A Champion's Mind

Lessons from a Life in Tennis

By: Pete Sampras, Peter Bodo

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Pete Sampras is arguably the greatest tennis player ever, a man whose hard-nosed work ethic led to an unprecedented number-one world ranking for 286 weeks, and whose prodigious talent made possible a record-setting 14 Grand Slam titles. While his more vocal rivals sometimes grabbed the headlines, Pete always preferred to let his racket do the talking.

Until now.

In A Champion's Mind, the tennis great who so often exhibited visible discomfort with letting people "inside his head" finally opens up. An athletic prodigy, Pete resolved from his earliest playing days never to let anything get in the way of his love for the game. But while this single-minded determination led to tennis domination, success didn't come without a price. The constant pressure of competing on the world's biggest stage - in the unblinking eye of a media machine hungry for more than mere athletic greatness - took its toll.

Here, for the first time, Pete speaks freely about what it was like to possess what he calls "the Gift." He writes about the personal trials he faced - including the death of a longtime coach and confidant - and the struggles he gutted his way through while being seemingly on top of the world.

Among the book's most riveting scenes are an early devastating loss to Stefan Edberg that led Pete to make a monastic commitment to delivering on his natural talent; a grueling, four-hour-plus match against Alex Corretja during which Pete became seriously ill; fierce on-court battles with rival and friend Andre Agassi; and the triumphant last match of Pete's career at the finals of the 2002 U.S. Open.

In A Champion's Mind, one of the most revered, successful, and intensely private players in the history of tennis offers an intimate look at the life of an elite athlete.

©2008 Pete Sampras (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A thoroughly compelling read that - apart from retracing a gilded sport career - really probes the 'hard drive' of a champion." (Jon Wertheim, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated)
"Whether championships are in your past or just live in your dreams, you'll learn a lot from Pete's story." (Monica Seles)

Awesome!

What an amazing story of a true tennis legend. I loved the background explanation of some of the great moments and mild drama that occurred in Petes career.

Too much tennis details

The book kinda sucked .. filled with all the tennis politics and details which may be interesting to some but bored me .. Plus Pete should have taking the time to narrate this ... I want my money back.