...and on it goes...

omg, what's next?! Maybe: "I have a double who played few matches for me".. ;) really, Agassi, STOP!

Well, the Almighty wouldn't take sides for a match, I suppose, but what's He/She think about losing one on purpose?? Sheesh

Chang was a very religious man and he knew to give the almighty thanks for everything.I suppose Agassi didn't understand to give the lord thanks for everything that happens good to you in your life.

What's the meaning of auto-biography to Agassi, to reveal his supposedly truth (who knows ppl spice up their stories all the time) or to attack, discredit other players as well? I'm surprised nobody counter-attack him.

Or probably it's being viewed as a 'novel' now. Silly one.

Good grief. Could he sound any more spoiled? he didn't want to play Becker so he tanked? Are you JOKING?

And as for the Michael Chang thing..i don't suppose it ever occurred to Andre that maybe Chang was thanking God for keeping him healthy or for giving him the opportunity to play a sport he loved. I'm sorry, but that just sounds bratty. Andre Agassi is going to have no fans left after all of this.

How can he stop now, Olly? The book is already written! :-)

whatever little respect was left is gone.

What?!? Tennis players tank matches? This is unheard of! No one in the history of the game ever did this before Andre and no one has ever, EVER done it since.

Please.

And I recall that Andre did his fair share of God-squading back in the day, too, so for him to call out Chang in this regard is particularly telling.

The more the peanut gallery gets its panties twisted in a knot over all of this, the more I'm loving' Agassi -- and I was never exactly a big fan (didn't like the two-handed groundie baseline game). But I'm lovin' the breathless outrage over each expose. So, Cheryl, to correct you, he'll still have at least one fan when this is all done.

I know, Duro :), it was more like: "I don't wanna read this anymore" :) what's written is written, but I begging him not to add appendix to 2nd edition, if he maybe recalls of some creepy thing he forgot to share now...

The breathless outrages are comming out because he is and was a roll model for kids.His kids that he mentors look up to him:-X and for them to know that he was not man enough to face his fears.. when he's suppose to be an example for them...sorry ..SP...it's just sad:(

Every time i look at his commercials..I just feel something so different now. my respect for him is just gone.

It's sad really..to say that you "ON PURPOSE" lost a match because you was scared to face your opponent....sad:(

i guess now he has maned up..i guess back then he was not man enough to face his opponent.

But i guess now he has changed and is confessing his sins so all is forgiven.I hope he knows who is the right person to confess to.

well if he feels like getting all this stuff off his chest is helping him then more power to him.I guess he is doing what he feels he has to do for his on sanity.

really awful comment by Agassi. i was willing to let the meth thing slide, but this statement is disappointing to say the least. Chang won fair and square. You can't take away credit from a guy a decade after the match is finished. And it didn't stop Agassi when he had to play Becker on other occasions. Even if it were true that he tanked the match against Chang, and maybe he did we don't know, but it's poor sportsmanship to come out and say it now just to grab more headlines. Egotistical and unbecoming of Andre.

steffi could have done so. much. better.

SP, I guess what it does is shows his lack of regard for the game and for the people who paid good money to go see him play. And I don't think anyone ever said that Agassi was the only player to ever match fix. It's despicable at any level, but to do it at a Grand Slam when there are people there trying to cheer you to victory? Sorry, but that is rotten.

Maybe it's more amusing to you as somebody who wasn't a fan. Not quite so funny to me.

I must respectfully disagree with Senor Plaid regarding this latest confession from Andre Agassi. To say it's not like anyone has ever tanked a match, is to miss the problem with Agassi's revelations. What, pray tell, does this accomplish? He has not only demeaned himself, but has managed to cast a pall over Micheal Chang's victory. Now Chang has the dubious pleasure of knowing that his opponent just rolled over. So his victory is tarnished. It wasn't really a win, Agassi just gave it up so he wouldn't have to face Becker. How nice to know that Agassi was so scared of losing to Becker that he had to fake a loss to Chang to avoid it. This really is the stuff of legends, isn't it?

At this point, nothing Agassi says would surprise me anymore. He seems determined to destroy what is left of his legacy as one of the great tennis players. He will most likely succeed. At this point I am at a loss for words. All I can say is that this is beyond unfortunate.

Oh, put a cork in it, Andre! ...wait a minute, he can't cos the book's been written. Oh well.

SenorPlaid I see your point, but at the same time agree with Cheryl and Native. I mean, come on. It's a Grand Slam semi-final. Give some respect to the fans and your opponents. Just as well that Chang didn't end up winning the title, cos if he did, Agassi's gonna be all like "WELL JUST BECAUSE I TANKED IT" i.e. Chang didn't deserve it. Or something.

And what is wrong with thanking God? Please don't detest the man for being religious, geez. It's not like Chang grabbed Agassi and threw him upwards in the sky as an offering to God i.e. not like it AFFECTS Agassi that Chang is thanking God. It just sounds petulant and bitchy.

