American Andre Agassi has admitted in his new autobiography he lied to tennis authorities about his use of crystal methamphetamine to escape a ban. Eight-time grand slam winner Agassi, who retired in 2006, said he used the drug in 1997 with ex-assistant 'Slim'. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is said to be considering a response to Agassi's revelations. "There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness," Agassi writes about the first time he used crystal meth. "Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table," writes Agassi in his book, which the Times is serialising. "He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. "Then comes a tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful - and I've never felt such energy." Crystal meth is classified in the UK as a class A drug - the category for those considered to be the most harmful and which attract the most serious punishments and fines. It looks like small ice crystals and is a very powerful and addictive form of the stimulant speed, which can be eaten, inhaled through the nose or injected. Agassi, who is widely considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, recounts in the book, which is called 'Open', being introduced to the drug in 1997 by his one-time assistant. Agassi was enduring the worst year of his professional career in 1997 as he struggled with a wrist injury, and his world ranking slumped to a low of 141 in November of that year. The 39-year-old revealed he failed a drugs test that year but escaped a ban by saying his use was accidental. Agassi, who is married to former women's world number one Steffi Graf, later writes that he received a call from a doctor working for the ATP in the autumn of 1997 to inform him that he had failed a drugs test. The Las Vegas-born American says he wrote a letter to the ATP to argue the use was accidental, blaming his former assistant Slim. "My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing," Agassi writes. "Days later I sit in a hard-backed chair, a legal pad in my lap, and write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth. "I say Slim, whom I've since fired, is a known drug user, and that he often spikes his sodas with meth - which is true. Then I come to the central lie of the letter. "I say that recently I drank accidentally from one of Slim's spiked sodas, unwittingly ingesting his drugs. I ask for understanding and leniency and hastily sign it: Sincerely. "I feel ashamed, of course. I promise myself that this lie is the end of it." Agassi, who is often cited as one of the most charismatic players in the history of the game, writes that the ATP reviewed his case and, while he faced a minimum three-month ban, decided to believe his account and withdraw the case. His subsequent rise back through the rankings over the following two years, on the back of a gruelling fitness programme and the ignominy of playing on the lesser Challenger circuit, has gone down in tennis history. In 1999 Agassi became only the fifth man to win all four Grand Slam titles with victory at the French Open. Three months later he added a second US Open crown and he ended the year back at number one in the world. But BBC Radio 5 live's tennis correspondent Jonathan Overend feels Agassi's legacy could be ruined by the revelations and will also damage tennis's reputation. "This is sure to severely tarnish the reputation of one of the great champions," said Overend. "I think it will have underlying implications for the sport in terms of the suspicion about some of the athletes and whether or not they are on drugs. "The fact that Agassi lied and the authorities believed him has enormous repercussions. How many other cases may there have been like this?" Source: BBC