Download or read book Jimmy Connors Saved My Life written by Joel Drucker and published by Robson. This book was released on 2005-06 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jimmy Connors is seldom considered when one discusses the best tennis players ever. Nevertheless, he was the most successful, with an all-time best 109 tournament victories through the 1970s and 1980s including eight major championships, and during the 1970s he was the world's No. 1 ranked player for a then unprecedented five consecutive years. In this carefully researched, admiring account of Connors' blue-collar rise through the tennis ranks shepherded by Gloria, the ultimate tennis mum, sports journalist Joel Drucker describes how mother and son pushed their way into the aristocratic tennis oligarchy with determination and hard work. Though popular as a charismatic and energetic joker on court, Connors wasn't always nice, had a temper and projected a mild paranoia. The chip on his shoulder that carried him out of Belleville, Illinois, to a number-one world ranking also antagonized the press, his opponents and the tennis establishment. But it was Connors' determination that inspired Drucker to pursue his career, hence the book's title. first-hand experience to craft a book that is both a comprehensive biography of Connors and a memoir of the author's life. Connors ignited a tennis revolution, personifying the notion that an athlete could be both a sports superstar and cultural icon, and by a fusion of rage, desire, ambition and talent Connors showcased the sport as no one before him. In chronicling the life of the enigmatic superstar, Drucker reveals in candid detail the profound emotional impact Connors had on him as his own life intersected and ultimately clashed with the tennis superstar.

Download or read book The Outsider written by Jimmy Connors and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-05-14 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Outsider is a no-holds-barred memoir by the original bad boy of tennis, Jimmy Connors. Connors ignited the tennis boom in the 1970s with his aggressive style of play, turning his matches with John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Ivan Lendl into prizefights. But it was his prolonged dedication to his craft that won him the public’s adoration. He capped off one of the most remarkable runs in tennis history at the age of 39 when he reached the semifinals of the 1991 U.S. Open, competing against players half his age. More than just the story of a tennis champion, The Outsider is the uncensored account of Connors' life, from his complicated relationship with his formidable mother and his storybook romance with tennis legend Chris Evert, to his battles with gambling and fidelity that threatened to derail his career and his long-lasting marriage to Playboy playmate Patti McGuire. When he retired from tennis twenty years ago, Connors all but disappeared from public view. In The Outsider, he is back at the top of his game, and as feisty, outspoken, and defiant as ever. This autobiography includes original color photographs from the author.

Download or read book Outsider written by Elias J. Connor and published by FINN Books Edition FireFly. This book was released on 2022-01-17 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ellis is a sad boy - caught up in his daydreams, abandoned and beaten by his family, teased and bullied at school. It seems nobody listens to him and nobody shares his fears and sadness. One evening he meets the girl Natalie, who is the same age. She makes him feel like he finally has a true ally. Natalie takes Ellis on imaginary journeys, enabling him to have sweet dreams again and be happy despite his sad situation... until one day Ellis realizes that Natalie is not real, just an imaginary character. When Ellis ends up in an orphanage after a devastating family incident, he meets a real girl who is identical to Natalie. She seems to change his life. Can Ellis now find his way and face his trials better?

Download or read book Winning Ugly written by Brad Gilbert and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tennis classic from Olympic gold medalist and ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert, now featuring a new introduction with tips drawn from the strategies of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, and more, to help you outthink and outplay your toughest opponents. A former Olympic medalist and now one of ESPN’s most respected analysts, Brad Gilbert shares his timeless tricks and tips, including “some real gems” (Tennis magazine) to help both recreational and professional players improve their game. In the new introduction to this third edition, Gilbert uses his inside access to analyze current stars such as Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, showing readers how to beat better players without playing better tennis. Written with clarity and wit, this classic combat manual for the tennis court has become the bible of tennis instruction books for countless players worldwide.