Agassi has gone from one of the most popular champions in all of tennis to the most despicable in my opinion. He's such an idiot. Chang thanking God is totally acceptable ; it's not as if he said God made him win. I'm sure he was just being thankful that he had an opportunity to play a sport he loved for a living and for good health and success. As for his admission to tanking in a Grand Slam semifinal to avoid Becker, that's the ultimate act of cowardice. As many times as Nadal has beaten Fed on clay , Fed never tanked a semifinal to avoid him. The 2-9 record on clay proves it i.e. he got to all those finals even if he lost most of them. I shouldn't even compare him to Fed though. I'm glad now that Sampras owned him. I trust now that we will never see him at any Grand Slam events giving away trophies or in exhibition matches and especially not in the Hall of Fame. They should start a tennis Hall of Shame for him. Doesn't he care about his children and how this could affect them? I hope they don't become pro tennis players now, for their sake.

Agassi's confessional is not amusing to me (although I did find the comments regarding Chang to be humorous--his constant proselytizing bugged the heck out of me, too); the reactions to it on this site are.

Sorry to you all, but I had my sports heroes dragged through the mud many years ago, and I've been over my idolization of them -- and my need to tsk tsk them when their foibles are revealed -- for a while. This obviously is a first-time thing for many of you, so it's tough to learn that some athletes aren't perfect. Trust me, you'll get over it.

And, cheryl, maybe this doesn't apply to you, but I would say that to anyone old enough to remember when Andre was repeatedly tagged "Bagassi" by the press -- late 80s till Wimbledon 1992 -- the tanking revelation can't possibly come as a shock. To me, it just fit the image -- remember this is the Image is Everything guy -- of someone who was something of a clown who won a bunch of tournaments (and even three Slams) but didn't take anything seriously and seemed destined to squander his talents until he got his act together and grew up in 1998. Take it for what it's worth.

Now if he had said that -- given his second act image of elder statesman and ubercompetitor -- he tanked the 05 Open Final to Federer, THAT would have been a surprise.

I'm wondering if perhaps Andre was just beating someone to the punch on a tell-all book (Perry, perhaps?). If not, how could he be so pompous as to believe people would look beyond his revelations and see damaged goods that needed compassion? I haven't read the book as I am not about to spend $30, but the excerpts I've read seem self-indulgent at minimum. Michael Chang is a Christian, and he will no doubt forgive Andre. I don't think the fans will be so generous.

It just shows that sports like many other things is tainted to a degree. It is a sort of take it how it is or leave it. Nothing is pristine. I am not sure why people are pissed off with Agassi coming out with this , the fact that it happened is not lessened by someone hiding it. I am just indifferent to the whole thing (I am a tennis fan as well). So here is just another perspective.

SP - I am quite old enough to remember the 80s Andre. He is why I started watching tennis when I was a kid, and yes I remember him losing plenty of matches in his time. My issue is more with the unconcerned way he seems willing to implicate himself, the sport and his fellow players. it shows a lack of respect and it goes to prove that the crystal meth revelation was the least of the controversies.

Rafterfan, that is completely plausible. Perry Rogers was probably privy to all of Andre's dirty little secrets, and they are certainly on the outs. Maybe he was threatening Andre....who knows.

I was going to jump in here and respond that I DO remember the 80's Agassi quite well, thank you very much, however Cheryl has pretty much said it for me. I have no illusions about my sports heroes am certainly not naive now that I am middle aged. I am probably more skeptical and cynical these days. I just don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to wait all this time and then reveal things that are damaging to a sport that gave someone like Agassi so much success and renown.

This is the worst kind of self-indulgent prattling. There is something to be said for dignity, grace and a sense of privacy. All one's dirty laundry need not be aired in public.

I would understand if some players dont play their best in low points tournaments. But to tank a match in SLams is ridiculous. WHy didnt he tank all his match so that he couldnt face Sampras too.

It's just an excuse. I mean he couldn't accept that he lost against Chang. What is his intention on writing this?

It's nothing new for a sports figure to let me down(i remember the 80's)
I'm just glad that we have a place where we can come and express how we feel.
Sometimes people just need someone to talk to about a situation and it will make them feel better.
SP..we will be fine:)

Apparently none of you people actually play tennis. I have always been a fan of Agassi, but now I am not only a fan but an admirer of what it took to be great. For him to reveal his insecurities, his shyness, and the mental and physical fatigue that he constantly struggled with is inspiring. The tennis court can be one of the lonliest places on this planet; it reveals all your flaws and insecurities in yourself. I for one, love that he struggles as much as the common man. We all have our own thoughts about people and how we interpret their actions, some things just get on our nerves. Why would you judge someone who had the nerve to be honest about his thoughts.
As for tanking, I watched Federer tank at Indian Wells this year in the semi's so that he wouldn't have to face Nadal in the final after the loss at the Australian Open. It has nothing to do with cowardice, that is just stupid, it has to do with mental fatigue. There is only so much you can take and everyone reaches there breaking point. Trust me, Federer tanked, and he didn't make it as believable as Agassi did against Chang. Stop being such hyprocrites and read his story for the wonderful insight that it is.