By Martyn Herman

DOHA (Reuters) - Eight-times grand slam winner Andre Agassi left the tennis world in a state of shock on Wednesday when he admitted using the recreational drug crystal meth and lying to men's governing body the ATP to escape a ban.

In his autobiography "Open," the American candidly describes being introduced to the drug in 1997 and the moment when he was informed he had failed a drugs test.

International Tennis Federation (ITF) president Francesco Ricci Bitti said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the revelations and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief John Fahey called on the ATP to "shed light" on the circumstances that allowed Agassi to escape punishment.

In his book, Agassi, now 39, spoke of the moment he took crystal meths, a highly-addictive amphetamine, for the first time when his career was in freefall. He was helped by his drug-user assistant, known as Slim.

"Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I've crossed," he said.

"There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. 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."

REBELLIOUS STREAK

Agassi burst on to the scene in the late 1980s with a maverick streak, long hair and a wacky dress sense that made him an instant hit with a new generation of tennis fans.

He won Wimbledon in 1992, the U.S. Open in 1994 and the Australian Open in 1995.

However, wrist injuries and a loss of form sent his career on to the rocks in 1997 and his world ranking tumbled to 122.

A year later he began a new training regime that sparked an incredible turnaround. After a spell on the second-tier Challenger circuit he shot back up the rankings and in 1999 completed a career grand slam at the French Open.

Agassi, now married to former women's number one Steffi Graf with whom he has two children, ended 1999 atop the rankings after winning the U.S. Open again. He won three more Australian Open titles before a tearful retirement in 2006.

However, had tennis's doping program been under the WADA code at the time there is little doubt his cover-up of his drug- taking would have failed and his career could have been ruined.

Agassi, in extracts from his book serialized in the Times, remembers receiving a phone call in 1997 from a doctor working for the ATP who informed him that he had failed a drugs test.

"My name, my career, everything is now on the line. Whatever I've achieved, whatever I've worked for, might soon mean nothing. Days later I sit with a legal pad in my lap and write a letter to the ATP. It's filled with lies interwoven with bits of truth," Agassi said.

AGASSI ASHAMED

He said the ATP threw out the case against him after he concocted a story that he had accidentally drunk a soda spiked with crystal meth belonging to Slim. Continued...