The Outsider
Title | The Outsider PDF eBook |
Author | Jimmy Connors |
Publisher | Harper Collins |
Pages | 336 |
Release | 2013-05-14 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 0062119621 |
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.
Outsider
Title | Outsider PDF eBook |
Author | Elias J. Connor |
Publisher | FINN Books Edition FireFly |
Pages | 352 |
Release | 2022-01-17 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 3754634674 |
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?
Bad News for McEnroe
Title | Bad News for McEnroe PDF eBook |
Author | Bill Scanlon |
Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Pages | 251 |
Release | 2014-01-28 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 1466863390 |
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.
Little Pancho
Title | Little Pancho PDF eBook |
Author | Caroline Seebohm |
Publisher | U of Nebraska Press |
Pages | 267 |
Release | 2009-05-01 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 0803220413 |
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.
Acing Depression
Title | Acing Depression PDF eBook |
Author | Cliff Richey |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2010 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 9780942257663 |
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.
Tennis Confidential
Title | Tennis Confidential PDF eBook |
Author | Paul Fein |
Publisher | Potomac Books, Inc. |
Pages | 559 |
Release | 2003 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 1597973920 |
In this outstanding collection of essays and interviews, Paul Fein takes the reader into the world of the pro tennis tour with inside scoops about the game’s greatest stars, past and present. Tennis Confidential includes interviews with such all-time greats as Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Arthur Ashe, and Jimmy Connors along with essays about the careers of other stars like Andre Agassi, the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati, and Anna Kournikova. Fein also reviews the careers of pioneering players like Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Borg, and Rod Laver. Tennis Confidential tackles the issues that confront the sport today, from the media’s fascination with teenage players on the women’s tour to the changes in the game caused by new racket designs and tactical innovations. Fein also reviews the ten greatest matches in tennis history. He gives fans at every level a unique perspective on the game and its history.
Footsteps of Federer
Title | Footsteps of Federer PDF eBook |
Author | Dave Seminara |
Publisher | Post Hill Press |
Pages | 106 |
Release | 2021-03-02 |
Genre | Sports & Recreation |
ISBN | 1642938572 |
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.