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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2017

Andre Agassi

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

A remote press conference with:

ANDRE AGASSI

THE MODERATOR: I don't think there is any introduction needed. We have Giuseppe Lavazza, vice chairman of Lavazza, and we have Andre Agassi also from Las Vegas who is at the Australian Open, in a way. They are with you and with Giuseppe.

Giuseppe, Andre, thank you for being there. I leave you with Giuseppe.

GIUSEPPE LAVAZZA: First of all, I want to thank Andre to be here with us. We have this very beautiful partnership, I can say, a friendship.

He's in Las Vegas. Unfortunately he's not here with us, but family first. I understand that very, very well. I'm also very, very attached to my family. I can't stay here till the end of the tournament, unfortunately, because I have to come back, otherwise my wife is gonna kill me.

Anyway, Lavazza is so proud to be part of this beautiful event in Melbourne. Is the only food brand with a presence in all of the four Grand Slams.

It's a great pleasure, of course, to announce the excitement of all this tournament with a touch of Italianity and coffee. We have a special link the two to Andre, because every cup can change your life. That's happen to me, because coffee is my job, and every single Lavazza coffee cup change my life, but that's happen to Andre, as well. He wrote it in his book.

We have this beautiful partnership now. He is, for us, global ambassador for Lavazza in tennis. We share a common passion for excellence and talent. I think, of course, tennis is the kingdom of these kind of values. So for our family company at Lavazza is absolutely a great honor and a pleasure to be part of this fantastic environment, so excitement with such beautiful champion.

We feel the tennis part of our -- we are a family company. Of course, founded in 1895, so I represent several generations in the business. But also tennis is a great family, so we feel ourself very at home in this country, beautiful, very welcoming, but even in the other countries, in France, in U.S., in Great Britain.

So I have the chance of meeting Andre in New York some years ago. I think that we fell in love with each other immediately. We have a sort of natural contact, and so we are here.

But I think that's all the people in this room has a lot of questions for him. So I'm very pleased to leave the stage and to, of course, give you the chance to ask him, to Andre, what you like more.

Andre, to you.

ANDRE AGASSI: Thank you, Giuseppe. No, it's important for me to be a part of this for a variety of reasons. I met Giuseppe a few years ago, as he mentioned, in New York. A couple things that stood out to me right away was the family component of this company, the long-standing history of it, their connection to the communities that they are involved in.

Their desire to want to be a part of what I'm doing with my mission in education was also quite a similar value that we shared, part of this great program I do with my schools called the SOAL program, Summer Of A Lifetime, where kids sponsored to go experience universities across the country and in some cases even globally. A few have been to Oxford as a result of the program. There is really an overlap of value.

You don't have to twist my arm to be enjoying a good cup of coffee, either, I can assure you. That being said, their involvement with tennis meant the world to me. Since I have retired now over a decade ago, 10 years ago -- I can't believe how time goes. But over 10 years ago, when I retired, I promised I would stay involved in the game with myself and find many ways to do so. One of the ways that has been important is to be connected to those people that are very important to our game.

That's what Lavazza is. They have connected to tennis comprehensively, and so I can do my part to help a company that helps the sport.

There is just many reasons how we overlap. With that being said, it gives me a great excuse to stay in touch with so many friends over the years, many of you sitting in the room right there that I'm so familiar with. I just want to say hello. It's great to be here on behalf of Lavazza. It's great to be here in Melbourne again via this technology. You know, I wish they had this when I was traveling and playing.

Thank you for having me. I'm here, however you want to, whatever you want to ask. I'm an open book. So please feel free.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I would like to know what is your take on Novak's loss? Do you see him bouncing back and when?
ANDRE AGASSI: I think he needed a cup of Lavazza in the fifth set, it seems. (Laughter.)

With that being said, I unfortunately didn't see the match. I of course saw the result, and I followed the results. I have been traveling to Sweden and India for the last four days, a whirlwind trip for me. Reading that was obviously as much of a surprise to me than anybody, maybe even more so.

I have celebrated Novak's accomplishments to the point of predicting he's going to win everything. The truth is, it's always a surprise when he loses, especially someplace there.

I can't speak to how much the match was earned or how much the match was lost. What I can speak to you is Novak's game, his abilities. And there is no reason in the world why it can't turn around as fast as it seemed to have left him.

We all have our own unique journey. You guys had to see me hit rock bottom over the course of two years. I assure you, Novak won't need to learn as hard, in as hard of a way as I had to learn, but he still has time.

