The U.S. Open wraps up this weekend, so in spirit of the game, we're serving up some great tennis themed recommendations from our collection.
One of the best recent books on the sport, Strokes of genius : Federer, Nadal, and the greatest match ever played, by Sports Illustrated writer L. Jon Wertheim, revisits Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's epic five set 2008 Wimbledon final. The rain delays! The encroaching dark! It's all there, point by point. Aside from describing the match in detail (maybe too much detail for the casual reader), Wertheim does a great job providing context for this match, and for the modern game in general. Will there be a rematch at Flushing Meadows this weekend? Both men have advanced so far, so it's a possibility.
Looking for an insider's look at what it takes to win the U.S. Open (and the other majors as well)? Check out reformed tennis bad boy Andre Agassi's new book: Open : an autobiography, due to hit our shelves soon.
For a comprehensive overview of the sport, check out long time commentator Bud Collins' Total tennis : the ultimate tennis encyclopedia. It's full of great stats, records, and biographical information on the greatest players of all time.
Here's a sad stat for you: this is the first U.S. Open in which no American man has made it to the quarterfinals (thanks to Serena Williams and Melanie Oudin, the U.S. women are faring better), so if there are any men out there who'd like to work on their game for the next September, we have some great books on tactics for you as well. Tony, our resident player, recommends Serious tennis by Scott Williams and Maximum tennis : 10 keys to unleashing your on-court potential by Nick Saviano.
Game, set, match.
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