A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis Free

FREE A CHAMPIONS MIND: LESSONS FROM A LIFE IN TENNIS PDF

New York. L essons from a Life in Tennis. All rights reserved. Sampras, Pete. Tennis players— United States— Biography. Bodo, Peter. GV S 16 S 36 Printed in the United States of America. First Paperback Edition. To purchase a copy of. FormywifeBridgette. Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter A few years ago, the idea of writing a book about my life and times in tennis would. After all, I was the guy who let his racket do the talking. I was the guy who kept his eyes on the prize, leading a very dedicated, disciplined, almost monkish existence in my quest to accumulate Grand Slam titles. And I was the guy who guarded his private life and successfully avoided controversy and drama, both in my career and personal life. For starters, I realized that what I did in tennis probably would be a point of interest and curiosity to my family. This book is my legacy. But that also meant that my career would only be known A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis a piecemeal way. In the course of writing this book, I realized that I led a pretty eventful career without ever letting individual events overtake it. I had some stress-related phys- ical problems and at least one career-threatening injury — at a time. From the outset, my goal was to write a tightly focused tennis book — one that tells my story in a way that also celebrates the game, and the period in which I played. My lifelong tendency has been to deal with things head-on and A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis move on. I played tennis during a time of sweeping changes. It started with. It was a glorious period, my time, especially for American tennis. That high level of competition has continued as Roger Federer, a Swiss who has become a good friend, has emerged to pick up Grand Slam titles at a record-breaking clip. Time seems to move slower or faster as events change, and the time came for me to add my A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis, told in my words, to the record. There were times in my career when I would step up to the service line at a crucial moment in the heat of combat in a big match and pause to drink in the atmosphere. Most champions have that kind of aggression, that competitive- ness. It comes with the territory. Just look at Rod Laver before my time, and Roger Federer after it. This book will tell you, in a broader and less intense way, who I really am. Los Angeles, January But me, I knew. I knew, almost from day one, that I was born to play tennis. It may not be mandatory, but knowing who you are and what you want —. I was born in Potomac, Maryland, on August 12,the sec. Gus, my brother, is four years older than me. My sister Stella — the other serious tennis player among my sib- lings — is two years older, and the baby of the family is my sister Marion. My father, Sam, is of Greek stock. When I was born, he was working in Washington, D. With a wife, Georgia, and four kids to support, he also was. I have almost no memories of life in Potomac, but I do remember. Mostly it was the cement wall of a nearby Laundromat. Eventually I gravitated toward a local park that had some courts, and I took a lesson or two. I just fell into. Some small nations in the Western world, like Croatia and Sweden, have a rich tennis tradition. Dad knew nothing about tennis, so he had no aspirations for me until I displayed interest in the game. He also was utterly unfamiliar with the tennis scene, which is insular and mostly made up of people whose families have been involved in the game for multiple genera- tions. But he noticed that I had a strong athletic bent. Even as a tod- dler, I could kick a ball well and throw it straight. When I was seven, Dad had the opportunity to transfer A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis the Los Angeles area, a traditional hotbed for the aerospace and de- fense industries. Tennis was probably the furthest thing from his mind. Unbeknownst to us, but very, very fortunately, Southern Cali- fornia is also the epicenter of U. Tennis in the United States always did have two faces. It was a preferred sport of the wealthy, especially in the North- east in places like Boston, Newport, New York, and Philadelphia, which traditionally hosted most of the major events, including the U. The game there was laden with tradition, and up until shortly before I was born, grass was the major surface. The sunny climate on the West Coast made tennis a year-round, outdoor game that anyone could play with limited resources, and. There was plenty of space, so public courts sprang up all over the place. Most of those courts were made of cement, because they were cheap to build and easy to maintain. California evolved into a major tennis location. The contrasts are pronounced enough so that the most common grips used in tennis — the Continental EuropeanEastern, and Western — are all named for the regions where they were popular and suited the courts in use. I had a big serve and aggres- sive baseline game, which was pure, populist California. The only surface I never entirely mastered was slow European clay, insofar as I never won the biggest clay tournament, the French Open. In my style and results, I transcended my regional and even national background to a greater extent than some of my predeces- sors as the world number one player. Take my countryman Jimmy Connors. Although he was from Illinois, he relocated to California at an early enough age to mature his game on the A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis courts there. Open titles, three on his beloved hard courts. The most important thing about California was the opportunity. Lack- ing a strong family background in tennis, we were going to have to play it by ear and make it up as we went along. Opens, and Wimbledon. That shift to Open tennis ensured that all the good players in the world could compete in the same tournaments, so you would end up with a true champ, and it launched a tennis boom that brought the game to millions of new players and potential pros. It was mind-blowing — or would have been, had we been aware of all that. But we were not. Anyway, my father cashed out of the deli business. It was get- ting old for him, what with brothers-in-law for partners. He had done very well and he needed a break. He was going west, following the American Dream to California. After a few trips to the coast to estab- lish our home in Palos Verdes, he returned to Potomac and gathered us up. I remember we had a tiny blue Ford Pinto, a bare-bones economy car the Pinto later became famous when somebody discovered that if you rear- ended it, the car blew up. We piled into the Pinto — all six of us — and headed west. Wait, make that seven, because we were also taking our parrot, Jose. I hit the ground running when we arrived in Palos Verde and moved into our modest 1, -square-foot home. As the oldest child, Gus. Shortly after we got to Palos Verdes, we found out that it was a tennis-rich envi- ronment. And then there was West End, where I began taking lessons from one of the all-time great coaches, Robert Lansdorp. It seems weird now, A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis we were told shortly after I started working on my game that I was going to be a great tennis player. A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis immediately, people were comparing me to guys like Eliot Teltscher, saying I was as good at fourteen as Eliot, a prodigy, had been at sixteen. Editions of A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis by Pete Sampras

