Rafa: My Story

It is a must have for all Rafael Nadal fans. The book mainly deals with the Wimbledon Final of 2008 which has been called by many greats as the Greatest Final ever..In each and every chapter he describes one set with a few incidents of his life. In different chapters Rafa has given his side of the story along with a sub-chapter by the co-author John Carlin.

I have been a Federer fan since the 2001 Wimbledon when he beat Sampras. Till 2005, my adulation for this 'mos graceful' of all tennis players was total and complete. Then I saw Federer playing a fellow in green sleeveless and white 'pirate' pants in the Sony Ericsson tournament. Stretched to five sets, Fed won the match to my relief but lead me to make a note to follow this 'Rafa guy' more closely. As it turned out, I did not have to follow him closely, since he was pretty much everywhere after that. And though I continued to be obsessed with Roger, Rafa was always a very esteemed fellow in my eyes. So much so that I would say that if it comes to betting my life on it, I'd rather have Rafa playing that match than Roger.

With that backdrop, and veiled adulation that I had for Rafa for years, I got down to reading this autobiography. And, boy, what a roller coaster rider it proved to be. The narrative is simple to follow, but extremely layered. The entire childhood, growing up of Rafa is intertwined with the various moments of 2008 W final. It gives a perspective of just what had gone into Rafa holding that trophy aloft, just what made him triumph on that day when lesser mortals would have cut losses and exited. He then describes the 2010 USO final, in much, much lesser detail, but highlighting some important things that shaped Rafa to complete his career grandslam, in the backdrop of his parents' divorce.

Rafa comes across as an honest, hardworking, down to earth, charming fellow in his post match interviews. The book just highlights that is not a PR charade, it is what it is.

If you have even slightest bit of interest in tennis, in general, and Rafa, in particular, I assure you that you would really like this book. And you would see Rafa in a tennis match in a whole new light.

Firstly, great delivery from Flipkart. This was one of the first books I bought from this site and I can assure you there will be many more to come. Very good packaging, and a very good price for such an amazing book.

I am a tennis player myself, and am a bigger fan of Federer than Nadal. I have to say, this book truly is amazing, even if you are not a tennis player. Well, if you are, this is THE BOOK for you! It is based on the 2008 Wimbledon Final, the biggest match of his life and undoubtedly one of the biggest in tennis history.

Not only was this a good read, it was informative and highly inspirational for me as I am a tennis player myself, as I mentioned earlier. It really helps you learn a lot, mentally, as it gives you a very deep insight into the minds of who is without doubt not only one of the greatest to have ever steppes on a tennis court, but also the strongest player, mentally, which is as most of us know the major reason for his success despite massive and numerous injury scares.

To sum it up, a MUST BUY, something that will stay with you for long after you have finished reading the book.

RAFA - Endurance, Humble and Fight - Three words which describe the ideology of the whole book

The reason for picking up this book is to know little bit more about a person who fights for each and every game point, set point as if it's his last match, how he came back from a carrier threatening injury and won 10 grand slams after that..

It starts of with a brilliant description of wimbledon 2008 final which is regarded as one of the greatest matches till date and taking that as a backdrop the author narrates the events that took place in nadal's life.. how he chooses tennis over football..how he was trained by his uncle and the support shown by his family..

Overall I like the author's narration.The book is not complete yet... I still feel, the way he came back winning IndianWells-2013 title after pulling out from two GS last year is one of the important aspects in his life which will be missed out in this book

This book is for all the tennis fans who are interested in knowing the backstage preparations for a major game.. how tennis is more of a mind game when it comes to a match between two equals

A true spartan whose battlefield is a 78x36 arena and fights till the opponent breaks up

PS: Watch finals of Wimbledon 2008 and US Open 2010 while reading the book.. You will like it more.

What an amazing read. Whatta man rafa :)
This is a must read for all rafa fans !



Great book . Takes us through Rafas thought process , his life and his childhood .