Sunday

Andre Agassi's drugs confession

In his autobiography "Open", Andre Agassi controversially confesses to taking the recreational drug crystal meth while competing on the ATP tour back in 1997, and perhaps even more shockingly, to asking / allowing a friend to take the rap when he failed a doping test around the same time. Now, if it had been bad-boy John McEnroe who had made the admission, perhaps no one would have been that surprised, but the fact that it was Andre Agassi, who was (and still is) regarded as one of tennis's greatest ambassadors makes it doubly unpalatable.

Andre went on after that episode to regain tennis's top spot and win numerous titles - one wonders what would have happened if he'd been banned for his drug-taking. Would his career have taken off in the same way? Obviously we'll never know. Andre has since expressed his regret over the incident, but the question is: why did he feel the need to make the disclosure in the first place? What does he hope to achieve?

Marat Safin, another former world number one and grand slam winner, recently had the following to say:

He feels guilty? So let him just give back his titles, money, his grand slams! If he is so fair play, he should go all the way. You know, ATP have a bank account, he can refund if he wants to.


Safin also goes on to speculate about Andre's motives for the disclosure, suggesting that it's all about selling his book. There may well be substance to that - I've certainly not heard a more convincing reason yet. At best though, one feels that it's an ill-advised move which is unlikely to enhance Agassi's reputation. Fortunately he has a lot of moral capital to draw on, built up by years of humanitarian and charitable work.

Great tennis comebacks: Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi burst onto the professional tennis scene in 1986 as a precocious 16 year old who quickly established himself as a supremely talented, if somewhat rebellious individual. Who can forget his rockstar mane (which, it turns out was actually a wig) or the bright neon-and-denim outfits he used to turn up to play in? A lesser personality would not have gotten away with it, but his phenomenal talent, charm and charisma meant that ordinary rules did not apply to him.

By the end of 1988 he had already reached number 3 in the world rankings and earned over $2 million, and was a regular grand-slam semi-finalist, but he had to wait until 1992 for his first grand slam title - Wimbledon - which was a tremendous achievement for a baseline player at a time when serve-volley players still ruled the grass courts.

In spite of his talent and success however, Agassi was regarded as somewhat weak mentally, a player who could be beaten if you could hang in long enough against him. He wasn't prepared to graft as much as certain other less-talented players, relying rather on his natural ability to carry him through. This all began to change in 1994 when he teamed up with Brad Gilbert, perhaps the most cunning tactician of the modern tennis era. Gilbert worked with Andre to develop his tactical nous, which undoubtedly was a major factor in his longevity and later success.

But the pressure began to tell in 1997 when injuries and personal issues took their toll on Andre's game, and by the end of the year his ranking had slumped to 141 in the world, which for a player of his ability was almost unthinkable.

His comeback started in 1998 with Andre working hard on his conditioning and working his way back up the rankings by playing in Challenger Series tournaments. He won the French Open in 1999, the only grand slam to elude him up until then, and in so doing joined a very select group of players to have won all four grand slam singles titles during his career.

He carried on playing at the top level until 2006 when he was eventually forced to retire due to chronic injuries at the age of 36. By then he was very much the elder statesman of the game, having transformed himself from the unruly teenage sensation to a mature, tough competitor who was (and still is) a great tennis ambassador.

Great tennis comebacks: Kim Clijsters

Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters recently completed a fairytale comeback to win the 2009 US Open grand slam event after being out of the professional game for almost two years. In so doing, she cemented her place in the Great Tennis Comebacks hall of fame.

Kim retired from professional tennis in May 2007, shortly before her 24th birthday. Despite playing on the tour for almost ten years, it was almost universally felt that she was too young to retire and was prematurely ending a good career which could have ended up being a great one. Kim's stated reasons for leaving tennis were injuries and a desire to start a family, which she duly did - her daughter Jada was born in February 2008.

So naturally she was received back with open arms when in March 2009 she announced her intention to return. She was granted wildcard entries into tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto, where she reached the quarter finals and third round respectively - a good enough showing to then be granted a wildcard for the main draw of the US Open which she had won in 2005. In the 2009 tournament she played some solid tennis, defeating both Venus and Serena Williams on her way to the title where she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

When announcing her return to the game, Kim stated that she would evaluate the success of her comeback after the US Open, both in tennis terms and how it works combined with her new family responsibilities. It was surely an unmitigated success on the first count, so let's hope she can find a way to balance her personal commitments so that we can see more of her, because surely this is a player with potential to achieve a lot more in tennis.