Download or read book Bad News for McEnroe written by Bill Scanlon and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2014-01-28 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A shockingly honest memoir about life on the pro tennis circuit during its golden years by one of McEnroe's and Connors' chief rivals, Bill Scanlon. In the golden age of tennis, when players were just learning how to become media personalities, men like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg and Ivan Lendl ruled the court. In a tell-all memoir, former top 10 seeded tennis star and chief McEnroe rival, Bill Scanlon, presents an unfettered look at the good old days of tennis when some of the most colorful (and infamous) players in history went head-to-head and the game was changed forever. Bad News For McEnroe is in part a revelation of the feud between McEnroe and the author that began when they were teenagers, but the essence of this book are the wonderful and surprising on- and off-the-court high jinks of such notable players as Guillermo Vilas, Borg, McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and Connors, all of whom Scanlan played and knew intimately, from locker room fights to on-court breakdowns and blow-ups. A story that could not have come from anyone but a true insider, Scanlon's tale of life on the pro tennis circuit will shock and delight tennis fans everywhere.

Download or read book Acing Depression written by Cliff Richey and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronicling the tumultuous life of the original bad boy of tennis, this engaging memoir describes one man's public battle with clinical depression. Cliff Richey was best known for the 1970 season in which he won the Grand Prix, the Davis Cup, and was first in the American tennis ranking. He was also well known for his tantrums and boorish behavior that served to mask an internal, dark struggle. Describing torturous days in which he would place black trash bags on the windows and lay in bed crying for hours, this brutally honest narrative stresses that depression is a mental disorder that can affect anyone. Documenting his 10 year fight for control of his mind, aided by antidepressant medication, the determination and strength that afforded him the nickname of "The Bull" is highlighted. Expressing the joy of feeling stable for the first time in his life, this deeply moving story of nightmare and redemption serves to encourage and inspire anyone whose life is touched by mental illness.

Download or read book Greatest Sports Heroes of All Times written by Paul J. Christopher and published by Encouragement Press, LLC. This book was released on 2006-08 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hold it! You really think we can come up with 50 greatest sports heroes? Well, we can and we have. Our heroes are not simply limited to the most popular spectator sports. On occasion our heroes go back several generations, not just to the names in the papers or the sports talk shows. Who are they? Well, certainly Jordan, Woods and Ming...but are you old enough to remember Max Schmeling or George Best? There are a lot more where they come from...skiers, cyclists, golfers and runners-all the best and more. What did they do and why are they great? The book offers: a quick, personal biography of each of our famous athletes; summary statistics of some of the most important successes; the good, the bad and the ugly of their sports careers; why these individuals went on to influence their sport; and trivia questions to challenge your knowledge and more.

Download or read book Little Pancho written by Caroline Seebohm and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2009-05-01 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born into a poor family in Ecuador, Pancho Segura was an undersized and undernourished kid working as a ball boy at an exclusive tennis club when he first picked up a racket. Little Pancho is the story of how this improbable athlete, with his bandy legs, infectious smile, and unorthodox two-handed style of play, became one of the greatest and most beloved tennis players of all time. During his twenty years in pro tennis, general audiences appreciated his spirit as a master entertainer, while tennis fans adored him. ø Drawing on interviews with many in the game who knew or admired Pancho, Caroline Seebohm provides a close-up picture of the unlikely pro as his career first emerged in Ecuador and then developed further in the United States during the 1940s, where he broke down social and political prejudices with his charm, naturalness, and brilliance on the court. ø Little Pancho follows Segura from the University of Miami, where he won three consecutive NCAA championships (still a record), to his time on the U.S. professional tennis tour. On the pro tour of that time, Segura and his fellow players struggled to earn a living and find acceptance in the traditional, sometimes elitist tennis world, which scorned ?professionals? as outcasts. Little Pancho shows us Segura when he quit the professional tour to become a coach at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, working with movie stars such as Charlton Heston, Barbra Streisand, and Lauren Bacall. And finally, we hear for the first time from some of the later champions Segura coached, including Jimmy Connors. This history of tennis in the midcenturyøalso is the inspiring story of how one poor Latino kid, through sheer grit, grace, and talent, changed the face of the sport forever.

