Andre Agassi's role as a humanitarian is beyond dispute, and there is no question that he and wife Steffi Graf are forces for positive change in society.

But as the dust settles on the remarkable revelations in Agassi's autobiography, including his use of the drug crystal methamphetamine, the motivation behind the book becomes ever more puzzling.

Agassi fans will vehemently argue that the eight-time Grand Slam champion penned his memoirs to unburden himself after years of secrecy - or even to provide a warning about the dangers of illicit substances.

Yet the controversial aspects of the book have done little for the image of tennis, from his sniping about greats such as Jimmy Connors to the admission of how he hoodwinked ATP authorities after testing positive for drugs.

The timing of the book's release seems to have been designed for maximum impact (and profit). Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does appear to fly in the face of suggestions that Agassi's intentions here are simply public-spirited.

With an eight-year cutoff period in place, there is no chance of Agassi being stripped of any of his titles or prize money.

For all the good works Agassi has done, the release of this book will not go down as one of his greatest highlights. He deserves to be judged harshly for both the actions which broke the rules of the game and for the comments which damaged it, regardless of how much time has gone by.

Agassi's gain from this exercise will be the success of the book - he doesn't need a free pass from a forgiving tennis public too.

Drop shot

At a time when tennis' hierarchy is under scrutiny, the interminable wait for some action on Serena Williams' U.S. Open outburst rumbles on. As the two-month mark approaches, is it really too much to ask that an appropriate punishment is finally handed down? Williams is at last established as the clear world No.1 after winning in Doha last week, but the saga surrounding her rant at a line judge is leaving a stain on the women's game.

Clean winner

Ivan Ljubicic has endured a torrid few years with injury and patchy play, but he burst back to form in Lyon last week. The big-serving Croat was the only non-Frenchman in the quarterfinals but outlasted Michael Llodra for the championship.

Use your frequent-flyer miles

While the men are slugging it out in chilly Europe for the final spots in the Tour finals, the vacation destination of Bali in Indonesia is the place to be. The Tournament of Champions is an interesting concept - a season-ending event for the group of players just below the elite - and could catch on.

Last week's winners

St. Petersburg Open: Sergiy Stakhovsky
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy, Vienna: Jurgen Melzer
Grand Prix de Tennis, Lyon: Ivan Ljubicic
Sony Ericsson Championships, Doha: Serena Williams

This week's predictions

Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel: Roger Federer
Valencia Open: Nikolay Davydenko
Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, Bali: Samantha Stosur

Related: Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Nikolay Davydenko, Serena Williams