A Delayed Reading on Roger Federer's Career Is Not Delayed Satisfaction
The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer (2021)
A Quick Book Review
Tennis multi-champion Roger Federer is a transcendent figure in sports - not just his sport, but across all, having risen to celebrity status while maintaining a remarkable air of dignity and humility. And, he's a four-time Olympian with two medals.
A Quick Book Review
Tennis multi-champion Roger Federer is a transcendent figure in sports - not just his sport, but across all, having risen to celebrity status while maintaining a remarkable air of dignity and humility. And, he's a four-time Olympian with two medals.
So, it's natural that I'd be keen to read The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer, a celebrated biography of his by noted The New York Times tennis journalist Christopher Clarey. So what took me so long? Chalk it up to life and ordinary, usual distractions. But here we are now.
Published in 2021 ahead of Federer's emotional retirement the following year, The Master is a comprehensive look at the champion's career, from junior start in Switzerland through his rise in the rankings and highlighting key moments and rivalries on the court. It's all there to relive, including revisits to championship points and the ups and downs of a tennis life - match points and tiebreakers with fellow 'Big Three' members Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Not shy to reiterate Federer's penchant for playfulness, nor his early tempestuousness, Clarey showcases a man with strong roots in family and with a centered sense of his own presence.
Granted, none of that is neither surprising nor particularly unknown. What makes The Master most compelling then is the wealth of detail to both Federer's character and to outlining his inner circles of coaches, management, and family. Were I to find fault in anything, it'd be a lack of current comment from his most inner circle, in particular his wife Mirka (herself a Sydney 2000 tennis Olympian), and Federer himself.
But that's a small quibble in the face of such an otherwise comprehensive tome on one of the greats in sport. Federer's stellar career deserves a stellar review; The Master largely delivers.
Published in 2021 ahead of Federer's emotional retirement the following year, The Master is a comprehensive look at the champion's career, from junior start in Switzerland through his rise in the rankings and highlighting key moments and rivalries on the court. It's all there to relive, including revisits to championship points and the ups and downs of a tennis life - match points and tiebreakers with fellow 'Big Three' members Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Not shy to reiterate Federer's penchant for playfulness, nor his early tempestuousness, Clarey showcases a man with strong roots in family and with a centered sense of his own presence.
Granted, none of that is neither surprising nor particularly unknown. What makes The Master most compelling then is the wealth of detail to both Federer's character and to outlining his inner circles of coaches, management, and family. Were I to find fault in anything, it'd be a lack of current comment from his most inner circle, in particular his wife Mirka (herself a Sydney 2000 tennis Olympian), and Federer himself.
But that's a small quibble in the face of such an otherwise comprehensive tome on one of the greats in sport. Federer's stellar career deserves a stellar review; The Master largely delivers.
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