Chris Bowers

For several years, tennis aficionados wondered whether they could really call Roger Federer the greatest ever tennis player. In 2009, Federer ended that debate by completing his collection of career Grand Slams and overtaking Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 major titles. With his Olympic gold medal from 2008, a silver medal from the London 2012 Olympic Games and another Wimbledon title under his belt, Federer has now achieved legendary status in the wider sporting world. This authoritative and affectionate biography traces the rise of Federer, from his first tentative strokes with a tennis racket to how he dealt with being sent away to a training academy where he struggled to communicate in a French-speaking part of Switzerland; and how he handled the sudden death of his first real coach and mentor. It looks at his development as a sportsman and how he has matured into a family man with his marriage to Mirka Vavrinec and the birth of their twin girls. It also examines how Roger bounced back from arguable one of the most challenging periods of his career as, following a serious illness and a dip in form, his run of successive Wimbledon championship wins was ended and he was toppled from the number one spot by his long-time rival Rafael Nadal. In characteristic style, Federer has since silenced his critics by winning the French Open title for the first time, reclaiming his Wimbledon crown, winning Olympic gold and ending 2012 by renewing his rivalry with Novak Djokovic in both the ATP Tour finals and the world rankings.

Autor knihy Chris Bowers sleduje Novaka Djokoviče dvěma úhly pohledu. Jednak je tu příběh chlapce ze skromných poměrů, který potkal ženu, která ho nejen učila základům tenisu, ale popisuje také, jak se Djokovič vypořádal s životem známé hvězdy, svou závažnou nemocí a v neposlední řadě popisuje problematický vztah s jeho otcem. Srbsko může být na Novaka právem hrdé! Druhý autorův pohled je zaměřen na Novakovo rodiště – Srbsko – od válečných let v 90. Letech až po současnost. Bowers splétá dohromady tyto dvě linie a zrod sportovce-státníka, momentální neochvějné světové tenisové jedničky.

Tato biografie sleduje vývoj tenisty Rogera Federera ad jeho prvních tenisových krůčků až po dnešní legendu a možná nejlepšího tenistu všech dob. Sleduje jeho sportovní kariéru i osobní život, manželství a narození dvojčat-holčiček – i druhých dvojčat-chlapců v roce 2014. Jeho velkolepý návrat na výsluní v roce 2013, triumf Švýcarska v Davis Cupu v roce 2014 nebo jeho slavnou prohru s Navakem Djokovičem ve finále Wimbledonu v roce 2015. Každý hráč vyhrál i prohrál spoustu zápasů, ovšem Federerův velkolepý návrat na výsluní po těžké nemoci je naprosto ojedinělý. Všechny kritiky umlčel ziskem prvního titulu z French Open, zlatou olympijskou medailí i tisícím vyhraným zápasem v profesionální kariéře – což se povedlo jen dvěma dalším hráčům. V této statistice zaostává i Novak Djokovič, dnešní suverénní jednička. Tato biografie přináší pohled na Federera jako hráče i muže, který má své pevné místo v historii tenisu i sportu obecně.

Roger Federer is not only one of the greatest tennis players ever to pick up a racket - if not the greatest - but he is one of the global icons of our time. Characterised by a mixture of passion and calmness, a fierce competitor with a regal bearing, he is both an athlete and an ambassador, a street fighter and a statesman. But who is he really? And what are the experiences and influences that have shaped him into the world figure he is today? This acclaimed biography, first published in 2006 and now fully updated, traces Federer's life and career, from his first tentative swings with a racket to legendary status. The vastly experienced writer, broadcaster and tennis historian Chris Bowers talked exclusively to many of the people who helped shape the young Roger Federer, and together with his own experiences following Federer's career from his junior title at Wimbledon at age sixteen to his seventeenth major title fifteen years later, he presents an affectionate and analytical portrait of one of the great names of modern-day sport. His book has enough information to satisfy the most voracious Federer fan, and enough talking points to keep an argument going until the small hours. In its portrait of Roger Federer - the man, the player, the icon - this masterly biography brings the player's story up to date, while also examining his place in tennis and sporting history.