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A Champion's Mind
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Pete Sampras is arguably the greatest tennis player ever, a man whose hard-nosed work ethic led to an unprecedented number one world ranking for 286 weeks, and whose prodigious talent made possible a record-setting fourteen Grand Slam titles. While his more vocal rivals sometimes grabbed the headlines, Pete always preferred to let his racket do the talking. Until now. 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 single-minded determination led to tennis domination, success didn’t come without a price. The constant pressure of competing on the world’s biggest stage—in the unblinking eye of a media machine hungry for more than mere athletic greatness—took its toll. Here for the first time Pete speaks freely about what it was like to possess what he calls “the Gift.” He writes 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 an early devastating loss to Stefan Edberg that led Pete to make a monastic commitment to delivering on his natural talent; a grueling, four-hour-plus match against Alex Corretja during which Pete became seriously ill; fierce on-court battles with rival and friend Andre Agassi; and the triumphant last match of Pete’s career at the finals of the 2002 U.S. Open. In A Champion’s Mind, one of the most revered, successful, and intensely private players in the history of tennis offers an intimate look at the life of an elite athlete.From the Hardcover edition.

Audio CD

Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (June 10, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0739328751

ISBN-13: 978-0739328750

Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.2 x 6 inches

Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,881,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #210 in Books > Books on CD > Sports & Outdoors #583 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Tennis #703 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Racket Sports

This book gives a clear picture of Sampras' personality which is pretty similiar to his game-straight forward, aggressive when necessary, and well rounded. Sampras tells of his parents' sacrifice so that he could become a champion, and his admiration of their values is evident throughout the book. He also tells of small sibling rivalries; helping his sister deal with Robert Landsorph, who seems to lose all of his students from Austin to Davenport to other coaches because of his belligerent demeanor; and the desinegration of his relationship with Pete Fisher after Fisher's arrest for child molestation. Tennis attracts a strange crowd, and the Sampras family may have found the strangest in Fisher who has taken more credit for Sampras' game than Pete gives him here. Who is to say which of the two is correct? In regard to his rivals, Sampras speaks in detail and honestly. His page or so that he gives to Connors is probably longer than any conversation between the two. Sampras also does a good job of showing the Jekyll and Hyde personality of McEnroe. He gives Lendl his due as an underated champion whose accomplishments are perhaps greater than Connors' or McEnroe's, a kind person, and someone who took time to help a future champion, Sampras at the age 17(Yes, the time with Lendl may have caused the bias). He also thoroughly analyzes the games, friendships, and rivalies with Agassi, Courier, Chang, and Martin. Finally, he nods to Federer as a worthy player to break his records, classy again. As far as romantic relationships, an important point to make is that unlike McEnroe, Sampras does not tell anything of his first girlfriend Delana Mulcahy who is substantially older than he and left Sampras for someone even younger or of his relationship with Kimberly Williams.

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