Download or read book Rafa written by Rafael Nadal and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2011-08-23 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his memoir, written with award-winning journalist John Carlin, tennis star Rafael Nadal reveals the secrets of his game and shares the inspiring personal story behind his success. What makes a champion? What does it take to be the best in the world at your sport? Rafael Nadal has the answers. It begins in Mallorca, where the tight-knit Nadal family has lived for generations. Coached by his uncle Toni from the age of four and taught humility and respect by his parents, Nadal has managed the uncommon feat of becoming an acclaimed global celebrity while remaining a gracious, hardworking role model for people in all walks of life. Now he takes us behind the scenes, from winning the Wimbledon 2008 final -- described by John McEnroe as "the greatest game of tennis" he had ever seen -- to the family problems that brought him low in 2009 and the numerous injuries that have threatened his career. With candor and intelligence, Nadal brings readers on his dramatic and triumphant journey, never losing sight of the prize he values above all others: the unity and love of his family. From RAFA:"During a match, you are in a permanent battle to fight back your everyday vulnerabilities, bottle up your human feelings. The more bottled up they are, the greater your chances of winning, so long as you've trained as hard as you play and the gap in talent is not too wide between you and your rival. The gap in talent with Federer existed, but it was not impossibly wide. It was narrow enough, even on his favorite surface in the tournament he played best, for me to know that if I silenced the doubts and fears, and exaggerated hopes, inside my head better than he did, I could beat him. You have to cage yourself in protective armor, turn yourself into a bloodless warrior. It's a kind of self-hypnosis, a game you play, with deadly seriousness, to disguise your own weaknesses from yourself, as well as from your rival."

Download or read book Footsteps of Federer written by Dave Seminara and published by Post Hill Press. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Roger Federer could live anywhere in the world, but he always returns to the place he loves most: Switzerland. Dave Seminara is a mad traveler and tennis lifer who has written about Federer for The New York Times and other publications. A pair of autoimmune diseases and a knee surgery kept Dave from playing tennis for years, but as he inched toward recovery, he had a bright idea: why not start his tennis comeback on hallowed ground—courts that his hero Roger Federer graced in Switzerland. Footsteps of Federer is a funny, novella-length account of Seminara’s travels across seven Swiss cantons in search of insights into Federer’s character, which is inextricably linked to his deep roots in, and love for, his country. Seminara timed his unique pilgrimage to the 2019 Swiss Indoors, where he had a chance to ask Roger a number of offbeat questions before and after Federer hoisted his record tenth title there. Seminara’s Federer pilgrimage took him to Switzerland’s most important abbey, where he prayed with Abbot Urban Federer; to the vineyard of Jakob Federer from Berneck, where the Federer clan originated from; to the stunning villa where Roger and Mirka were married; and to many of the neighborhoods and tennis clubs where Roger has lived and trained at over the years.

Download or read book One for the Murphys written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-05-16 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Fish in a Tree! Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong--until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She's not really a Murphy, but the gifts they've given her have opened up a new future. "Hunt's writing is fearless and One For The Murphys is a story that is at once compassionate, thought-provoking and beautifully told. From the first page, I was drawn into Carley's story. She is a character not to be missed or forgotten." —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming Winner of the Tassy Walden Award for New Voice in Children's Literature

Download or read book Tennis Beyond Big Shots written by Greg Moran and published by Mansion. This book was released on 2006 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a bold back-to-the-future approach. A new game that moves away from power and big shots yet is more lethal to opponents than any booming serve. Greg Moran shows players of all ages and abilities that, with simple and small changes, you can not only maximise your tennis wins and play longer, but also have much more fun doing it. Features: How you can win big with small changes; Forgotten shots that will raise your game; Why good thinking tops great strokes; Secrets of the new 'power game' to win, play and enjoy more. A book for every tennis enthusiast!

Download or read book On Being John McEnroe written by Tim Adams and published by Jonathan Cape. This book was released on 2003 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fan's-eye-view of one of tennis' most notorious stars. The greatest sports stars characterize their times. They also help to tell us who we are. John McEnroe, at his best and worst, encapsulated the story of the eighties. His improvised quest for tennis perfection and his inability to find a way to grow up dramatized the volatile self-absorption of a generation. His matches were open therapy sessions and they allowed us all to be armchair shrinks. Tim Adams sets out to explore what it might have meant to be John McEnroe during those times and to define exactly what it is we want from our sporting heroes: how we require them to play out our own dramas; how the best of them provide an intensity that we can measure our own lives by. Talking to McEnroe, his friends and rivals, and drawing on a range of references, Tim Adams presents a book that is both a portrait of the most colourful player ever to pick up a racket and an original study of the idea of sporting obsession.