He's a heck of an athlete. In my opinion, one of the greats of all time. I give him high, high chance of coming back in a hurry.

Q. What do you have to say about Nick Kyrgios? He has been having some conflict inside himself. Do you see any relation to what you went through? What advice do you have for him?
ANDRE AGASSI: Well, sure. I mean, I'm not a big fan of just giving generic advice when you don't know somebody. You know, I mean, we know a few things that are absolute. We obviously know his talent and his high-end ability. I think it's as much talent as you'll ever see on a tennis court.

With that being said, we also have heard directly from him that, you know, in many ways he hasn't been a fan of the game. Personally he has struggled with his desire, with his love for the game.

I'm actually uplifted by his willingness to admit it, because for me, it took me a long time to understand my particular feelings for many years and certainly didn't feel the need to communicate it as I was going through it.

What I can say about that spirit is he's obviously a rebel of sorts. He's a fighter of sorts. He might choose to take some of those fights and fight himself. You never want to see that in somebody. I mean, I would much prefer him fighting his opponent and finding the opportunity to get better and to do so many things I think he's capable of in his game.

Unfortunately, we have to go through our own process, and he's young enough. I don't want to say he's so young that this is why he feels the way he does. But I can say because he feels the way he does, it's a very good thing that he's young, because he will have time to hopefully work through it.

My hope and prayer for him is that he does that. But giving him advice without understanding what his particular demons are, it's not going to be of use to anybody.

Q. Nick is such a talking point here, obviously, in Australia. You mentioned throughout your book you had issues with drug use, and especially with the '96 Oz Open you didn't try as hard as you wanted to because you didn't want to play Boris Becker in the final. How come, despite all the issues you had, despite all the tribulations, you still remain internationally revered while Nick is someone who is internationally loathed at this stage? Considering you're so similar in terms of the way of going about it on the tennis court, it seems you are revered where he's really not too well liked at the moment by the Australian public.
ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I understand your question very well, but I will start by saying without even sort of seeing you that you're probably a heck of a lot younger than me, because you obviously don't remember how loathed I was (smiling).

But I certainly went through many years where I was considered one of the great, you know, underachievers. I went through many years -- you know, I still remember Bob Costas, who is one of the most renowned sports commentators and analysts and historians, I remember him doing a piece on my Image is Everything commercial and saying, at the end of it, Yeah, Andre, we do have a question for you: How stupid are you?

I remember when he said that, it really resonated for me. I had a great deal of respect for him and it made me look at myself for that brief moment and understand the disconnect between who I really was and how I was communicating myself.

I think there is a big difference between what somebody says and what somebody hears or what somebody does and what somebody perceives, and I do share your feelings that in watching him, it feels, at first glance, very offensive to see so much talent, to see somebody in the sport that means a great deal to so many sort of disregarded.

But with that being said, you know, the journey I lived has taught me a lot about how deep one's struggles can be and how much good can still exist at the same time.

I don't know his background. I know that I was always somebody that cared more than I portrayed, because it was my defense. It was my way of hiding myself from myself, and I needed to come to terms with that through a long, painful process.

I would sort of caution everybody to represent Kyrgios as if he should be loathed. I think the actions that are taken should be... (connection dropped).

THE MODERATOR: We lost a little bit because we were disconnected.

ANDRE AGASSI: Can I say the last part really quick?

By separating the act from the person. I think we should be very clear on what behaviors are taken and we should judge those very specifically, very directly, very transparently, but at the same time, to sort of hold off a bit on the judgment of somebody's journey, because, you know, I do wish good for him, because he obviously isn't comfortable in his own skin at the moment, or maybe too comfortable.

In either case, it's a learning process.

Q. Andy Murray, what did you make of his rise to No. 1 in the second half of last year? What do you expect of him this fortnight and the rest of this year?
ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, very impressive. I mean, I have always sort of talked about Andy as a person that has never really utilized his game to his maximum potential. He's so good at certain things, that it almost makes him a bit, you know, indecisive, almost makes him sort of not bring his strengths to the table as much as he could.

You know, I have always sort of made the comment that if you actually minimized his defensive skills just 5%, if he had less defensive skills, he might even actually be a better player because he'd have more conviction and imposing his game versus just making you try to figure out a way to beat him.

His defensive skills are as good as you have ever seen in the game, and his offensive skills can be right up there, as well. I think that's been the big difference.

