Andre Agassi's Autobiography, OPEN, to Be Published by Knopf November 9: "60 Minutes" Will Conduct First Interview With

NEW YORK, NY, Aug 24 (MARKET WIRE) --
Andre Agassi's autobiography will be published by Alfred A. Knopf on
November 9, it was announced today by Sonny Mehta, Chairman of the Knopf
Doubleday Publishing Group. OPEN, a deeply personal account of Agassi's
life on and off the court, will also simultaneously be published in
Canada, England, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The Knopf first
printing has been set at 500,000 copies, and it will be available as a
Random House audiobook.

'60 Minutes' has agreed to conduct the first interview with Agassi about
his autobiography.

'People' magazine and 'Sports Illustrated' have both purchased first
serial rights to the book.

"No one ever asked me if I wanted to play tennis," Agassi writes, "let
alone make it my life." In OPEN, he recalls for the first time a childhood
without choices. Forced to embrace tennis, banished to a brutal tennis
camp while still in grade school, catapulted to fame while still in his
teens, Agassi grew up feeling isolated, alienated, detached. In OPEN he
tells how he reconnected, how he overcame his fears, fought through his
loneliness, found strength and purpose in the decision to devote his life
to others -- and in the love of one extraordinary woman.

Agassi writes with uncommon candor about his father, his family, his best
friends and first loves. He recounts the intimate details of his doomed
marriage to Brooke Shields. He describes the grind of championship tennis,
the physical toll and greater mental toll. He recalls his most painful
moments in the arena -- humiliating defeats, career-threatening injuries,
ridicule from fans and media -- but celebrates the maturity to which they
all led. He also puts his fellow players, including legendary greats,
under the microscope of his astounding memory. With precision and grace he
recalls their quirks, gifts, foibles, and the demons with which they often
struggled.

"OPEN is one of the most candid, introspective, and surprising
autobiographies I have ever read," said Mehta. "Andre Agassi has lived a
remarkable life, and his book will resonate with readers far beyond the
spectrum of tennis. We are enormously proud to be publishing it."

Alfred A. Knopf is the flagship imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing
Group, which is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is
Bertelsmann AG, the international media company. A photo of the book
jacket for OPEN is available upon request.

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