"I never felt really authentic when I was out there" - When Andre Agassi revealed his dislike for being in public eye

Andre Agassi is among the greatest players in the history of tennis and remains a highly popular figure in the sport.

The American was always in the public eye in his heyday and spoke about it in an interview with writer Zibby Owens on her podcast "Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books" back in 2018.

Owens asked Agassi how he felt about being in the public eye with his kids while also bringing up the example of Roger Federer. The eight-time Grand Slam champion said that he relished getting away from the public eye and that he never really felt authentic whenever he was out.

"Everybody’s wired differently. I know Roger to a certain degree. He seems like as down-to-earth of a person as you can be. Certainly, he has a respect for all cultures and people. He has a deep knowledge of history and both life and tennis. I would imagine there's some real context that he has off the court," Andre Agassi said.

"Other people in the public eye, they might believe what they read. I don't know. For me, I relished getting away from the hat I felt like I had to wear when I was in the public eye. I never felt really authentic when I was out there. I did come to terms with this being a talent of mine," he added.

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"Loving tennis was not who I was, I actually hated it for most of my life for a lot of reasons"- Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi at the 2017 French Open

Andre Agassi also stated that he hated tennis for most of his life for a lot of reasons. He claimed that having the responsibility of a father was a relief for him.

"Loving tennis was not who I was. I actually hated it for most of my life for a lot of reasons. I would get out there and struggle with my purpose and reason. I found my reason, finally, in giving choice to other children through education. That became my distraction from myself when I was out there," the American said.

"When I had children it actually, in some odd way, made it a lot easier for me because I was able to escape -- it was so real. It was so who I was that it was a relief to me to have the responsibility of being a dad and to, quite honestly, feel normal and to feel like tennis just went away," he added.