasota Bath & Racquet. It was a very cold morning about 25 degrees. I remember Andre played the whole match with a hooded sweatshirt with the hood tied up so all you could see was his eyes. He won the match 60 60 in about 25 minutes!
Margie Zesinger (IMG Head of Female Tennis): I went with Fanny Stollar to Las Vegas to train with Andre and Steffi and Gil Reyes for a week when she was turning pro. Andre gave her a lot of advices and tips but the main thing he emphasized is that she really had to love what she was doing, she had to love playing tennis, practicing and playing all the tournaments. I will never forget when he was telling her this he started to cry. Andre is very passionate about helping people, he takes mentorship very seriously.
Andre Agassi · Andy Roddick · Las Vegas · Nike · Roland Garros · US Open · Wimbledon
