The Player - Tapa blanda

"'Fascinating reading, mainly because he is that rare thing: a sportsman who opens up, who can articulate his emotions fluently, convey the pain of defeat and the elation of victory with eloquence, humour and resonance'" (GQ)

"'His account of the pressures he endured as a boy-wonder, when Volkswagon was the only German name better-known than his own, is truthful and disturbing'" (Sunday Telegraph)

"'Never far from controversy, Boris Becker reveals all in the most eagerly-awaited tennis autobiography for many a year'" (British Tennis)

"'An extraordinary sports biography'" (Yorkshire Evening Post)

Boris Becker shot to fame in 1985 when, at seventeen years old, he became the youngest player ever to win the men's final at Wimbledon. He went on to win two more Wimbledon titles, and a total of forty-nine singles and fifteen doubles crowns, making him one of the greatest players of the twentieth century. But his life off the court has always attracted as much attention as his triumphs on it.

Now, in this remarkably candid and thought-provoking autobiography, Boris Becker tells the real story behind the headlines. He speaks of the seconds before the serve that made him the youngest Wimbledon winner of all time, and of the minutes after being sentenced as a tax evader. He talks about his marriage, his illegitimate daughter, and his painful divorce. He reveals his emotions at the end of his tennis career, and his battles with pills and alcohol. He also shares his memories of the good times, the championship wins, the make-or-break matches, and the highs and lows of life on the international circuit.

Boris Becker has written this autobiography not just for his fans but also for his children, that they may one day read the true account of their father's remarkable, and often controversial, life.