so I got hold of this book by the legendary player. and I am happy that I did! I mean I have read a lot of sportsmen biographies. But none of them were as interesting as this one - maybe Stephen Waugh's (thats how his wife calls him btw) "out of my comfort zone" did come close, but then I read it like 7 years back and much a kid then maybe. Anyway. So the tennis star some of you may not even have seen on TV (the nadal-djokovic ppl - i like the djoker btw), was not my best tennis player back in the day - i must admit i was a cricket person anyway but yes - it was "pistol pete". I had some change in perspective about him over these years a little bit but still. Maybe it was the pony tail I dint like as a kid or something. But I am a fan-boy after reading the book. Throughout the pages I have read so far, you see a person with a heart. You never get that sense of some super-machine churning out performance after another performance through a high stakes and high profile living. That was what I always felt while I read those cricket biographies. I mean guys like Gilchrist did mention and elaborate on their vulnerable side but Andre took it to just another level.
So much so that you stop of think - "hey did this guy win those 8 grand slams?" and also"the career slam - winning the 4 coveted trophies something none of the modern greats have been able to achieve among men". So there is Andre Agassi, the affable rebel wearing "hot lava" t shirts which others see as pink and wearing a hairpiece - yes those flowing hair which amde the headlines were not real, the pony tail although was real. Adn whats more, he was afraid of the world to know that he was carrying such a lie with him.
So media criticized him, peers hated him and his father was demanding but never showed the faith in him as a person. He doubted himself more than any other person and lost a lot more than he won in his initial years. But, there was the heart and the knowledge that he was destined for it. Throw in the love life among Wendi, stars such as Barbara streisand and Brooke shields and eventually his landing up with the tennis superstar Steffi Graf. There was heartbreak and healing. So all in all, the mechanical writing I have managed here would not and does not capture the lement of affability, heart, charm and humanness that is possessed by and in the story of the champion of andre agassi. and if you care to have some good hours of enjoyment or even weeks if you spread it out, by all means be browsing flipkart.com after this.
