Andre Agassi has been all over the media in the lead-up to the US Open 2024, making appearances and getting fans hyped up for the action. One of his recent gigs was with Lavazza, where he was seen playing a few shots with the tennis star, Jannik Sinner. Interestingly, while Sinner and Agassi were discussing a wide range of topics, the American legend agreed that ‘passion and pleasure’ is what made him take up tennis.
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During their conversation, it was Agassi who asked Sinner about his motivation for playing tennis. The World No.1 used the two Ps to sum up his answer and Agassi agreed, to end his answer with the following line – ‘We are humans afterall’. The duo then proceeded to have some more coffee together.
But here’s where it gets interesting. If you have read Agassi’s autobiography Open, you would know he famously confessed to hating tennis. In the book, he talked about how he never really wanted to play the sport professionally but was pushed into it by his father. An excerpt read:
“I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have.”
That led to Agassi battling a lot of inner demons. It included struggles with drug abuse, as he couldn’t handle the pressures of being in the tennis world. His comments have sparked some chatter online.
Lavazza has been slammed for their Agassi and Sinner ad with the American legend perhaps making a good statement about the sport for the sake of his sponsor. pic.twitter.com/U90AkAY2Eu
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) August 26, 2024
Agassi could get a benefit of doubt for eventually realising that he didn’t hate the sport completely, but using words such as passion and pleasure would still come as a shock. pic.twitter.com/RxvtMwBu2E
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) August 26, 2024
Fans recalled The Open in which Agassi admitted that he hated the sport. pic.twitter.com/M3s1sdgWBx
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) August 26, 2024
Andre Agassi recently claimed that he played tennis with ‘passion and pleasure’ in an ad with Jannik Sinner! pic.twitter.com/xdj4g2TBt8
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) August 26, 2024
Sinner is starting to draw more comparisons to Agassi— but not for the reasons you might think. It is because of their involvement in doping cases, despite their circumstances having been largely different.
Agassi’s issues were very much tied to his personal struggles and the overwhelming pressure he faced from a young age. While Sinner’s situation seems to be accidental as per the verdict that came out, which made him provisionally suspended for just 6 days this year.
Perhaps, Lavazza got the timing of its ad wrong despite getting the star cast remarkably right. As the anger over the Sinner verdict has not seemed to die down, the ad was made fun of more than appreciated.
Nevertheless, Agassi looks to have made peace with himself and as a result, tennis after many years. His appearances at the US Open 2024 will be something fans would look forward to. On the other hand, Sinner has a lot to prove during the tournament and he would rather let his tennis do the talking after being done with this ad.
