Product Description

Born and brought up in the Mallorcan town of Manacor, amongst a family of successful sportsmen, Rafael has been playing tennis from the age of three. By five he was going to tennis club twice a week. At 12 he had won Spanish and European titles for his age group. And by the time he reached 16 years of age he was ranked in the world's top 50 players. An extremely athletic and determined player, Nadal has taken the tennis world by storm. Originally considered a clay-court specialist - he has racked up four consecutive wins at the French Open - over the past few years he has proven his incredible ability on many different surfaces. Most memorably in his epic win in 2008's Wimbledon final against Roger Federer. He is one of only three players to have won both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. Hailed in many quarters as having the potential to be one of the greatest champions of all time, Nadal seems destined to set the record books alight. This is the ultimate portrait of one of the world's most fascinating players. A must-read for any sports fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51808 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 258 pages

Customer Reviews

Full of typo's and inaccurate info. Basically just a running commentary!
I awaited a Rafael Nadal Biography for years. This was not what I was expecting. If you can have such a thing as a loud, headache giving book then this is it.All it contained was small snippets of well known info and huge,huge amounts of match commentary. If you are an avid tennis fan like me then all match stuff has already been witnessed first hand. Nothing in this is new to me and I can't believe that someone can actually think that it is ok to make money out of people with little in the book. There are a few good photo's. Wouldn't buy if I were you. Bitterly disappointed. Note to author - Gilles Simon in French!!

Disappointing and boring
As a big fan of Rafa, I got truely disappointed by the book. First, as mentioned by other reviewers, this is rather a resume than a biography, given that the author did not provide any fact or information that cannot be found on the internet by any well-informed fan. Did he ever speak to Rafa or even to someone close ? Then, I am not a native English speaker but I was stunned by the poverty and low quality of the writing : a very mechanical style, the same expressions coming back at every other line... to some extent I even wondered if the text had not been automatically generated from the scores of the games by some mad engine... and I also noted a lot of typing errors or missing words. This and the lack of content really make the reading boring... Anyway, I am strongly advising the fans not to buy this book and I'm furiously waiting for a real biography of Rafa... which, given his professionalism, he will probably not make possible before the end of his outstanding carreer...

Very Enjoyable Read
I really enjoyed this book, and as a keen Rafa Nadal fan i am delighted that we have a book about the man. I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed accounts and records of his matches, opponents, style etc. I personally am not one for knowing the innermost details of sporting stars' private lives, and as Rafa has always been a discreet, professional man, I think it is thoroughly in keeping that this book focuses on his sporting life.