When I watch him play, I see somebody who is not content just to be defensive. I see somebody who is not content just to sort of wait to watch somebody lose. I think he puts himself through unnecessary wear and tear on a court, because his offensive upside is, I think, still more than he shows, but he has more willingness now to be more offensive and conviction early in a point, if a ball is just sitting there.

I think that puts a lot of pressure on an opponent and forces an opponent to lose so many points as the match goes on, because you know you can't just get away with playing safe.

I think that's been a big change in his game, and I think that imposition that he puts on other players offensively makes his defensive skills shine even more. It's a pretty tough opponent when they can hurt you offensively, when they decide to, and when you finally get a point in your favor, they can go into lockdown mode and make you hit four winners to win a point.

My expectation is he will only get bigger. He needs to stay healthy, of course, as does everybody. It looks like he's strong, looks like he's fit, like he knows how to invest in himself.

I'd like to see him happier out there on the court, too. If I had his game, I'd be smiling a lot more than talking to myself.

Q. I just wonder with Novak struggling a bit and Roger and Nadal kind of maybe not getting any younger, do you think now the next year or two it might be his time? Is this kind of the year of Andy we have come into now?
ANDRE AGASSI: Well, short of pulling out the crystal ball and guessing or sort of speculating, of course this is a heck of an opportunity for him, and he's certainly coming into his best years.

So when you line those things up, he has the runway or the platform to do some remarkable things.

But, you know, you can't write off Novak this soon. Obviously there has been a turn of events that happened what seemed to be overnight, quite frankly. Last year I thought he was going to win every one, and he was one match away.

And going into 2016, I said on record I think he's going to win every one, and everything was looking pretty darn good. Then he woke up one day and it was different.

God only knows what's going on that created that or what he's dealing with, sort of making him have to, from the player he was for a long time. I don't know what that is, but I know that it doesn't change overnight. I mean, things can be different, but if it changes that quick, it can change again.

I don't think Andy is underestimating that Novak can show up any week or any tournament or any time of the year and then be that dominant person that Andy was at the second half of last year.

But, yes, I do think Andy has a heck of an opportunity in front of him and certainly the capability of putting up some big numbers.

Q. Just getting back to Kyrgios again, Jim Courier mentioned your name a few days ago as a possible coach, someone that he could really learn a lot from. Is that something you would consider one day? If not, what sort of traits would a coach need for Nick to do well and learn from?
ANDRE AGASSI: As far as coaching goes, coaching is a lot more than just sort of spitting out information.

I mean, somebody can know a lot of things, but that's not the art of coaching. The art of coaching isn't what you know. The art of coaching is much you're willing to learn about somebody so you can help them take the next step and teach them what they need to know.

I'd rather know a little bit of what I do and be able to convey that to somebody in a meaningful way than to know so much and have it fall on deaf ears. Spending time coaching has a lot to do with spending time getting to know somebody, spending time learning and understanding somebody, what they think, how they feel, and how they process information. I mean, this, you only learn by spending time.

Time is an issue that I don't have the luxury of giving at the moment, with a balancing act of the choreography of my life and priorities. Also, if I did have that time, my only decision on coaching, on who I coach, is, quite frankly, how much somebody wants to learn.

You know, I have no interest in imposing what I believe on someone. I would have a lot of interest in somebody's desire to want to make themselves better and possibly me being a vehicle that's best to help them take those steps. Those would be the two working components that would either keep me from coaching or make me ever do it.

As of right now, I can only speak to one, as I don't have the time, but the other one I would have to say it would really all depend on the person.

I was able to be around Kyrgios for a couple of days in Singapore a few years back. He's young, and he's an interesting person, one that I would need to spend a lot more time with to understand, and hopefully there would be desire on his part regardless of who he works with to grow.

Q. I'd like to ask you something more confidential, which in a press conference shouldn't happen. I remember when you met Steffi Graf.
GIUSEPPE LAVAZZA: You are so Italian. I know you very well. I know your background so well. Okay. Now we are online. We are online again.

ANDRE AGASSI: I missed the entire question. Please, one more time.

Q. Well, the question was quite confidential. I remember when you played the final against Todd Martin, US Open, and in the middle of the crowd, there was a blonde girl, very high in the stand. She was called Steffi Graf. I'd like to know if you remember that day and what happened that night, and that -- no, they went to a restaurant. Come on. And also, did you expect to go that far? Wife, mother? And who is taking the coffee and the breakfast, who is giving the breakfast in the morning between you two to the other one?
ANDRE AGASSI: I actually have video of what happened that night. (Laughter.)

