Bad News for McEnroe Blood, Sweat, and Backhands with John, Jimmy, Ilie, Ivan, Bjorn, and Vitas

by Scanlon, Bill; Long, Sonny; Long, Cathy

• ISBN13: 9780312332808
• ISBN10: 0312332807
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-09-01
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

In the golden age of tennis, when players were just learning how to become media personalities, men like McEnroe, Connors, Borg and Lendl ruled the court . Now in a tell-all memoir, former top 10 seeded tennis star and chief McEnroe rival, Bill Scanlon, presents an unfettered look at the good old days of tennis when some of the most colorful (and infamous) players in history went head-to-head and the game was changed forever. Bad News For McEnroe is in part a revelation of the feud between McEnroe and the author that began when they were teenagers, but the essence of this book are the wonderful and surprising on- and off-the-court high jinks of such notable players as Vilas, Borg, McEnroe, Nastase and Connors, all of whom Scanlan played and knew intimately, from locker room fights to on-court breakdowns and blow-ups. A story that could not have come from anyone but a true insider, Scanlan's tale of life on the pro tennis circuit will shock and delight tennis fans everywhere.

Author Biography

As a top ten ranked tennis player in the 1980s, Bill Scanlon is the only professional ever to have achieved a Golden Set (not giving up a single point). Scanlon boasts wins over eight #1 ranked players. A US Open semifinalist and a Wimbledon and Australian Open quarterfinalist, Scanlon holds 11 career singles titles and 4 career doubles titles partnering with Martina Navratilova, Ivan Lendl, Vitas Gerulaitis, and Billy Martin. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Sonny Long is a Journalism graduate of Auburn University with a Master's Degree in Communications from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an award-winning journalist and author of two previous books. Sonny Long lives in Atlanta, Texas.

Cathy Long, Sonny's younger sister, attended Arizona Western College, New Mexico State University, and received a BA in Liberal Arts from Empire State University. A Bill Scanlon fan and researcher extraordinaire, this was her first collaborative writing project.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. 1
Star Quality	p. 5
It's a Damn War Out There	p. 21
Mac and Me	p. 38
Equipment Matters	p. 54
The Game Gets Physical	p. 73
Support Systems	p. 86
Show Me the Money!	p. 104
Mr. Jordan Comes from Washington	p. 126
Playing by the Rules	p. 146
Giving Something Back to the Game	p. 162
Along for the Ride	p. 178
Mental Cases	p. 202
Living and Dying by the Computer	p. 214
Our Legacy	p. 222
Dedication	p. 227
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