Agassi still a hero to Roddick

30 Oct 2009, 6:48 am   -   Source: Reuters
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Eight-time grand slam winner Andre Agassi retired in 2006. (File EPA)

Eight-time grand slam winner Andre Agassi retired in 2006. (File EPA)

Top US player Andy Roddick has said Andre Agassi remains his hero despite revelations the former star took crystal meth and lied about a positive drug test.

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Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick said Andre Agassi remained his hero despite revelations his fellow American took the recreational drug crystal meth in the late 1990s and lied about the reasons for a positive test.

Roddick, the leading US men's player who lost to Roger Federer in this year's Wimbledon final, was one of many compatriots who remained unfazed by former world number one Agassi's admissions in his new autobiography.

"Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for (the) better," Roddick wrote on his Twitter page.

Roddick said Agassi's letter to the ATP, in which the eight times grand slam champion duped the governing body into believing he had failed a drugs test because his drink had been spiked, came at a time when the player was far from his peak.

"To be fair, when Andre wrote the reported letter, he was well outside the top 100 and widely viewed as on the way out," said Roddick.

United States Fed Cup captain Mary Jo Fernandez said Agassi had been brave to come out with his secrets.

"It takes a lot of guts and courage to come out and say something that nobody would have really known about," Fernandez said.

Women's world number two Serena Williams reacted to the news by plugging her own book.

"I don't even know what crystal meth is so, you know, that's what my reaction to it is. I haven't read anything about Andre Agassi's book. All I know is that I have a book coming out," she told reporters at the WTA Championships in Doha.

Serena's sister Venus, the world number seven, added: "His book will probably sell. It seems very interesting, to say the least."

U.S. media has been restrained in its response to Agassi's admissions, which have appeared in excerpts from his book titled 'Open'.

The New York Times noted Agassi was able to bounce back from his dark spell and enjoy a successful end to his career.

"The question is: Might it all have turned out differently without Agassi's reprieve from the doping panel, without his lie?" it asked referring to the five majors he won after 1997.

However, CBS columnist Ray Ratto questioned the motive behind Agassi's revelations.

"We're not here to kick a guy now that he's back up, although in fairness we've always found honesty to be more refreshing when it doesn't come at $31.99 a copy."

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