Andre Agassi admits taking drugs and lying to ATP
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Eight times grand slam winner Andre Agassi has admitted using the recreational drug crystal meth and lying to men's governing body the ATP to escape a ban.
In his forthcoming book, which is being serialized in The Times, the American candidly describes being introduced to the drug in 1997 by his assistant and the moment later that year when he was informed he had failed a drugs test.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) president Francesco Ricci Bitti said he was "surprised and disappointed" by Agassi's revelations that have stunned tennis.
In the extracts in The Times, Agassi, now 39, spoke of the moment he took crystal meths, a highly-addictive amphetamine, for the first time when his career was in free-fall. 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 just crossed," said Agassi.
"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."