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\nAbout the Author
\nAndre Kirk Agassi\xa0is an American retired professional tennis player and former\xa0world No. 1\xa0whose career spanned from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. [4] \xa0In singles, Agassi is an eight-time\xa0Grand Slam\xa0champion and a\xa01996 Olympic gold medalist, as well as being a runner-up in seven other Grand Slam tournaments.
\nDuring the\xa0Open Era, Agassi was the first male player to win four Australian Open titles, a record that was later surpassed by\xa0Novak Djokovic\xa0when he won his fifth title in 2015, and then by\xa0Roger Federer\xa0in 2017. Agassi is one of five male singles players to achieve the\xa0Career Grand Slam\xa0in the Open Era.
\nAgassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006. He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, [16] \xa0which has raised over $60\xa0million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada. [17] \xa0In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public\xa0charter school\xa0for at-risk children. [18] \xa0He has been married to fellow tennis player\xa0Steffi Graf\xa0since 2001.
\nSource:\xa0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Agassi
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\nAbout the book
\nHe is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court \u2013 but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game.
\nCoaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, Agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself, an inner conflict that would define him. In his beautiful, haunting autobiography, Agassi tells the story of a life framed by conflict.
\nYet, despite raw talent, he struggles. We feel his confusion as he loses to the world\u2019s best, his greater confusion as he starts to win. After stumbling in three Grand Slam finals, Agassi shocks the world, and himself, by capturing the 1992 Wimbledon title. Overnight he becomes a fan favourite and a media target.
\nAgassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match, and every public relationship. He reveals the depression that shatters his confidence, and the mistake that nearly costs him everything. Finally, he recounts his spectacular resurrection and his march to become the oldest man ever ranked number one.
\nSource:\xa0https://www.amazon.com.au/Open-Autobiography-Andre-Agassi-
ebook/dp/B002VYJYR8
Links
\nFind out more about Andre\u2019s foundation:\xa0http://www.agassifoundation.org/
\nWatch the 10 greatest Agassi ATP shots:\xa0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxf4W5pPD98
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\nBIG IDEA 1 (7:32) \u2013 Doing things other people want you to do, won\u2019t make you happy.
\nAndre Agassi was pushed into tennis by his father as his last hope of having a pro sporting offspring.
\nAt a young age, Andre was playing tennis against much older children. At thirteen, he was sent to Bollettieri Academy in Florida where he was pushed even more into tennis competitions and doing things he didn\u2019t want to do. He rebelled as a teenager and into his career \u2013 most famously against the Wimbledon dress code traditions. He also did not follow some court rules which put him in trouble several times.
\nAndre spent his life being pushed into things and not knowing how to manage it. As a result he had some famous acts of rebellion such as the clothes he wore, ear piercings and his hair colour (before he lost his hair). He didn\u2019t have control over anything because everything he did in his life was designed by others to make him a tennis player.\xa0
\nThis lack of control or choices played out later in his life and throughout his career even in some of the relationships he had. He was deeply unhappy in his career and couldn\u2019t wait for it to be over.\xa0
\nDoing things people want you to do all the time won\u2019t make you happy. There\u2019s clearly a need\xa0 for give and take \u2013 where can you relinquish control and where can you gain control so you get a balance between doing things for yourself and for other people.\xa0
\nBIG IDEA 2 (10:40) \u2013 Find your lifeguard.
\nAndre found a much-needed father figure in Gil who became more than just his trainer. Andre considered Gil his life guard because Gil nurtured, protected and made him feel he could do things that Andre actually didn\u2019t believe he could. Gil made sure Andre was conditioned and in good mental and physical state to compete at the highest level.
\nHe also found another person who understood him and whom he eventually had a relationship with (and married) in Steffi Graf. Steffi understood his life as she had much the same upbringing being pushed into tennis as well from a young age and competing at the highest levels of tennis.\xa0
\nBIG IDEA 3 (12:26) \u2013 Give back what you wish you\u2019d had.
\nAgassi opened a foundation for kids that is designed to create an environment for nurturing education \u2013 an experience that Andre didn\u2019t have (and ironically, Andre hated school). Their mantra is all about respect. He was able to give back what he didn\u2019t have and give them the opportunity to enjoy as kids to improve their future prospects.\xa0
\nEven the physical environment of the school is designed to promote aspiration to learn and go to college to further their education. He is incredibly proud of this and it is a huge part of what he stands for as he realises that he is in a unique position to be able to give kids opportunities that he didn\u2019t have when he was young.\xa0
\nMusic By:\xa0\xa0Blue \u2013 Instrumental Version Song by Faith Richards
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