Andre Agassi was inducted into the international Hall of Fame on Saturday. No doubt he deserves it -- the career Grand Slam alone would do it, but often I forget how many total Slams he won because I tend to focus on his pathetic head-to-head record versus Pete Sampras in the majors -- but so long as he's played the game, I have never liked him. (I actually got his autograph on a practice court at Roland Garros in 1987 when he was just 16 and the non-love-affair grew from there!) While my brother and his wife adored him -- especially against the personality-free Sampras -- Agassi always struck me as insincere and awful. Kathy Griffin's recent stand-up about him only bolstered this feeling, yet with the exception of Andrea Jaeger, I can't think of a player who has done more to give back to society than Agassi. Perhaps I'm mistaken about him. You'd think Steffi's seal of approval would be enough for me, but look at the male role model she gew up with! Anyone else know what I'm talking about here?
3 comments:
I was never able to get past the hair at first, and although Sampras was boring, I always rooted for Pete over Andre because I couldn't stand Andre's petulant attitude. But since I was such a fan of Steffi's, I have to wonder whether she'd settle for ANYTHING less than ideal given the life she's had...
I never liked or disliked Andre. Actually, strike that: I rather disliked him early on (when he had long hair and wore denim shorts) and simply put up with him later on. The only reason I care about him at all these days is that he married the best singles player to ever walk the planet (i.e., Steffi Graf).
I have met Andre and Pete through working at the Players desk at the former event held in Scottsdale AZ. While Pete is plesant, he is painfully shy. I thought Andre was all flash in the beginning, but after getting to know him and his team Gil in particular. Andre is a well grounded caring person that wants nothing but the best for those that he interacts with. Stefi is a delight as well and I agree with Bryan's observation that she was the best ever!
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