Customer Reviews

Tennis Confidential: Today's Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Paul Fein's new book, Tennis Confidential, is a wonderful book filled with interesting facts, great interviews and profiles, accounts of his choices for the 10 greatest matches, and intriguing discussions of tennis's current and past controversies. I bought the book on a Friday evening and spent most of the next two days reading it. I found it completely engrossing.

The book is divided into 6 major sections: Portraits of the Stars, Memorable Interviews, Topical Trends and Burning Issues, The Great Controversies, 20th Century Retrospectives, and The 10 Greatest Matches in Tennis History. This collection of articles, many of which won journalism awards, runs the gamut of the current players such as Venus and Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras, to the stars of the late 1970s and 80s such as Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, and Jimmy Conners to several of the games legends such as Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe and Bobby Riggs. Yes, there are some players missing, mostly due to space limitations, I suspect. I would have enjoyed profiles and/or interviews with Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, and Monica Seles on the women's side. On the men's side, Ken Rosewall, Stefan Edberg, Bill Tilden, and Don Budge. However, he writes about several of these players in the section on the 10 greatest matches, so perhaps I'm just greedy.

Regarding the controversies and burning issues, he writes about the problems with the advancing technology in racket manufacturing, and the effect these advances have had in the power game, especially in the men's game. He also discusses such critical issues as the role parents (especially fathers) have taken in developing their child's game. He deals with most of the famous "Bad Dads, " only really missing the recent addition of Jelena Dokic's father. He talks about the need for the Grand Slam to be accomplished in one calendar year, why we should keep the let serve rule, the use and possible misuse of the tiebreak rule, the ranking system problems, why Wimbledon should remain a grass court tournament, the problems that occur with letting teens play early and often, the issue of equal pay for men and women, and the effect that more black players could have on the game, including the inherent problems in attracting and keeping black athletes in tennis.

I don't have any complaints about the book. There are several items I might have liked to read about, but I fully recognize the limitations and choices one needs to make in such a work. One extra I would have enjoyed is a brief player update after the original profile and/or interview. Although most of these are from 1997 on, there are few from earlier that an update would have been nice. For instance, there are two interviews with the late Arthur Ashe. Many people who have become interested in tennis in the past five years or so, may not have much of a sense of his contribution. The interviews help in that regard, but it would have been nice to have a brief obituary about his death. The same would have been nice in regards to Bobby Riggs and Ted Tinling who have died since their interviews were done.

Also, to no surprise, there are several matches I would consider in the last few years that could rank among the best. One, in terms of historical importance, would be the Bobby Riggs/Billie Jean King "Battle of the Sexes" in the Astrodome in 1973. This match helped to put women's (at least American women's) tennis on the map. In a period where the women's game is so much more vital and interesting than the men's, this match's importance cannot be overstated, even though it was nearly 30 years ago. Also, there have been three great women's matches in the last three years that I would place somewhere: the Graf/Hingis French Open Final in 1999 (I thank Paul for reminding me of this one), the Clijsters/Capriati French Open Final in 2001, and the Hingis/Capriati Australian Open Final in 2002. But these are quibbles on my part.

All in all, I found this a wonderful read. I had a lot of trouble putting the book down. Anyone who appreciates tennis and good writing cannot go wrong in purchasing this book. I am a big fan of tennis and there aren't a lot of great books available. Through the years, there have been some, but not nearly the wealth as there is for baseball. Do yourself a favor, buy it, read it, tell others. Let's encourage those who write and write well about tennis. I'd love to see more by Paul Fein, and will be looking forward to more.

As a tennis fan, especially in a family with few tennis fans, I enjoy reading outside material about the game. Not tips on playing, but about the pros, especially stories, history, analysis, etc. So I figured this book would fit right in with my appetite, especially from the subtitle, 'players, matches, and controversies.' I was right!



Tennis Confidential contains all of this and more! I was excited to read about events that happened before I was around, and also enjoyed reading about events that happened while I was around, and Fein brought a fresh and inside perspective to dozens of topics. Chapters I particularly enjoyed include the Burning Issues section, in which Fein examines modern topics like power, blacks' domination, new stats, and more; Controversies, with topics such as equal prize money, women's tennis superiority, the let rule, and more; and all time top 10 matches, with many surprises, but deep analysis.



No wonder my 2nd favorite sport is baseball. Both it and tennis, my favorite, invite analysis, discussion, controversy, have rich histories, and no clock. Reading this book allows me to appreciate the game more, want to discuss it more, and proud to be a tennis fan.
Plus, the author is very friendly and happy to discuss his work. I met him at a tournament, and we took a picture together.

If you think you know a lot about tennis you'll learn more in this in-depth look at tennis from a long-time, award-winning tennis writer. Paul Fein assembled a collection of his best articles for Tennis Confidential, and the result is an entertaining and informative experience intertwined with fascinating facts. He cleverly broke it down into six parts: Portraits of the Stars, Memorable Interviews, Topical Trends and Burning issues, The Great Controversies, Twentieth-Century Retrospectives, and The Ten Greatest Matches in Tennis History. In one chapter, he examines two-handed backhands, tiebreakers, and the racket revolution. In another, we take an in-depth look at Venus Williams, Andre Agassi, and Anna Kournikova. It's a book that you can pick up again and again and enjoy it all over again. I highly recommend Tennis Confidential to anyone with an interest in tennis.

