Open: An Autobiography

by Andre Agassi

The tennis fever! My second consecutive book on tennis greats. Agassi has not won as much as Nadal probably but his life is certainly more colourful. He had a tough upbringing from a very harsh tennis father. And one thing strange about Agassi is he has always maintained that he hates tennis, yet he continues to play and excel at the sport, though in tempestuous patches.

I can relate with Agassi and his temperament as much as I could relate to Nadal's. Agassi's life is full of contradiction and bursts of passion and lulls. It gives hope to us 'regular' folk when a God of Tennis like Agassi can be so contradictory about his life, what more to say us. Agassi is an a wonderful person and many can draw from his life lessons and hopefully focus on things that give their life joy and meaning, as well as success.

Rafa: My Story

by Rafael Nadal and John Carlin

This is a great book about one of the best current tennis players. He describes his life from childhood up to the current point, his rivalry with Federer and also Djokovic. It is very interesting to hear the thoughts and life of a champion. The mental strength this guy has, and how he handles his life with such grace and humility. I need to take a page from this guy's book. Though the language used and story telling isn't the best, yet the raw content of the story is very good. Overall, a book worth reading, and perhaps re-reading.