5 reasons why "Open" is a book that every tennis fan should read

4. His love life

Agassi is happily married to Steffi Graf, one of the greatest players of all time. But before Graf, he was married to Brooke Shields, an American Actress.

That marriage didn't last long as Agassi claims they both went overboard several times when it came to their professional commitments.

Agassi with his first wife Brooke Shields

Agassi mentions that he was so possessive that he broke all his trophies when he saw Shields licking the fingers of another guy during the shoot for one of the episodes of the hit sit-com Friends. He even states that his proposal to Shields was not a fulfilling one as he was completely overwhelmed by self-doubt while doing it.

Agassi clearly mentions in his memoir that he regretted marrying Shields almost immediately after they got married. This can also be attributed to Agassi's unstable thinking during his initial playing years.

5. Injuries and comebacks

Agassi faced injuries throughout the course of his career, but his back pain was one injury that haunted him forever. One of the vertebrae in the lower back slipped out of its place early on, and he continued to play with it for years.

Agassi trying to hit a forehand cross-court in one of his US Open matches

Agassi explains in his memoir that there were many matches where he didn't feel the gratification of winning because of the chronic pain he had in his lower back. This made him hate the game even more.

Yet, he pushed his body to its limits and came back on many occasions to win Majors by defeating the likes of Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl etc.

Agassi's memoir would definitely give readers a source of inspiration to stand up from defeat; it instills the willingness to fight even harder. It even says that you have to love your profession even if they hate it (which is contradictory but a reality).

Agassi's "Open" is emotional, funny and thought-provoking. You may start reading the book with prejudice, but you will come out of it with sheer respect for the legend.