Hardcourt Confidential: Tales from Twenty Years in the Pro Tennis Trenches

A very entertaining book about tennis from a different perspective. Pmac attempts to take tennis stories built around when they happened in a year, ie, all Austrailian Open stories are early, Wimbledon in the middle. This works only so well as Pmac rambles from story to story and is soon forgotten. Pmac covers his career in the shadows of John and gives good insight in to his family's support of tennis and life on the circuit without all the money struggling to hire coaches and just make a living. On this point he has one story about Sampras coming to a tournament when he should have withdrawn only to play Pmac, kill him and then pull out. This special yearend tournament would have paid Pmac $100,000 to win that match default or not. Instead, Pete comes in picks up a $500,000 or so guarantee, THEN pulls out. Such is life on the tour. He described the $100,000 payout to him as HUGE if he had received it. Pmac quickly learned the trap of accepting wild cards based upon his name without earning his victories through the qualies. A lot of great stories here as he built a solid, if not spectacular career to a Grand Slam semi-final as well as a Grand Slam doubles championship. Yes, there is a lot about Sampras and Agassi. But where the book really leapt off the Kindle was on the Bryan brothers and Roddick. The chapters on the Bryan brothers alone is worth the price. Tennis freaks who work out incredibly hard and standby waiting for their first call to plan. Pmac names his team one time and within 10 minutes a Bryan is on the phone reporting to duty like a soldier. You have to read it to see the comedy of these guys. Also, their weird!! Consuming massive amounts of GU (a quick energy sports packet) in quantities not recommended. I've met Wayne and found him to be a really likeable guy so to read about his overachieving sons and see they are also committed, focused and great guys was a treat. Roddick, also was in for generally good treatment. The commitment of Roddick/Bryans/Blake and Fish led to a Davis Cup title when the overall talent in USA tennis may be not so good. Bad coach? I don't think so. Davis Cup coaching is a lot of stroking egos and schedules and Pmac does a good job in this book covering this. Pmac of course talks about his brother John and there seems to be an undertone of "I know my brother is an @ss". Well, I've played with him and met him and I agree. Terrific announcer, incredible tennis skills but people skills, hey, not so good. Sure Pmac loves his brother and describes some very good stories. But it's clear he knows his brother has issues and he mentions times John was difficult in their relationship. There is no real form to this book, just rambling from story to story. But that does not distract from the book if you are a real tennis fan. I STRONGLY recommend this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw Pmac in person a few times, one mentioned in the book. This was a mid 90s match at the US Open.

Full write up and interview with Patrick McEnroe in full audio and text at: [...]. Imagine being at the center of a major sport and the brother of a star who was labeled as tennis's bad boy. Patrick McEnroe experienced all of that with his brother John who he even admits there were times when the brothers weren't on speaking terms. Patrick discusses this along with the ups and downs of his entire career as a singles and doubles player in his new book Hardcourt Confidential. McEnroe's book though was never meant to be a memoir and it isn't. Instead it's a collection of stories from his experiences in tennis from 20 plus years wrapped around a perspective of the sport itself and how it has evolved in those two decades. Readers will get the chance to see Patrick take to task the best American players in the world while evaluating the positives and negatives of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, the Williams Sisters and Andy Roddick among others. There are also stories about Agassi thinking the game has passed him by and Sampras's taste for gambling just to name a few. He also shares his life experiences as an analyst for ESPN and his highs and lows as the captain of the Davis Cup team for the United States. McEnroe says leading the team to victory in 2007 was the greatest moment of his career. The industry of tennis is a small group of individuals who frequently see each other. Only a few players are making the really big money on tour and every week most players are out playing across the world for their livelihood. For an outsider that knows nothing about the most important events and backgrounds that define the sport, readers get a view of what makes the sport tick from tennis royalty who has as much, if not more passion for the game than his more famous brother John.

A great read if you are interested in learning more about the inner workings of the professional tennis scene. I have been a player and follower of tennis for decades and loved this book.

I thorouhly enjoyed the book and finished it in a day. Loved Patrick's insider perspective on the tour in in late 80s / early 90s and Davis Cup in particular. Really came away with a fresh perspective on and apprecation for the personalities of the tennis tour. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in professional tennis. You won't be disappointed!

Finally! A truly wonderful and gripping lens into the heart, mind and experience of a champion athlete. Peter Bodo and Patrick McEnroe deliver a clearly candid and unembelished account of tennis life in the trenches. In stark contrast to the autobiographical accounts put forth by other athletes and sports figures, Patrick reveals his humanness and character as he provides anecdotes from his life in tennis. Whether through his description of relationships with family, friends, coaches or girlfriends, it is clear to the reader that life for Patrick McEnroe has not been one of privilege, but rather one of self improvement, self discipline, hard work and human connection. He comes forward as an unlikely champion who overcame the disadvantage of a brother's shadow, atypical path to pro tennis of completing college (Stanford), and an approach to life, sport of tennis and love whereby he has emerged as an international figure with grace and integrity. I found myself so interested in each of the stories that by the end I thought "please write another book and tell me more". There is pretentiousness or PR fueled agenda...just tales from inside the game by an honorable Ambassador of the game who has remained true to himself and others in becoming his own person. Every young athlete, parent, coach and business leader should read this book to better understand what makes great leaders and how to be a public persona while creating a balanced life and life after sports. Bravo Patrick. Yes please, may I have another.