The Open Book: Celebrating 40 Years of America's Grand Slam with DVD [Hardcover]

United States Tennis Association (Author), Rick Rennert (Editor), Billie Jean King (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008

Each year, the US Open brings down the curtain on the Grand Slam Tennis season with its unique blend of sports, celebrity, and entertainment, providing fans the world over with a spectacular showcase for the very best of tennis."The Open Book" is a visually stunning celebration of the sport and spectacle of the US open. On display are champions at their best and brightest - captured in vivid images from some of the world's leading sports photographers - including legendary trailblazers Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe, fan favourites Jimmi Connors and Andre Agassi, loveable bad-boy John McEnroe, and modern greats Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Over the last 40 years, we have seen tennis grow from the quiet, staid traditions of the sport's famous past, to the energetic, star-driven, power sport of today. Looking back, tennis--at least tennis as we know it today--took a giant leap forward in 1968 with the introduction of the Open era." - Billie Jean King, from the foreword

"I like any title with the letters `US' in front of it. To me, the US Open is the most important tournament in the world." - Jimmy Connors

"New York has definitely grown on me the last few years. A Few years ago I started to really love this tournament. I realize actually what kind of a big-time event this is with 24,000 people in the stadium, the city. Just the difficulty to win here." - Roger Federer

From the Inside Flap

Forty years ago, a most revolutionary thing happened in tennis. The sport removed the barriers separating amateurs from professionals and ushered in a new age--an "Open" era--of tennis. The sanctioning of open competition in 1968 brought the sport's professionals--its biggest stars, its largest personalities--into the game and for the first time made it possible for amateurs and professionals to play against each other at the top tournaments.

No other tennis event has embraced the advent of Open tennis to great effect than the US Open. That one change set the tone for a tournament at which change has become a constant. Indeed, many of the innovations introduced at the US Open have had a resounding impact on the sport as a whole: tie-breaks, equal prize money, night tennis, prime-time finals, electronic line calling. Buoyed by the ability to marry tradition with innovation, the US Open has evolved over it first four decades into a worldwide showcase for tennis that brings down the curtain on each Grand Slam season with its unique blend of sport and spectacle.

The Open Book celebrates the history, the excitement, and the emotion of America's Grand Slam, a two-week sports and entertainment extravaganza that bears little resemblance to the U.S. National Championship tournament started more than 125 years ago. Featuring the expert writings of tennis journalists who were on the scene, exceptional images--many never published before--by the game's top photographers, and a foreword by Billie Jean King, the result is an engaging tribute to America's premier tennis event--the largest-attended annual sporting event in the world--and its champions. US Open Court of Champions DVD To help present-day fans pay tribute to the US Open's storied past, the USTA in 2003 introduced the US Open Court of Champions, celebrating the legacy of the greatest singles champions in the history of the US Open. The inductees represent the tournament's all-time greatest players, whose electrifying performances have contributed to making the US Open one of the world's top sporting events.

The US Open Court of Champions' inaugural class of Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Bill Tilden, and Helen Wills spanned the Golden (1881-1967) to the Open (1968-Present) eras. In subsequent year, Margaret Court, Jack Kramer, Steffi Graf, John McEnroe, Maureen Connolly, Ivan Lendl, Martina Navratilova, Don Budge, and Althea Gibson have joined their ranks.

These players' great accomplishments can all be viewed on the accompanying US Open Court of Champions DVD. Featuring video tributes to all 15 players and footage never made available before, this unique DVD is essential viewing for all tennis fans.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; Har/DVD edition (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600781578
• ISBN-13: 978-1600781575
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great photos, and more., August 15, 2008

By 

Kelly Wohlbier (Stevens Point, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Open Book: Celebrating 40 Years of America's Grand Slam with DVD (Hardcover)

The first thing I did when I opened this book was to look at the pictures; all of them! The photography is so spectacular that I couldn't stop until I saw them all. The Open Book is a history of the US Open Tennis Championships during the 40 years of the "open" (professional) era of tennis. It covers each decade since the beginning of the open era in 1968, using photos, statistics, and articles by famous tennis journalists. The photographs, as mentioned above, are amazing, and lead you through the story of the Open, with a few thrown in "out of order" to make you think about the connections between players of different decades, and to marvel at the way the game of tennis has changed over the years. I found it interesting to read the articles and opinions written during each phase of the change over from the amateur to professional era, through the institution of the tie break, equal prize money for women players, and the birth of the National Tennis Center. The statistics are interesting, but don't make your eyes glaze over if you're not a stats person, and there is also a dvd with information about the players immortalized on the Us Open Court of Champions. This book has so much information, that I expect to find something I "missed the first time", every time I open the book. As an avid tennis player and fan, I highly recommend "The Open Book" to anyone who has an interest in the game.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Tennis Book for all ages, July 7, 2010

By 

Maura Berzman (JACKSONVILLE, FL, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Open Book: Celebrating 40 Years of America's Grand Slam with DVD (Hardcover)

If you are a tennis fanatic or not this book is a winner! The writing,editing and photos are outstanding. It makes a super gift for the tennis player or someone who may be interested in learning about the US Open Tennis Champions in New York. Makes a beautiful coffee table book in any office or home!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, August 25, 2008

By 

Jennifer G. Liguori - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Open Book: Celebrating 40 Years of America's Grand Slam with DVD (Hardcover)

This is a lovely book, which will we will want to own, but also makes a great gift.