Roger Federer is undoubtedly the brightest star in tennis today. In fact, there are many who believe that he is well on the way to becoming the greatest-ever tennis player. His astounding all-round ability has led to him being labelled as one of the most complete players the game has ever seen, and by winning three of four Grand Slam titles; he has posted achievements that the legendary Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe could never match. This authoritative and affectionate biography traces the rise of Federer, from his first tentative strokes with a tennis racket and his choice of tennis over football, 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 coach and mentor. Acclaimed tennis journalist Chris Bowers is in a unique position to tell the Roger Federer story. A veteran of the global tennis circuit for over a decade, he has played league tennis with the people with whom Federer grew up and has sought out those who influenced the young tennis player's life on his route to greatness. The result is an in-depth and telling biography of the game's best-loved player. Yet behind the on-court superstar is a man for whom winning is just a small part of his motivation. His professionalism and his work for the Roger Fereder Foundation - which aims both to fund projects for disadvantaged children in South Africa and to promote sport for young people - have won him huge amounts of respect for both his fellow sportsmen and tennis professionals alike. This is the ultimate portrait of one of the world's favourite and most respected sports stars. As informative as it is revealing, it is a must-read not just for fans of tennis and other sports, but for anyone fascinated by exactly what makes a highly successful - even great - person tick.
Chris Bowers is a freelance writer and broadcaster who has covered the global tennis scene for more than 20 years. He is best known as a commentator for European sports television channel Eurosport but also appears on the American sports channel ESPN and various radio stations around the world. He has written several books on tennis, including the biography of Roger Federer, but also The Book of Tennis, the International Tennis Federation's centenary commemorative book, and four Davis Cup yearbooks. He is also active in the environmental and political fields, and in 2011 wrote the biography of Nick Clegg, the leader of the British Liberal Democrats and deputy prime minister. He is the son of a refugee, and lives with his daughter in East Sussex, England.
