BOOK REVIEWS
Autobiography
The Outsider: My Autobiography
Jimmy Connors
We Rate:
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Jimmy Connors took the tennis world by storm like no other player in the history of the game. Foul-mouthed, provocative and fiercely determined he made few friends, but won an unprecedented 109 tournaments and brought in a whole new generation of fans. This was not just tennis; it was entertainment - for the blue-collar sports lover, not the country club brigade.
With John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase, there were ferocious rivalries and outrageous showmanship. With Chris Evert, Miss World and the Playboy centerfold who became his wife, life off the court was never dull either. And in this long-awaited autobiography, Jimmy Connors tells the whole truth and nothing but it, of the motivations and secrets behind his extraordinary success.
OUR REVIEW
Over the last 20 years we have been spoiled by the greatest era of professional tennis players around with the likes of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. All very much the ultimate professionals but very focused in the modern era of the game.
That has often been the charge of tennis in that time, that it is all highly professional and their are no longer the characters that were there in the 70s and 80s, the likes of Bjorn Borg, Ilie Nastase, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
Connors was one of the earlier characters of the game in the 1970s, very much solely focused on winning and he was never shy of saying so either. He wasn't their to make friends, he was there to win and his tally of tournaments is a testament to the skill he had with a racquet in his hands.
Much of his story is about the battles he faced both on and off the court, how his will to win sometimes made his game teat on the verge of unacceptable. His rivalries with Borg in particular are legendary, later that was the same with McEnroe. His relationship with Chris Evert is also highly documented and another interesting element of a brilliant autobiography.
This is one of those autobiographies that is a must-read, the stories are engaging, the rivalries with many a player are laid out for you. Delving into who Jimmy Connors was and is still today, is fascinating and shows the character he was. Very much a marmite player that had a sometime over the top will to win.