No, so let's see how much I remember. I broke Todd Martin the first game of the match, and then we proceeded to not break each other for three hours. I beat him 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. It was a good start to the evening portion.

That was a wonderful time and certainly in our lives. I remember trying to get her a seat in my box, and she wanted nothing to do with it. She said to me, Don't worry about me. You worry about Todd Martin. I have been around the stadium a few times. I'll be fine. She figured it all out.

That was the start of -- she came home with me from New York and never left. I don't know what else to say. My hope and desire was to, you know, dream about a future, but futures don't happen unless you live every day the way you believe. She teaches me every day that that's achievable.

As far as food goes, I'm slightly more of a cook than she is. I enjoy cooking. It's a great process, you know, amongst friends and family that I enjoy, but I've got to say Giuseppe and Lavazza has changed the whole coffee routine. I used to use a French press, looking forward to the whole process of that. He changed my life by sending me one of these machines a long time ago, and these capsules, and everybody is convinced I make the best coffee in the world now.

I have high-maintenance friends, and they all love me for it.

Q. Just switching to women's tennis for a moment, your compatriots, the Williams sisters, there has been a lot of questions for Venus in particular this week, asking her about her age and her sort of future plans, questions about retirement becoming inevitable when a player reaches a certain age. Can I ask you, from your experience, what sort of goes through a player's mind towards the twilight years of their playing career, and when do you think is sort of the right time to make those decisions?
ANDRE AGASSI: Yes, well, I think it's clear and, historically speaking, that everybody kind of goes through it differently. Everybody has their own, you know, relationship with the game, their own desires and goals inside the game. Quite frankly, a lot of times, it's not in a player's decision, you know, when the end comes.

I certainly can understand any given frustration a player has to be confronted with those questions, because in order to do what we do, to the level that we try to do it on a tennis court, it requires 100% of your attention, not just while you're playing a tennis (audio cutting out) an end when the match is over. It's day in and day out.

Challenges change. Goals stay the same. Negotiations of your body, of your energy, of your recoveries, all these things are very -- they are constantly moving and you're constantly juggling, but you're always believing you can get the recipe and the tensions just right.

When you're sort of forced to think about something that's outside those lines, you feel like it takes away from your ability to even do it at the moment, and it can get tiring and it can just kind of set you off the tracks a little bit just in entertaining the idea of doing something else.

I could see her having no energy to put into those thoughts unless it's in the quietness of her own life, you know. If she is thinking about that, you know, hopefully she would disclose it.

But I think some people, especially those, you know, as great as Venus is, kind of deserve to go about it on their own terms. You know, I think as a fan, as a journalist, you know, I would find myself watching very intensely her process and appreciating, you know, learning how everything we kind of know about Venus, how she sort of unveils it in this interesting time.

An athlete going through retirement, you know, I compare it in my book, as an example, to death. And I mean that. It sounds dramatic, but the truth is we have done one thing our whole life, and we have spent a third of our life not preparing for two-thirds of our life.

It starts to become pretty daunting that one day to the next is coming to an end, not having any idea what's on the other side. The only way to figure it out is to go through it. That's something inevitably everybody has to do, and when it comes to her, I certainly hope and pray that her end is every bit as respectable as her career has been.

I mean, she's handled herself like a class act throughout many difficulties and successes in her life, and I have no doubt she's going to continue to do that.

Q. It seems like a pretty timely moment, given the inauguration of Donald Trump today, such a high-profile American, and as someone who's given so much to the country, a country that's given so much to you, what are your thoughts on America's future right now and how you see it as an American? What do you think the feeling is there on the ground at the moment?
ANDRE AGASSI: Well, sure. I mean, I think like any place in the world, you see two sides to this thought. It's obviously been a divisive year and a half in our country's evolution. I've been on record and say I'm a registered independent who has voted on both sides of the aisle many times.

My focus is on education and somebody whose particular thoughts as it relates to the most important commodity we have, which is our children, you know, and our future.

I can also say, you know, that it's a really unique time historically in our country, the thought of not having a professional politician sit in the biggest, most important seat in the world, somebody who has been involved in business only.

We'd all be speculating on what this means. Promises are made every four years. I have seen many promises go met and many promises not go met.

I have heard a lot of promises, and it's not time for promises anymore. It's time for action, and I hope everybody can keep an open mind as it relates to the temperature of our culture and our country.

We obviously all need to come together on even ground that we care about our future, and we need our future to be better than it's been. If that can be done, we all should be open to that.

