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AGASSI REVEALS
ALL IN NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The
admission comes to light in a new book due to be released next month which is
being serialised in The Times. Entitled ‘Open’, it is autobiography and in it
he states that he took crystal methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug, and
lied to the authorities to escape a ban. He
goes on to reveal that it was at a time when his career was at a low ebb in
1997, struggling to keep abreast of professional and personal issues
involving his forthcoming marriage to actress Brook Shields. He
tested positive for the drug but by writing a letter to ATP stating that it
had been taken by accident, he mamaged to avoid any punishment. The
39-year-old, who retired in 2006, has now revealed that he was introduced to
the drug while sitting at home with his one-time assistant known as Slim. He
writes: "Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts
it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and
consider the Rubicon I've just crossed." "There
is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes a tidal wave of
euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt
so alive, so hopeful - and I've never felt such energy. "I'm
seized by a desperate desire to clean. I go tearing around my house, cleaning
it from top to bottom. I dust the furniture. I scour the tub. I make the
beds." |
He
continued the story by relating that a call from a doctor working for the ATP
in the autumn of 1997, informed him that he had failed a drug test in the
year that he failed to win a title,
missed the Australian and French Opens as well as Wimbledon, and falling
to 141 in the world rankings – the worst year of his career. "My
name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved,
whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing," Agassi wrote.
"Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and
write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of
truth. "I
say Slim, whom I've since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often
spikes his sodas with meth - which is true. Then I come to the central lie of
the letter. "I
say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas,
unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and
hastily sign it: Sincerely. "I
feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of
it." Agassi
said the ATP reviewed his case and while he faced a minimum three-month ban,
decided to believe his account and the case was withdrawn. Asked
how he thought his fans would react if they found out he was using drugs,
Agassi said: "I was worried for a moment, but not for long - I wore my
heart on my sleeve and my emotions were always written on my face. I was
actually excited about telling the world the whole story." Picture
Fotosports International MORE MISSPENDING BY LTA
The sum of £500,000, an amount comparable if not higher
than the tennis budgets of many countries, including Lithuania, Britain’a
next Davis Cup opponents, was revealed in accounts |
unveiled at the recent LTA Council meeting. The costs of the canteen which provides fresh and
healthy foods for the players attending camps, coaching sessions as well as
those nominated to LTA squads based at Roehampton, is now being questioned. Especially as full time LTA staff get their meals there
at a much reduced rate, as no doubt do the Councillors themselves. The original objective when the NTC was opened early in
2007, was to ensure that not only healthy food was provided for growing
youngsters, but also providing them with an introduction to a dietary regime
suitable for athletes. But it seems to have got a bit out of hand. There are
cases, for instance, of coaches just coming in to take advantage of the
canteen’s facilities even when they are not there on official business! This
no doubt is a result of Roger Draper’s insistence that anyone in tennis
should view the NTC as their home, which is being taken literally! I understand that more than 300 meals a-day are being
served but which an LTA spokesman justifies as follows: “We are serving three
meals a day, seven days a week because the place is busy.” He added: “We have full-time staff working in the
canteen rather than contractors, which is more cost-effective.” And, concluding on the half-million loss: “A decision
was made to subsidise it when we moved here because we are in a relatively isolated
location where it is not easy to reach places for eating. If we were located
in central London there would not be such a need.” It just underlines one of the problems originally
raised when the LTA first revealed they were moving their headquarters to
Roehampton from Baron Court. A problem the ITF also encountered some years
before the LTA’s move to the Bank of England’s Sport Ground. Picture
LTA |
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