Something amazing may be possible.
the biggest prime-time stage at the Openfollowed by breakfast and a chat in the Emirates Suite in Ashe.
I had 90 minutes to make up my mind.
Photo: Getty Images
The author with Agassi in 1994. exactly the Johnny Mac out of central casting that I wanted to see.)
Agassi on the court during the 1994 US Open.
With his then girlfriend, Brooke Shields, in 1994.
The author with Agassi in 1994.
Suffice to say, then, that yeah: They can handle breakfast and coffee.)
A few balls later, another lunge, another tumble, this time accompanied by a loud cracking sound.
The man clutched his calf and said that hed snapped his Achilles tendon.
Agassi on the court during the 1994 US Open.
Yes, replied the man.
Im an orthopedic surgeon.
Or if I did, the years between then and now had revised that history.
With his then girlfriend, Brooke Shields, in 1994.
For starters: He doesnt really know his way around the Billie Jean King Center.
The other thing Id forgotten: Andre wasnt always the hero here.
Oh my God, Andre says when I bring this up.
Photo: Getty Images
In 1988 I was called a punkI was destroying the game of tennis.
I mean, what they calldestroying itI calledbroadening the tentbut whatever.
I just was being me, and I was always honest about how I felt about the game.
Photo: Getty Images
And with that, it was time to head down to the court.
So…howd it all go then?
Reader: It went about as well as you might expect.
Photo: Getty Images
I could see them coming from across the court.
Advantage, theoretically,me, right?
Heres the thing: That ball never came anywhere near my racquet.
The Emirates cabin crew did a fantastic job of keeping mostly straight faces (if only the balls Andre were hitting me were this size, everything would have been easier). Courtesy Emirates Airline
Andre yelled from across the net.
Its just a drop shot.
Do you want me to hit itharder?
Agassi, playing in a pickleball tournament in August 2024.
Clearly, I didnt know the man.
Agassi, playing in a pickleball tournament in August 2024.
I consider myself a searcheryou know what I mean?
Like an explorer, or somebody that just wants to understand, wants to learn.
The greatest distance on Earth is the distance between a persons mind and their heart.
And we spend our life trying to bring them together.
So I just see it as… not versions of myself…
But I didnt always pull that off so well.
Well, when they didnt, I really spiraled.
And once I got there, I took out a $40 million mortgage to build my own school.
But once I had my reason, this all looked different to me.
This looked like the place I needed to bethe place that could give me what I really wanted.
Not a trophy, but a platformand an opportunity.