Tennis Confidential by Paul Fein is a logically organized collection of essays, reports on remarkable matches, and interviews, that I found serendipitously searching the web, and read with the appreciation of the author's ability to get deep into the topic while enjoying plastic description of events, matches, broader impact of events for pro-tennis, and post-game interviews etc. The style of writing was concise and to the point. The author is at his best in the middle of the book conveying the ongoing issues of pro-tennis from the possible rule changes, computer and year to date; to the Prize-Money equality/inequalities. This book wont help to improve your game, but will definitely provide a collection of deep thoughts about the game of tennis, and the paradoxical and complicated psyche of the players that have shaped the Open-Era. In my opinion, the book reaches the quality of B. Collins's My Life with the Pros, and P. Bodo's The Courts of Babylon, while keeping its own unique concept of tennis and style, and selection of topics surviving the tests of time. TC II deserves its consideration

Paul Fein has filled a void in tennis literature with Tennis Confidential. It's the only book in tennis history to contain:

1. Memorable Q & A interviews. With Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Bobby Riggs and Ted Tinling.

2. In-depth essays on the great issues. Such as topical trends, burning issues, great controversies and twentieth century perspectives.

3. Lots of tennis significa and trivia in a reader friendly form titled Fascinating Facts.

Tennis needs more mainstream coverage especially of this quality. Tennis Confidential is a must both the tennis fan and the general sports fan. You will become much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about tennis after reading Tennis Confidential. There is something in it for everybody. It doesn¡¦t matter whether you followed men¡¦s tennis through Laver¡¦s era, when Borg ¡VMcEnroe - Connors battled it out or through the Agassi - Sampras rivalry, or women¡¦s tennis during the great Evert - Navratilova rivalry, ¡§supporting¡¨ Anna K through to the family affair between Venus and Serena Williams.

Chapters with broad appeal include portraits of the stars like Venus, Agassi, Kournikova, Serena, Kuerten, Capriati, Borg, Laver, Davenport and Navratilova and reliving the ten greatest matches in tennis history.

Paul Fein¡¦s essays provoke discussion and hopefully will influence the opinions and attitudes of tennis policymakers enough to change flawed policies and make changes for the better. You are invited to stand up and be counted. I, personally am inspired to devote more time to writing about tennis and contributing to the future direction of the game.

Tennis Confidential is an artistic success. If we¡¦re lucky there will be another tennis book written by Paul Fein.

"Tennis Confidential" is a fascinating book. as a casual tennis fan, I becme engrossed with the reeealing portraits of agassi, Venus, Serena, and the inscrutable Bjorn Borg and in-depth, outspoken interviews with Sampras (who is more reflective and interesting than I imagined), McEnroe, connors and other present and past champions.

I found stories about "bad dads", the evoution of tennis from a sedate game to a high-powered sport, reanking blunders and the power overkill in tennis matches riveting and often eye-popping.

The 10 greatest matches made tennis history come alive for me. The exciting exploits of Monica Seles, who then was sadly stabbedint ehback, evert, Borg, becker, Rosewall and the flamboyant Suzanne Lenglen were fun to read.

What most enlightened me were the retospectives. I most enjoyed reading about teen queens (not a new phenomenon), Althea Gibson's breaking the color barrier, and the racket revolution.

"Tennis "Confidential" truly gives you an education aaabout the sport but in a lively, amusing way that makes it a page-turner. You'll love it. It also makes a nifty holiday git your friends will really savor.

Paul Fein's Tennis Confidential is a fantastic collection of essays and interviews. As a former collegiate tennis player and current teaching pro who has avidly followed and played tennis my whole life, I learned more from Tennis Confidential than any other tennis book. Fein combines his expert journalism with his supreme knowledge of the sport to produce a gem. I found the essay style very convenient. With just 10 minutes of spare time, I could be transported behind the scenes of tennis and into Fein's world with one of his essays, interviews, or match coverage. My favorite part of the book was the "Fascinating Facts." True tennis fans will be in heaven with some of the trivia that Fein has collected over the years. Importantly, too, Tennis Confidential has diversity appeal. Newcomers to the sport will be enticed to learn more, and seasoned fans and players will be reminded of how unique the game and its personalities are. I am anxiously awaiting Tennis Confidential II !

I really enjoyed this book. It covered a broad spectrum of issues and eras, covering a century of tennis. There is a nice balance of articles and interviews. It was fun to read about some past great matches and see the social interest of the old matches like Lenglen vs. Wills or Budge vs. Von Cramm. It was nice to see interviews with some the games past great players like Riggs, Connors and McEnroe. It's interesting to read about the past great players and consider some of the possible similarities and differences with today's players. You also get a good feel for the recent changes to the game and some of the issues these changes have created. Reading about the current players gives a good understanding about many of today's stars. Since I'm related to the past great champ Pancho I've been exposed to some of the history of tennis. So I was really able to appreciate this well written book. It's great to see a good tennis book written by someone who obviously loves the game. I highly recommend this book.

Being an avid tennis fan, I am always looking for tennis books that have interesting but factual stories about players of years past to the players of present. Paul Fein's Tennis Confidential held my interest throughout the book. There are wonderful interviews and tennis trivia in his 'Fascinating Facts' that will amaze even the most remote tennis fans. He deals with all the issues that confront tennis today, and talks about the ten greatest tennis matches in history. Many books talk about tennis players in a textbook way, but not this book. It is filled with stories that make you want to keep reading. This is definitely one of tennis' Fein-est books!

Tennis Confidential is an interesting, entertaining collection of stories, interviews, and behind-the-scene insights into the fascinating world of professional tennis. Paul Fein serves up an inside look at the top players, past and present, as well as offering you a chance to relive some of the greatest matches of all time. I would enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who enjoys tennis, from the casual spectator to the seasoned tournament player.