Rafa

by Rafael Nadal, John Carlin

Overview

What makes a champion What does it take to be the best in the world at your sport?

Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest players in the history of tennis, has the answers. In his memoir, written with award-winning journalist John Carlin, he reveals the secrets of his game and shares the inspiring personal story behind his success. It begins in Mallorca, a small island on the Mediterranean Sea, where the tight-knit Nadal family has lived for generations. Coached by his uncle Toni from the age of four, taught humility and respect by his parents, cherished by his exceptionally close extended family, Nadal has managed the uncommon feat of becoming an acclaimed global celebrity while remaining an unfailingly gracious, relentlessly hardworking role model for people in all walks of life.

Since he embarked on his tennis career ten years ago, the twenty-five-year-old Nadal has had a meteoric rise, becoming the youngest professional tennis player ever to win all four Grand Slam titles. He collected his first one, the French Open, in 2005 at age nineteen, and from there went on to win Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and, most difficult of all, the U.S. Open in 2010. His memoir takes us behind the scenes, sharing the highs and lows of his career, from winning the Wimbledon 2008 final, described by John McEnroe as “the greatest game of tennis” he had ever seen, to the family problems that brought him low in 2009 and the numerous injuries that have threatened his career.

With candor, heart, and intelligence, Rafael Nadal takes readers on his life’s dramatic and triumphant journey, never losing sight along the way of the prize he values above all others: the unity and love of his family.

From RAFA:

"During a match, you are in a permanent battle to fight back your everyday vulnerabilities, bottle up your human feelings. The more bottled up they are, the greater your chances of winning, so long as you’ve trained as hard as you play and the gap in talent is not too wide between you and your rival. The gap in talent with Federer existed, but it was not impossibly wide. It was narrow enough, even on his favorite surface in the tournament he played best, for me to know that if I silenced the doubts and fears, and exaggerated hopes, inside my head better than he did, I could beat him. You have to cage yourself in protective armor, turn yourself into a bloodless warrior. It’s a kind of self-hypnosis, a game you play, with deadly seriousness, to disguise your own weaknesses from yourself, as well as from your rival."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401303921
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	08/23/2011
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	171,210
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Rafael Nadal was born in 1986 in Mallorca, Spain. Currently ranked #1 in the world, he has won 9 Grand Slam titles and a career "Golden Slam" all four majors plus a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. He lives in Mallorca, Spain.
John Carlin, originally from the UK, is currently a Senior International writer for El Pais, the world's leading Spanish-language newspaper. He wrote the book that became the feature film "Invictus"." "0786871172

Editorial Reviews

With nine Grand Slam victories at this writing, 25-year-old Rafael Nadal doesn't have to wait for the end of his career to be acclaimed as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In what has been called a golden age of the sport, this mild-mannered Spaniard has excelled even when competing with the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Rafa: My Story presents Nadal's astonishing stories through his own eyes. This autobiography, which Nadal wrote himself, provides our most revealing insights yet about a superlative athlete known for his modesty and reticence.

Elite tennis star Nadal serves up a smashing account of his life on and off the court. Tenacious. Driven. Obsessed. This is how the sports world has come to know Nadal, the Mallorcan phenom who at age 24 became the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam in the Open Era. What's revealed here, however, is a much more complex figure prone to all sorts of anxieties, and a man who simply would not be the athlete he is today if not for the constant love and support of his extended family. Mallorca, the tiny island off the coast of Spain where he was born, is home base for the Nadal clan, and the cocoon to which the globetrotting sportsman must always return to reinvigorate body and soul. And yet, the greatest antagonist in Nadal's young life, we learn, has not been Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or any of the other fearsome opponents he's had to face down on the other side of the net. Rather, it has been a blunt, combative man named Toni, his beloved uncle and ever-present coach. Nadal explores the intricate interplay between the two, as well as his epic battles with the game's best, in a compelling narrative that volleys back and forth between first and third person, consistently building momentum and adding depth as well as insight. The titanic showdown between Nadal and Federer at Wimbledon in 2008, for instance, is played out shot-for-shot over several engrossing chapters. Throughout, the alternating point of view and over-the-shoulder accounts provide readers with a stunning invitation into the mind of one of the greatest tennis players ever. A winning endeavor packed with intelligence and excitement.

Kirkus Reviews