A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis by Pete Sampras, Peter Bodo
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: May 2009
- 320pp
- Sales Rank: 6,760
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: May 2009
- Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
- Format: Paperback, 320pp
- Sales Rank: 6,760
- ISBN-13: 9780307383303
- ISBN: 030738330X
Synopsis
In A Champion’s Mind, the tennis great who so often exhibited visible discomfort with letting people “inside his head” finally opens up. An athletic prodigy, Pete resolved from his earliest playing days never to let anything get in the way of his love for the game. But while this determination led to tennis domination, success didn’t come without a price.
Here for the first time Pete speaks freely about the personal trials he faced—including the death of a longtime coach and confidant—and the struggles he gutted his way through while being seemingly on top of the world. Among the book’s most riveting scenes are the devastating early loss that led Pete to make a monastic commitment to the game; fierce on-court battles with Andre Agassi; and the triumphant last match of Pete’s career at the finals of the 2002 U.S. Open.
"A thoroughly compelling read that really probes the hard drive of a champion...All the emotion and insight that Sampras seemes reluctant to express during his playing days come spilling forth." —Jon Wertheim, senior writer, Sports Illustrated
Biography
PETE SAMPRAS holds the distinction of being the youngest male player to win the U.S. Open. During his career he won sixty-four top-level singles titles (including fourteen Grand Slams, eleven ATP Masters Series titles, and five Tennis Masters Cup titles).
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- Ratings: 13Reviews: 9
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Bought for teenage sonby Iowa_Hawkeye_Mom_of_Boys
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February 11, 2009: I bought this book for my teenage son who plays tennis and enjoys biographies of sports figures. He really enjoyed this memoir.
Revealing read about a sports superstarby Anonymous
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December 10, 2008:
A Champion's Mind is an interesting and revealing autobiography about a sometimes misunderstood champion, Pete Sampras, who for the most part let his racket do the talking during his career. Sampras talks about growing up in Southern California, his toughest rivals, especially Agassi and how they couldn't have been more different, his most famous matches, life on the tour, his coaches, his family -- but omits his love life, prior to getting married.
How he overcomes adversity, such as beloved coach Tim Gulllikson's death, losing to Edberg in the U.S. Open final, his own illnesses and injuries, and some statements to the media that haunted him make the human side of Sampras really come out. Sampras also stresses "The Gift" which is his rare natural talent that enables him to be a great champion. But hard work is a huge factor, too. The new best-selling book, Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell, should include information about Sampras, if it doesn't, because this autobiography contains lots of wisdom about becoming successful from hard work to persistence to finding and assembling a winning team to staying hungry and humble and focused. Sampras did all that, and the pressure took its toll on him, especially during his quest to stay No. 1 for six straight years. But I don't want to give away too much. This book succeeds on several levels. You'll enjoy it, and if you're a tennis player, you'll get plenty of food for thought to improve your game.
I Also Recommend: Dwight Davis, The Agassi Story, Tennis Confidential.
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