Break Point: The Inside Story of Modern Tennis

by Kevin Mitchell

Overview

NOW WITH A NEW CHAPTER

This is a special era in the history of tennis. The physicality and skill, as well as the commercial and public interest, have hit levels not seen before. At the heart of the game's growing appeal are four players: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. Never in the history of the game have so few players dominated for so long and it is their rivalry that makes this the 'Golden Age of Tennis'.

However, in 2013, the dominance of the Big Four came under sustained pressure and a new era beckoned. Break Point chronicles how the old guard met the challenge of the hungry young contenders determined to break their stranglehold on the Tour, from the genteel lawns of Wimbledon to the raucous bleachers of Flushing Meadows, and all points in between.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848549296
Publisher:	Hodder
Publication date:	07/14/2015
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	670,259
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.60(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kevin Mitchell writes for the Observer and the Guardian as boxing and tennis correspondent. He has been Sports Journalist of the Year and Sports Features Writer of the Year. War, Baby: the Glamour of Violence was short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Tempest 11

2 Man or Superman? 34

3 Transition 46

4 Pain is Good 70

5 A Feat of Clay 95

6 America 111

7 Gladiators 121

8 The First Break 143

9 Wimbledon 156

10 At Last 170

11 The Second Break 186

12 Sweat on a Wine Bottle 196

13 'You can only go as far as your body will take you' 215

14 'You don't necessarily lose' 226

15 J'accuse 242

16 Finally… 263

17 Who's Next? 272

Postscript: Life After Lendl 293

Acknowledgements and Sources 317

Picture Credits 321

Index 323

Editorial Reviews

A discursive, thoughtful and witty examination of the modern game . . . Mitchell is brilliant on the personalities . . . He excels in his portrait of Murray . . . His book is timely and judicious—Herald

Mitchell gives illuminating insights into life as a full-time tennis correspondent—Tennishead

Those seeking a more uplifting view of the present would do well to read Kevin Mitchell's Break Point . . . The 'inside story' genre doesn't always live up to its promise, but Mitchell's is a successful example—Guardian

[Kevin Mitchell] writes well, reflects thoughtfully on the opinions of his interviewees, and has a nice line in self-deprecation—William Skidelsky, Observer

From the Publisher