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highly recommended |
Good book. But not the greatest match ever played... 
A match of tennis is not one of the greatest only because it lasted more than four hours, or if the match went into the fifth, or because the too two players were playing.
In my opinion, no match between Federer and Nadal is even close to the greatest matches ever. Sure, they are full of amazing shots, tension and score changes, but, in short, they go like this: Nadal relentlessly attacking Federer's backhand, using his crazy and trademark crosscourt topspin forehand. Federer trying every trick in the book: great serves, tip and charge, return winners, volleys, drop volleys, slices, flat forehand, top spin backhands. And Nadal running, and running, and keeping his pace all the time, never losing a gram of concentration, until Federer begins to make unforced error after unforced error. Then it's "game, set and match Nadal". It's essentially boring.
However, since the writer did not talk only about this match, this book is a very, very good reading about the world of professional tennis.
Strokes of Genius
I'm a tennis fanatic so this well written account by Jon Wertheim was worth buying.
Well written, interesting account of the match and behind the scenes. 
This book is written really well, it's engaging and gives you an insight into behind the scenes, such as what was going on and what was said in the locker room during the rain delays as well as an account of the match.
I loved the insight into what Rafa's Uncle Toni (his coach) said to him during the rain delays and how philosophical he and Rafa are, I also loved how Rafa was telling his Uncle to "stay calm" when he'd lost the 3rd and 4th sets, it was almost a role reversal where Rafa was speaking like the coach, he told his Uncle, "I lost the 2 tiebreakers but he didn't break my serve in either set. I won the 1st 2 sets, no? Why can't I win the 5th set too?" He was so positive and determined.
I thoroughly recommend this book if you're a Rafa fan, it's really enjoyable to read and it's like being a fly on the locker room wall at times and it's great to know what was going on in there!
Another book about Rafa is "Rafael Nadal The Biography" but it's not as good as this book, if you're a big fan of Rafa's you'll probably know everything in the bio already, whereas this book gives you more info and is more interesting.
If you're a huge Rafa fan you'll also like "The Poetry of Passion (for People with a Pulse)" as it has a chapter of approx 80 poems in it about Rafa's career, his personality and his good looks (and the rest of the book is good too)
The Poetry of Passion (for People with a Pulse)
Terrific!
I read a lot of books about tennis, and this is one of the best ever. The author captured my attention like few others, despite the fact that I was quite familiar with the subject matter. For new insight into Federer, Nadal, the chair umpire and the match itself, don't miss this book!
Strokes of Genius
Very pleased to get this book at such a good book. Fast service, Will do business with Amazon over and over again. Thanks
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
In the 2008 Wimbledon men?s final, Centre Court was a stage set worthy of Shakespearean drama. Five-time champion Roger Federer was on track to take his rightful place as the most dominant player in the history of the game. He just needed to cling to his trajectory. So in the last few moments of daylight, Centre Court witnessed a coronation. Only it wasn?t a crowning for the Swiss heir apparent but for a swashbuckling Spaniard. Twenty-two-year-old Rafael Nadal prevailed, in five sets, in what was, according to the author, "essentially a four-hour, forty-eight-minute infomercial for everything that is right about tennis?a festival of skill, accuracy, grace, strength, speed, endurance, determination, and sportsmanship." It was also the encapsulation of a fascinating rivalry, hard fought and of historic proportions. In the tradition of John McPhee?s classic Levels of the Game, Strokes of Genius deconstructs this defining moment in sport, using that match as the backbone of a provocative, thoughtful, and entertaining look at the science, art, psychology, technology, strategy, and personality that go into a single tennis match.With vivid, intimate detail, Wertheim re-creates this epic battle in a book that is both a study of the mechanics and art of the game and the portrait of a rivalry as dramatic as that of Ali?Frazier, Palmer?Nicklaus, and McEnroe?Borg.
strokes of genius, federer, genius, greatest, match, nadal, played, strokes
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based on 37 reviews
