Family Life Keeps Agassi Grounded - 網球

By SANDRA HARWITT, For The Associated Press
Fri Sep 9, 3:56 AM ET

NEW YORK - Andre Agassi has his priorities straight: kids first, then tennis.

Though he labored long into the night to beat James Blake in an epic
five-setter, Agassi was up early Thursday to play with his two toddlers
before heading back to the practice courts for a semifinals tuneup.

Before going to sleep at 4:15 a.m., three hours after finishing off Blake,
Agassi told his wife, Steffi Graf, not to keep their son Jaden and daughter
Jaz from waking him in the morning.

"When you're young, you can sleep in till 12," Agassi said after a 30-minute
practice session in the afternoon. "When you're older, your body clock goes
off, you're up early anyhow.

"I told Stef I wanted the kids jumping on me as soon as they can. She fought
them off until about 8:15. Jaden comes in and wants to get under the blankets
and make a house out of it. My little daughter asks me if I want coffee,
because she's big on helping me make my coffee."

What Agassi appreciates most about having children is that they keep him
grounded in reality. Although Jaden, almost 4, was seen pointing to a picture
of Agassi in a hallway at the Open earlier in the tournament, exclaiming that
it was "daddy," his children are blissfully unaware of their parents' star
power.

"You realize when you have special moments they don't quite absorb it,"
Agassi said. "They're not interested in your dramas. They need you for a few
things, and you just count on each other."

Graf, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, made an easy transition from her former
life as a superstar to the more traditional roles of wife and mother.

Agassi acknowledges, though, that Graf's familiarity with what it takes to
play at the highest level enables him to keep going.

"How she helps me is with understanding the subtleties required to accomplish
this task," said Agassi, who has won "only" eight Grand Slam titles,
including two U.S. Opens. "She's been through it. She knows how to create an
environment that gives me that platform to succeed. It's things that don't
need to be said. She's very supportive of the times I have to come out and
work, time put in at the gym. And the time you have to rest. Those are the
more frustrating times.

"You are so tempted to burn the candle at both ends," he added. "You need an
environment that is constantly aware of the demands put on you."

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