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Andre Agassi crystal meth revelations shock tennis world
By Martyn Herman
Former tennis champion Andre Agassi salutes the crowd during the opening ceremony at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 31, 2009. REUTERS/Shaun Best
DOHA (Reuters) - Andre Agassi left the tennis world in a state of shock on Wednesday when he admitted using the drug crystal meth and lying to the men's tennis governing body the ATP to escape a ban.
In his autobiography "Open," the American candidly describes being introduced to the drug in 1997 and the moment when he was informed he had failed a drugs test.
In his book, Agassi, now 39, spoke of the moment he took crystal meth, a highly-addictive amphetamine, for the first time when his career was in freefall. He was helped by his drug-user assistant, known as Slim.
"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 crossed," he said.
"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."
International Tennis Federation (ITF) president Francesco Ricci Bitti said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the revelations and World Anti-Doping Agency chief John Fahey called on the ATP to "shed light" on how Agassi escaped punishment.
Agassi burst on to the scene in the late 1980s with a maverick streak, long hair and a wacky dress sense that made him an instant hit with a new generation of tennis fans.
He won Wimbledon in 1992, the U.S. Open in 1994 and the Australian Open in 1995.
However, wrist injuries and a loss of form sent his career on to the rocks in 1997 and his world ranking tumbled to 122.
A year later he began a new training regime that sparked a turnaround and in 1999 he completed a career grand slam at the French Open.
Agassi, now married to former women's number one Steffi Graf with whom he has two children, retired in 2006.
In extracts from his book serialized in London's The Times newspaper, he recalled receiving a phone call in 1997 from a doctor who informed him that he had failed a drugs test.
"My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing. Days later I sit with a legal pad in my lap and write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth," Agassi said.
He said he concocted a story that he had accidentally drunk a soda spiked with crystal meth belonging to Slim.
Agassi said he was not worried about the impact of his revelations.
"I was worried for a moment, but not for long," he told People magazine's web site. "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,"
(Additional reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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