Falling from the sky

Continuing on from my earlier thoughts about Andre Agassi's autobiography, here's a really nice interview with the man. A big chunk of it is spent discussing his relationship and love for Steffi Graf (Stefani or Stef to Andre).

(The interview is spread over multiple pages, so do read them all. Also, someone asked me why my earlier post was titled "Stuck in a date". I based it on a translation of, "आसमान से गिरा, खजूर में अटका.")

Agassi has been pilloried by many of his peers for his admissions of past indiscretions, and addresses the reason for writing the book here.

(All emphasis in bold are mine.)

SPIEGEL: Then why did you write this book?

Agassi: I felt like I had a lot of things to say. I felt that there are a lot of people who wake up in a life they didn't choose. There's a lot of grown-ups that are in a marriage they don't want to be in. There's a lot of teenagers trying hopelessly to understand themselves. And I felt a book could be a platform to give people hope, inspiration and the tools to better their life.

SPIEGEL: Isn't that a bit much? That sounds like a missionary's approach.

Agassi: Well, if I did not believe that people might learn a lot about me -- and maybe a lot about themselves -- through my story, I wouldn't have done it.

SPIEGEL: I guess you didn't need the money, did you?

Agassi: (laughs) I have a lot more to lose than to gain with what I've written. I put endorsements on the line, but also my reputation, my character -- or how it is perceived -- and some relationships.

(...)

Agassi: You've got one chance to tell your story; you've got to give it all you've got. It's like in sports or when you are pregnant or when you become a father: You have to commit without fearing failure. I had no idea where this would lead me. I knew the different stories of my life but not the meaning, not the story of it all. I had the pearls but no idea what the necklace would look like.

SPIEGEL: Books on sports are usually a lot like cheating: There are five or six interviews, and then a ghostwriter sits down and pens something nice -- and everybody makes money.

Agassi: Maybe, but I wanted something different. When I went into retirement three years ago, I was reading this book called "The Tender Bar" and rationing its pages because it was giving me an escape from a lot of the feelings I was going through. It was so powerful. I wondered if my life -- looked at through a literary lens -- could impact somebody the way this book impacted me. What would my life look like through a real deep analytical view of my psyche and my contradictions?