Q. I was wondering if you could please share a few funny stories from the locker room back in your time, if you can remember some of it.
ANDRE AGASSI: Locker room stories?

Q. Yeah, funny stories.
ANDRE AGASSI: Locker room funny stories?

I've got to say that I would probably, while I'm amusing some of you, I'd be violating a code of loyalty that I'd rather respect.

But if something comes to me I feel is within fair game, I'll share it.

Q. As we all know, you've practiced a couple of times with Angie Kerber, and I think you know her a little bit. From your point of view and your experience, what changes, as a professional, when you have the burden of being No. 1, become the No. 1 in the world, what changes in your job and your life? What do you think? Is she capable of staying on the top for a long time?
ANDRE AGASSI: Well, so I do know her a little bit. We have talked tennis, you know, relatively extensively in the times that we have spent...(lost connection)...heck of a fighter.

We just lost connection again, I think.

I'm not sure if anybody can hear me. I'll just wait.

THE MODERATOR: Yes. Do you hear us?

ANDRE AGASSI: There you go. Now I have you.

I was saying she's one heck of a fighter, and I have seen her take some of that fight and kind of turn it on those pressures, you know. Those pressures do exist. Germany seems to be leading in the global or tennis arena of pressures felt for the predecessors, I'd imagine, and all the accomplishments of champions prior.

It was one heck of a time in Germany going back a few decades with Boris and Steffi and Stich and the like, a lot of Grand Slams to live up to.

The one thing we talked very extensively about is the importance of getting better every day. I mean, you're charged with that duty when you come onto the tennis scene, and then when you're No. 1 in the world there is no one else ahead of you. You're still charged with the duty of figuring out a way to get better.

If you're not doing that...(lost connection).

THE MODERATOR: This is a sign.

I think we're going to have to...

ANDRE AGASSI: Okay. I'll just continue, then, is that all right?

So we talked extensively about the focus of just getting better. After Australia, I think she felt the pressure of it. I think she was distracted about the balance of life after being, you know, a champion, a Grand Slam champion, and, you know, there is a lot of demands on your time. There is that need to feel like you have to be, you know, have to say yes to everything.

It starts to put a lot of burdens on what made you get there in the first place. It took her a few tournaments of reminding her that nothing changes overnight, and she turned all that fighting spirit back on her opponent.

As far as how long she could do it, as long as her body holds up, she counts on her physicality dramatically. She's strong. She's physical. She relies on a lot of her defense. She's a fighter. So I believe as long as her body is healthy, she will be a threat going into any tournament.

Q. I would like to know how much do you like coffee? And speak also about Lavazza. How many cups do you drink a day? Cappuccino or coffee? Do you have the machine Lavazza?
ANDRE AGASSI: I have the machine in our home in Las Vegas and also in other home up in the mountains. Unquestionably, I have moved ahead with the times and realize that you can do it better and more efficiently, and I truly am grateful for it. I'm not just saying that. I promise you it has added to my life.

With that being said, coffee is so important that everybody that knows me gives me a cup in the morning before they ask me any questions, because I'm a much better conversationalist after a cup of coffee.

I try to avoid too many cups, so I start my day with it, and then somewhere in the middle afternoon, as you're about to tackle the choreography of life with the kids and all that, a good afternoon cup of coffee usually comes in handy.

But I shut it down. After 3:00, I refuse to have one. I just push through and go to sleep.

Q. Is Lavazza better than other coffee?
ANDRE AGASSI: I didn't understand.

Q. Don't worry. That's okay.
GIUSEPPE LAVAZZA: She said if Lavazza better than other coffee? Obviously? Do you agree?

ANDRE AGASSI: (Lost connection.)

GIUSEPPE LAVAZZA: Thank you, Andre.

Which is a demonstration Andre is a champion on the court and even outside the court, because every time I have had the pleasure of listen to him, I get a lot of learnings, a lot of experience, every breath a lot of humanity from every words, every thought he have.

So I think he's really a great person, a great iconic person to represent not only tennis but really the real value in life and in terms of protecting the education of children and giving such importance to education.

I live in a country where these kind of values are not so strong, and maybe this is why Europe now is a little bit suffering because the education system has to be a little bit reform and talk about children as a commodity, but it's the future that we have to rely on.

Thank you, very much, Andre. Maybe see you soon in another great tournament or in Vegas, and thank you for sharing your time with us. My best love to you, your family, and to your beautiful children. Thank you so much.

ANDRE AGASSI: Thank you, and a big kiss to Melbourne and so many familiar names and faces that I saw there. Ciao.

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