Was Andre Agassi "Open" With The I-Man?

Andre Agassi hopes his new book Open gets into a lot of people's hands, and not only because it will pad his bank account. "There's a lot of hope in this story," he promised.

Open describes more than just what it was like to be one of the world's greatest tennis players. Agassi shares his experience using the very addictive drug crystal meth, and also reveals an unfortunate incident where his wig almost fell off at the 1990 French Open.

Agassi told Imus today that prior to his drug use, "things were pretty foggy" anyway. "One day was bleeding into the next," he said of his depressed state in the late 1990s. Crystal meth was a way out.

"I woke up in a life I didn't choose, a life I found myself in, a marriage I didn't want to be in," he said, referring to then-wife Brooke Shields. "And someone came along and offered me an escape. And I took it."

He used some marijuana as a "punk, rebellious kid," but denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs, saying, "My heart doesn't work that way. I didn't want to cheat others, I just wanted to hurt myself a few times."

Agassi failed a drug test in 1997, and then lied about it to the Association of Tennis Professionals, claiming he had taken the drug by accident. The consequence of using recreational drugs would have been a three month ban from tennis, which, in retrospect, Agassi said he would have welcomed.

"I needed to regroup," he said. "I was 141 in the world, and I had to start over, anyhow. It might have been good for me on the court to take some time and deal with it."

The drug use weighed heavily on him, and took a while to emotionally shake off, though not long to quit; he claimed to have done so cold turkey. "I think everyday since that second chance...in some respects I've been atoning," he said.

Agassi has never hidden his hatred for tennis, a sport that his father, an "intense" man, pushed on him at a very early age. He had a "hate-love relationship" with tennis his whole life, and admitted that this struggle likely led under-performance on the court.

"I never chose tennis — my father chose it for me," he said. "I gave up my childhood...I didn't choose tennis until I was 27 years old."

Once Agassi realized he had the option to leave tennis, he did just the opposite. Glancing out the window of a hotel room in Stuttgart, Germany, the he had an epiphany: millions of people find reasons to overcome obstacles each day, to do things that are difficult.

"I made a commitment that day," said Agassi. "I said, 'I'm going to choose this for the first time. I'm going to find ways to add meanings to these old tasks. I'm going to find a way to choose my life, because I can walk away right now.'"

Despite his ambivalence, Agassi still became the number one player in the world, and won eight Grand Slams titles. He attributed that success to his natural skill, and to aggressive nurturing as a child. But he lacked one ingredient.

"If I didn't feel inspired, you would see it in my face, you would see it in my eyes," he said. "I spend a lot of time on that tennis court just uninspired."

He admitted Pete Sampras was a better tennis player than he was, although there were times when Agassi said he felt better. "The 'W' on the board honestly really never was my priority," he said. "I was always wrestling with myself."

Losing his hair devastated Agassi, who thankfully poked fun at himself today for wearing a weave at the French Open. "It was slightly the color of the court, so maybe it would have blended in," he said.

Imus, who has a lot of hair, assured Agassi he looked great, and besides, "Women tell me they like a man's eyes."

Of course they tell you that.

-Julie Kanfer