"I regret being an 18-year-old growing in front of the world" - When Andre Agassi appeared on 60 minutes
Former World No. 1 Andre Agassi did an interview with the popular American news show 60 Minutes back in 1995.
The American, who was a precocious talent and made a name for himself as a teenager, said that he regretted being an 18-year-old who grew up in front of the world.
"If there's something I regret more, I regret being an 18-year-old growing in front of the world if you want to really talk about regrets. That's not easy," Andre Agassi said.
Agassi suffered a dip in form in 1993 and attributed that to the pressure he faced. The American also mentioned that he later realized he loved the game despite the pressure and expectations on him.
"There are landmines on the court. Words like expectation, potential, pressure and doubts, and it seems like they are all over the place like landmines that you just step on and out of nowhere, they can blow up and everything comes crashing down in the middle of the match, in the middle of laying your heart on the line," he said.
That's scary, it's scary because you come off the court and you feel like a failure. I realized that the game is important to me, that I love the game despite the pressure, despite the expectations. I love what happens inside those lines," he added.
"I love playing tennis and I feel I can do it better than anybody" - Andre Agassi in 1995
Further in the interview, Andre Agassi said that he loved playing tennis and felt he was the best at it.
"It's really quiet, it's just very quiet. I don't hear anything. I don't hear the crowd. My opponent's a blur, the crowd's a blur, the umpire's a blur. Only thing that's in focus is that little yellow fuzzy ball. It's the only thing I see, it's the only thing I hear. I love playing tennis and I feel I can do it better than anybody," the former World No. 1 said.
"If they're playing better than me, I feel like I can raise my level better than them. If they put it higher then I'm gonna match it and then I'm gonna go higher, and that's where I feel, 'I don't care how much you push me, I can push a little harder'," he added.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion also said that he played the game for reasons that weren't always right.
"I played the game for a long time for a lot of really not right reasons. I played early because I loved it and then, I continued past that because I felt like I was good at it. So, I found myself playing for reasons that don't hold up. When you're serving 30-30 in the fifth set in front of 18,000 people, who at times are pulling for you not to succeed, not to get through," he said.
When asked how he managed to deal with a crowd that did not want him to win, he said:
"What cuts it is your desire to be nowhere else."