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The Rivals: Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova - Their Rivalry, Their Friendship, Their Legacy
In March 1973 two women met on a tennis court in Akron, Ohio. Over the course of the next sixteen years, together they would change the world. In their long careers Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert played each other eighty times, sixty of those in finals. For twelve consecutive years, from 1975 to 1986, one or other finished the season ranked No. 1 in the world. Each set out to be the finest player women's tennis had ever seen; each goaded the other to greatness. Their contrasting styles - Martina, the epitome of serve-and-volley tennis, bravely charging to the net against cool and controlled Chris, the world's greatest baseline player - captivated millions across the globe.
Tennis was a chauvinistic game when they arrived. But their brilliance demanded, and received, long-overdue respect for female sporting achievement. Their ability to forge a close friendship amidst their fierce competition still provokes wonder and admiration from fans. There has never been a sporting rivalry to match the intensity, longevity, public impact and emotional resonance of the years-long duel between these two great athletes. For nearly two decades we were transfixed by the struggle between the ice-maiden Chris - blonde, all-American, a nation's sweetheart - and the supreme athlete Martina, a Czech defector, the first outspoken openly gay athlete in female sport, and a woman who wore her heart on her sleeve at all times. Their lockstep careers played out against the backdrop of seismic change in sport and society: the women's movement; the gay rights' movement; the fall of the Iron Curtain; and the rise of women's tennis from backwater to big time (with a huge nod of gratitude to Billie Jean King). Thirty years on from the first meeting, both have become legends.
Based on interviews with both Martina and Chris and those who knew them best, Johnette Howard gives us the story of these two remarkable women. Brilliantly researched, beautifully written, Unrivalled will be read by those who love sport for years to come. |
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Shape Your SelfIn July 2003, at the age of 46, Martina Navratilova became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam, when she and Leander Paes won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title. It was a 20th Wimbledon title for Martina, equalling Billie Jean King's record, and one that she intends to break.
SHAPE YOUR SELF is Martina's life-affirming guide to tennis and beyond. Looking at subjects as varied as varied as self-fitness, mental focus and overcoming the odds, Martina draws on a wealth of experience and anecdotes to offer advice, suggestions and inspiration.
It is a book that will appeal to people of all ages, especially women, showing that all too often, the only thing holding you back is yourself. |
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Jimmy Connors Saved My Life: A Personal BiographyBy combining meticulous research and dozens of interviews with his firsthand experience, Drucker has crafted a book that is both a comprehensive biography of Connors and a memoir of the author's life.
Drucker provides the most thorough examination ever attempted of one of the most complex characters in recent sports history. He has combined meticulous research and dozens of interviews with his first-hand experience to craft a book that is both a comprehensive biography of Connors and a memoir of the author's life as it intersected and ultimately clashed with the tennis superstar.
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Zina: My Life in Women's Tennis
Zina Garrison took the mostly white tennis world by storm, climbing to number four in singles rankings and earning millions in prize money. In this intimate account of her life, she shares the ups and downs of her experiences as a professional athlete, including the glory of Wimbledon, the trials of a rocky marriage, her battle with bulimia, and the difficulty of losing her mother. Throughout her struggles, disappointments, and triumphs, she maintains the determination and inner strength that made her a champion. |
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Bad News for McEnroe: Blood, Sweat, and Backhands with John, Jimmy, Ilie, Ivan, Bjorn, and Vitas
In the golden age of tennis, when players were just learning how to become media personalities, men like McEnroe, Connors, Borg and Lendl ruled the court . Now 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 Vilas, Borg, McEnroe, 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, Scanlan's tale of life on the pro tennis circuit will shock and delight tennis fans everywhere. |
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The Player: The Autobiography
The no-holds-barred autobiography of a sporting genius. Boris Becker shot to fame in 1985 when at seventeen years old, he became the youngest player ever to win the men's final at Wimbledon. He went on to win two more Wimbledon titles, and a total of forty-nine singles and fifteen doubles crowns, making him one of the greatest players of the twentieth century. But his life off the court has always attracted as much attention as his triumphs on it. Now, in this remarkably candid and thought-provoking autobiography, Boris Becker tells the real story behind the headlines. He speaks of the seconds before the serve that made him the youngest Wimbledon winner of all time, and of the minutes after being sentenced as a tax evader. He talks about his marriage, his illegitimate daughter, and his painful divorce. He reveals his emotions at the end of his tennis career, and his battles with pills and alcohol. He also shares his memories of the good times, the championship wins, the make-or-break matches, and the highs and lows of life on the international circuit. Boris Becker has written this autobiography not just for his fans but also for his children, that they may one day read the true account of their father's remarkable, and often controversial, life. |
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