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Agassi Trying New Way to Improve Image : Media strategy: Fourth-ranked player hopes to defuse controversy by being more open to interviews.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Andre Agassi, his tennis racket a lightning rod for controversy, has decided to fight back with a powerful weapon--his mouth.

Agassi is going public. Stung by negative stories in the media, Agassi plans to make himself readily available for interviews, hoping that the more that readers know about him, the better they will like him.

It remains to be seen whether such strategy is a gamble, but Agassi is pressing forward nonetheless.

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So is this a new Andre, Andre?

“It’s the same Andre,” Agassi said. “It’s the same Andre who wants to get out a little more. It’s been shown to me that in the process of surviving the press, not to stop telling your story.

“This is not concocted,” he said. “This is an attitude. It’s not like a scheme, you know; it’s very simple. I’m going to be much more open to doing a lot more interviews. The people around me know that.”

According to Agassi’s agent, Bill Shelton of International Management Group, his client has not received a fair shake in the press. “It’s been generally bad press for him out there,” Shelton said. “(The media) have always looked for and zeroed in on the negative and never talked about the good things.”

Agassi has long attracted a somewhat negative press that grew increasing skeptical of him for such instances as catching an opponent’s serve bare-handed in a Davis Cup match, claiming he didn’t know the meaning of the word coup in a Davis Cup match with troubled Paraguay, calling French Tennis Federation chief Philippe Chatrier a “bozo” and reneging on his Davis Cup appointment against Czechoslovakia.

Outspoken criticism of Agassi reached a peak when he defaulted his second singles match in the U.S. victory over Australia in the Davis Cup. Although it was later determined that Agassi had a rib muscle injury, Australian Darren Cahill questioned whether Agassi faked the injury.

So Agassi took on Cahill as well as any other critics among his peers.

“With all due respect with what they offer tennis, because we have to fill out the draw, you know, I think it’s the only way to get their names in the paper,” Agassi said. “Who knows what was going through Cahill’s mind? I just look at it like at least he got to read a quote of his in the paper.”

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Agassi’s new philosophy also coincides with his rather rocky beginning to the new tennis season. He came back from the rib injury and lost to Brad Gilbert in the San Francisco semifinals, then followed it with a stunning straight set-loss to Christian Saceanu in the first round at Brussels.

Agassi, who plays Michael Chang tonight in the Forum Tennis Challenge, an exhibition, showed up at Bradenton, Fla., and hit tennis balls at the Nick Bollettieri Academy instead of retreating to his home in Las Vegas.

“That will tell you how, well, not panicked, but concerned I am,” Agassi said.

Laid off for 2 1/2 months because of his injury, Agassi learned how difficult it is to be unable to play, even when he wanted to. He also is entered in next week’s Newsweek Champions Cup in Indian Wells.

Agassi hardly overplays--he entered only 15 tournaments and the ATP World Championship in 1990--but he chose when he played.

“When you’re off because you can’t play, it weighs on you. It makes you paranoid as to how quick you can recover and play good tennis again,” Agassi said.

“I may not feel great about my game until the French Open,” said Agassi, 20, who is ranked No. 4. “I’m just not putting any pressure on myself.”

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And in the meantime, he hopes the press will avoid putting too much pressure on Agassi. He insists that he is only asking for fairness and that negative stories don’t bother him as long as they are accurate.

Such an occasion was at last year’s U.S. Open during his second-round victory over Petr Korda, when Agassi caused an uproar by spitting in the direction of the chair umpire.

“It was just like, wow, I deserve it. I almost want to read more about that,” Agassi said. “It was horrible for tennis, horrible for sports.

“But I feel like the things I get criticized for are so petty. . . . I mean, if I was soliciting prostitution or doing drugs. . . .”

“I have made a lot of mistakes, and I promise you, I have not made my last one,” he said.

Maybe so. And if true, then it really is the same old Andre, but at least he’s willing to talk about it.

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