This site requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript before proceeding:. Internet Explorer. May 26, In stock online. Available in stores. September 1, Not available in stores. October 13, October 12, August A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis, On the Content tab, click to select the Enable JavaScript check box. Click OK to close the Options popup. Refresh your browser page to run scripts and reload content. Click the Internet Zone. If you do not have to customize your Internet security settings, click Default Level. Then go to step 5. Click OK to close the Internet Options popup. Chrome On the Control button top right of browserselect Settings from dropdown. Under the header JavaScript select the following radio button: Allow all sites to run JavaScript recommended. We found 18 results. Pete Sampras : We found 18 results. Your Store: Select a store Free Pickup Today. Filter Sort. Sorted By: Top Matches. Filtered By:. Grid List. Order By: Top Matches. In stock online Available in stores. An athletic prodigy, Pete resolved from his earliest playing days never to let anything get in the way of…. Hardcover sold out. In stock online Not available in stores. Gradually, after a fairytale finish to his career when he won the U. Open, Sampras was…. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pete Sampras practically owned Wimbledon during the s. Sampras not only won six Wimbledon trophies, he also…. The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis year. The tournament is held in January at…. The US Open is a tennis tournament which is the modern incarnation of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, with the…. The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is considered the most prestigious. Find This Item in Store Not sold in stores. Only show stores with stock. The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books: Review of "A Champion's Mind"

The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See details for additional description. A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis to main content. About this product. Stock photo. Brand new: Lowest price The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Pete Sampras is arguably the greatest tennis player ever, a man whose hard-nosed work ethic led to an unprecedented A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis one world ranking for weeks, and whose prodigious talent made possible a record-setting fourteen Grand Slam titles. See A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis 3 brand new listings. Buy It Now. Add to cart. About this product Product Information In A Champion's Mindthe 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 determination led to tennis domination, success didn't come without a price. Here for the first time Pete speaks freely 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 A Champions Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis riveting scenes are the devastating early loss that led Pete to make a monastic commitment to the game; fierce on-court battles with Andre Agassi; and the triumphant last match of Pete's career at the finals of the U. All the emotion and insight that Sampras seemes reluctant to express during his playing days come spilling forth. A thoroughly compelling read thatapart from retracing a gilded sport careerreally probes the 'hard drive' of a champion. It's as if all the emotion and insight that Sampras sometimes seemed reluctant to express during his playing days comes spilling forth. Pete captures the pressure a player feels once he's reached the top. He puts us next to him on the court, and we get a clear sense of what made him extraordinary: he was supremely determined, dedicated to learning the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents, and committed to never ever yielding a point easily. Pete wrote this book the way he plays tennis: full-out. We all react so differently to pressure, to the glow of the spotlight. It is brutally hard to stay grounded, and yet this wonderfully candid book shows that it was Pete's rare ability to compartmentalize and draw strength from his family that allowed him to reach the sport's pinnacle. Whether championships are in your past or just live in your dreams, you'll learn a lot from Pete's story. This book provides the reader a glimpse into Pete's remarkable career and how he was able attain his vision of being the best player in the world. We can all benefit from the insight he offers. He puts us next to him on the court, and we get a clear sense of what made him extraordinary: he was supremely determined, dedicated to learning the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents, and committed to nevereveryielding a point easily. Show More Show Less. Any Condition Any Condition. See all 10 - All listings for this product. We have ratings, but no written reviews for this, yet. Be the first to write a review. Best Selling in Nonfiction See all. Bill o'Reilly's Killing Ser. When Women Pray Hardcover T. Jakes Christian Inspirational No ratings or reviews yet. Save on Nonfiction Trending price is based on prices over last 90 days. This item doesn't belong on this page.