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FORMER WORLD No. 1 tennis player Ivan Lendl once dismissed the young Andre Agassi as nothing more than "a haircut and a forehand."

But Agassi's autobiography, "Open," demonstrates that the one-time "Image is everything" pitchman has a lot more in his arsenal than that. He's got some writing chops, too.

In fact, Agassi, who for a long time played in the shadow of fellow American great Pete Sampras, easily surpasses his arch rival with this memoir. "Open" kicks Pistol Pete's quite serviceable "Champion's Mind" (2008) from one end of the court to the next.

Agassi, a pro from 1986 to 2006 who won eight grand slams (at least one on each surface) and Olympic tennis gold besides, really lets it rip here. You've heard of warts-and-all bios--this is a chest waxing-and-all tell-all.

There are four big revelations in "Open": Agassi did crystal meth; he lied about using drugs to the ATP; he wore a hairpiece back when he used to sport a mullet; and perhaps most scandalous of all, Agassi hated tennis.

I don't know if he'll get a lot of sympathy on that last score. I mean, how does he think the rest of us feel?

Our own tennis exposes would be chock-full of missed backhands, shanked forehands, rotating tennis injuries--not to mention exorbitantly priced footwear.

At least Agassi remained reasonably healthy throughout his career, got all his sportswear free from Nike and had ground strokes that never failed him.

Agassi's distaste for tennis can be chalked up to an overbearing father and to the tennis academy--which felt more like a prison camp--where he spent a healthy chunk of his adolescence.

As Agassi matured, however, he built his own team, surrounding himself with quality individuals.

People like coaches Brad Gilbert and Darren Cahill, and most notably his longtime trainer and confidant, Gil Reyes, who told Agassi, "Somewhere up there is a star with your name on it. I might not be able to help you find it, but I've got pretty strong shoulders, and you can stand on my shoulders while you're looking for that star. You hear? For as long as you want. Stand on my shoulders and reach, man. Reach!"

Agassi knows how to pick winners, people who can complement his own skills.

Agassi eventually pursued women's tennis great Steffi Graf, with whom he'd tie the knot and start a family.

In the couple's first tennis talk, he admitted he hated the sport. Graf regarded him with a look that said, "Of course. Doesn't everybody?"

Kurt Rabin is a copy editor at The Free Lance-Star.