Agassi's Open

I am a big fan of Terry Gross who hosts Fresh Air which I listen to on WNYC. She recently did an interview with tennis star Andre Agassi which I really enjoyed. I have a friend who was a huge Agassi fan when we were 13 or so. She decided one summer that we should go to the US Open, why not, we lived in Queens. We didn't have any money for tickets but she was convinced we could look cute (and pathetic) enough for people to give us tickets at the entrance. Somehow, our scheme worked. We went two years in a row and managed to get into the players lounge as well. It was swell.

Terry Gross talked to Agassi about his recently released book, Open. He reveals this, "I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have." (This is a huge revelation coming from a guy who was ranked no. 1). It's an interesting conversation where he describes his childhood of tennis camps and his father. His father was a former Iranian boxing champion and tennis fanatic, who pushed him to achieve in Tennis, to complete an immigrant's dream for his child. The best part of the interview was about Agassi's hair (and its malfunctions). It cracked me up. You can hear the entire interview and read an exert from the book on Fresh Air.