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By Chris Oddo, Monday, September 21, 2013




Andre Agassi stopped by the Huffington Post studio to do an interview with Marc Lamont Hill, talking his passion (E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N!), his life after tennis, his only regret, his “hate-love” relationship with tennis, and more (watch the video in its entirety above).



It's an interesting interview, one that highlights the essence of Andre post-tennis, and one that showcases the analytical, emotionally aware Agassi, one who has dedicated his time to helping others in a multitude of ways since his retirement.

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Of course, Lamont Hill couldn't help asking Agassi how he could resist not making the children that he fathered with his current wife and tennis great Steffi Graf into tennis players. To this Agassi replies: “It's a big gene pool... you haven't met the rest of my family.”

Later in the interview Agassi talks about wearing a wig on court (why is this so fascinating?) and says, “It was woven in pretty tight, but use the wrong conditioner and you'd wake up with a total malfunction.”

When asked what first comes to mind when picturing Pete Sampras, Agassi says, “A nemesis, really. I picture a Sunday, I picture a blimp in the sky, and I picture holding up a plate instead of something with two handles on it.” He goes on to say that Pete was the “best of his time,” but that Federer was a “class above.”

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Agassi goes on to discuss the Federer-Nadal GOAT quandary, and states a case for both sides. “I personally think that Nadal has an argument to make [for being] the best of all-time,” Agassi says. “If Nadal is sitting at a table with Federer, and Federer says, 'I'm the best ever,' my first question would be, 'Well then how come you didn't beat me? because I've beat you twice as many times, and hey by the way I've won everything including the gold medal and the Davis Cup.' ”

But before you run and tell everybody that Agassi says that Nadal is the greatest of all time, note that Agassi says the jury is still out. “At the same token, Federer has separated himself during a few years like nobody else, and he's done it more consistently. To be able to make the argument for both guys who are playing in the same generation is pretty remarkable.”

It's a fun interview, with lots of great stuff for the tennis fan, but perhaps more inspiring than anything is the passion with which Agassi talks about his charter schools, his quest to educate America, and his love for his wife Steffi Graf. Agassi has moved beyond his tennis career with grace and dignity, and he is proof to all current tennis players, and anybody else for that matter, that life doesn't stop after your first career.


 

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