Andre Agassi was on The Late Show last night promoting his new autobiography, Open. We’ve already heard the major revelation of the book – that Agassi used crystal meth in 1997 and lied to tennis officials to get around a failed drug test. Agassi discussed another bombshell on Letterman and revealed that his famous long mullet locks were replaced by a wig or “weave system” once his hair started falling out in the late 80s, when he was just 19. In fact he said he used too much conditioner the night before the French Open in 1990, and said that it started falling apart. He had it secured with a bunch of bobby pins for the match and was terrified of losing it. He ultimately lost to Andres Gomez. Here’s a link to the video of that match. (This news came out a couple of weeks ago, but this is the first time I’ve heard it.)

Andre eventually shaved his head in 1995, but continued wearing a wig, often with a hat, up until that point. His comeback not-so-coincidentally seemed to coincide with his decision to get rid of his security blanket hair. He won the Canadian Open and US Open in 1994, and went on to win multiple tournaments in 1995, reaching number 1. Maybe he should have ditched his hair much sooner.

I also heard part of Agassi’s interview on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday. He told Terry Gross that tennis was often a punishment for him, and that as a teen he was shipped off to a tennis camp that he compared to prison. NPR has an excerpt from Open that reveals how much pain Agassi was in at the end of his career in 2006, at the age of 36. He was born with a condition called spondylolisthesis that can pinch the nerves in the spine and cause sharp pain. He had to rely on cortisone shots to cope. He has a love/hate relationship with tennis and writes “I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have.” The book has a first person account of what Agassi went through and it’s written in the present tense. I kind of enjoyed the excerpts I’ve seen online, although I’m not sure I would take the time read it. Agassi has a lot of fans, though and it looks like his promotional efforts have been successful. The book is currently #3 on the Amazon sales charts. Sarah Palin’s book Going Rogue is first, followed by Stephen King’s Under The Dome.

The first photo below is from the 1989 Davis Cup, not the ’90 French Open, and Agassi admitted to Letterman that in this photo “that is not my hair, it’s a weave system.”

1991, with his then-girlfriend Wendi Stewart.

1991

1994, before shaving his head.

1995, after removing the wig

And here’s Agassi today. Photos below are from yesterday and credit: WENN.com. He is a good looking man, and some of us love the baldies.

Andre Agassi has a new memoir coming out at the end of the week called Open. The 39 year-old tennis great reveals that he had a crystal meth addiction in 1997, right before he made the decision to marry his first wife, Brooke Shields. Agassi and Shields lasted just two years, divorcing in 1999, and according to this timeline it sounds like he quit meth well before they split.

He writes that his assistant introduced him to the drug, after which he went through a career slump that ended when he tested positive for drugs and decided to quit. Agassi was able to continue playing after the positive test by lying to the tennis regulatory agency, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) by claiming he’d accidentally injested drugs when he took a sip of his ex-assistant’s soda spiked with meth. The ATP through the test out and never knew he was lying until this revelation:

Andre Agassi used crystal meth while he was playing professional tennis, according to a new autobiography to be released next month.

The Times of London plans to serialize the book and released details on Tuesday which describe how Agassi came to use the drug and how he avoided discipline by the ATP.

In 1997, Agassi was struggling with his game and with his decision to marry actress Brooke Shields. His assistant, identified as Slim, introduced him to the drug, according to the excerpt.

“Slim is stressed too … He says, You want to get high with me? On what? Gack. What the hell’s gack? Crystal meth,” Agassi recounts in the book. “Why do they call it gack? Because that’s the sound you make when you’re high … Make you feel like Superman, dude.

“As if they’re coming out of someone else’s mouth, I hear these words: You know what? F*** it. Yeah. Let’s get high.

“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 just crossed.

“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,” Agassi says.

“I’m seized by a desperate desire to clean. I go tearing around my house, cleaning it from top to bottom. I dust the furniture. I scour the tub. I make the beds.”

Later, according to The Times, Agassi receives a call from a doctor working with the ATP, telling him that he has failed a drug test.

“My name, my career, everything is now on the line,” Agassi recounts in the book. “Whatever I’ve achieved, whatever I’ve worked for, might soon mean nothing. Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP. It’s filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth.

“I say Slim, whom I’ve since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth — which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter. I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim’s spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely.

“I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it.”

The ATP threw out the positive drug test and it did not surface until now.

Agassi had won the Olympic gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games, but didn’t win a major in 1997, dropping to No. 141 in the rankings.

He resuscitated his career in 1998, making the biggest one-year jump into the top 10 in the history of the ATP rankings. The next season, he won the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, then added a second career U.S. Open title en route to finishing 1999 at No. 1.

He went on to win three more Australian Open titles before retiring in 2006. He won more than $30 million in his career, and eight major singles titles.

[From ESPN]

When a celebrity reveals past drug use it seems par for the course, but when a professional athlete reveals he was under the influence while playing it can be explosive. In Agassi’s case he quit when he got caught and he clearly paid the price for it – his performance suffered at the time. I’m not sure what kind of fallout he’ll receive for this from the ATP. He retired in 2006.

Agassi has been married to his second wife, retired German tennis player Steffi Graff, for eight years. They have two children: son Jaden, 8, and daughter Jaz, 5. By most accounts he’s a great guy, and it sounds like he’s only human.

Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are shown on 9/26/09 in Las Vegas at a benefit for his charity, “The Andre Agassi Foundation For Education.” Credit: Chris Connor/WENN.com