Download or read book Ashe vs Connors written by Peter Bodo and published by Aurum. This book was released on 2015-05-28 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early in July of 2015, tennis will celebrate the 40th anniversary of what might be the greatest upset in the annals of tennis. There have been other key matches in which the disparity between the favourite and the victorious underdog may have been more pronounced by standards of the sport. But none has been more resonant, or flush with meaning and contrasts. For this was not just a contest between a mercurial, seemingly unstoppable prodigy and an undemonstrative veteran, it also embodied a clash of values in a rapidly changing world, and in the sport itself. This is the story of two tennis greats lives, from the local park courts of their boyhood to the summer of 1975 an this most resonant of Wimbledon finals, which Ashe won to become the first black male Champion. However, like the best sports books written, this is much more than a just a story about one match, but a metaphor for a changing world, the end of an era and a last triumph for the passing guard.

Download or read book The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports written by Stuart Miller and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-03-06 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York City sports history, like the city itself, is noisy, confident, and endlessly fascinating. This is the city where Joe Louis struck a blow against the Nazis, where major league baseball was integrated, and where marathons and professional tennis came into their own. The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports, Updated Edition, recounts New York’s greatest sporting moments, from Jackie Robinson integrating baseball to the Ali-Frazier fight to the New York Giants stunning the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. It covers dramatic sporting events involving the likes of Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Reggie Jackson, Dr. J, Joe Namath, and many more. This updated edition features a new, chronological approach to highlight the remarkable history and development of sports in the city and the nation. It also includes many new moments, an updated ranking, and a single list that incorporates events that took place outside the city but involved New York teams. Pick a sport—baseball, football, basketball, boxing, tennis—and in every case New York has had front-row seats for the sport’s major developments and most memorable events. The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports illuminates how important sports are to the life of New York and the city’s preeminent place in American sports history. It’s about all the “firsts” that occurred here, the many titles that have been won, and all the drama in between.

Download or read book In Pursuit of the Slam written by Mark Cripps and published by Andrews UK Limited. This book was released on 2024-06-19 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Pursuit of the Slam: My Year Travelling to Tennis’s Top Four Tournaments tells the story of the author’s year out between jobs during which he attended all four of tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments. Unhappy in his corporate job, tennis fan Mark Cripps decided to pack it all in and start again. But a chance sighting of an old friend in an in-flight magazine led to an idea: Why not take some time out to travel, organising the trip around tennis’s Grand Slam tournaments? He made a plan to attend the 1992 French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and then, returning to Australia in early 1993, where he had been based with American Express, the Australian Open. On the way, he would visit places of interest, catch up with old friends and visit other tournaments in the build up to each Slam, including the Italian Open in Rome. The book describes how the author organised the visits to each Slam, once there, securing tickets and watching the tennis daily. A club tennis player, the book also tells how the author entered a tournament on the new British Tour and the experience of facing opponents of a much higher standard. Following the US Open, a week spent at a tennis fantasy camp helped confirm the next steps he needed to take when his trip was over. In Pursuit of the Slam: My Year Travelling to Tennis’s Top Four Tournaments is told in an anecdotal style including the story of the author’s childhood introduction to sport, where his mother’s love of Wimbledon was so infectious. A nostalgic look back at the professional tennis tours through the prism of a round-the-world trip, the book will appeal to those interested in tennis, especially the professional game back in the nineties and the history of British tennis in general; those keen on travel; anyone needing a change of job or career; or those who just want to make the most of their interests.

Download or read book Days of Grace written by Arthur Ashe and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-03-09 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Touching and courageous...All of it--the man, the life, the book--is rare and beautiful." COSMOPOLITAN DAYS OF GRACE is an inspiring memoir of a remarkable man who was the true embodiment of courage, elegance, and the spirit to fight: Arthur Ashe--tennis champion, social activist, and person with AIDS. Frank, revealing, touching--DAYS OF GRACE is the story of a man felled to soon. It remains as his legacy to us all.... AN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB