In his new book, former world no. 129 Conor Niland reveals the strangeness of life on the professional tennis circuit: a world of mind games, pecking orders, bizarre rituals – and sponsored iPods
In his new book, former world no. 129 Conor Niland reveals the strangeness of life on the professional tennis circuit: a world of mind games, pecking orders, bizarre rituals – and sponsored iPods
It was approaching dusk at the ATP 250 tournament in Doha, Qatar, and play was literally suspended. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were playing 20 feet in the air. The two legends had climbed onto a court hewn of Persian wool a few minutes earlier, and as suspension cables cranked the rug to its full height, Federer and Nadal gingerly tapped a tennis ball to each other. The area behind the baseline was thin air, so they both camped closer to the net than usual. It was the tournament’s dream vision: tennis’s sculpted, wavy haired Aladdins, where many genies had supplied them with their own flying carpet. All I had been supplied with was an easy metaphor for how the elites appeared to the rest of us all of the time.
It was approaching dusk at the ATP 250 tournament in Doha, Qatar, and play was literally suspended. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were playing 20 feet in the air. The two legends had climbed onto a court hewn of Persian wool a few minutes earlier, and as suspension cables cranked the rug to its full height, Federer and Nadal gingerly tapped a tennis ball to each other. The area behind the baseline was thin air, so they both camped closer to the net than usual. It was the tournament’s dream vision: tennis’s sculpted, wavy haired Aladdins, where many genies had supplied them with their own flying carpet. All I had been supplied with was an easy metaphor for how the elites appeared to the rest of us all of the time.
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| Clubhouse Membership | |
|---|---|
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| Members Invites to Exclusive Eventsto private Clubhouse events | |
| Weekly newsletter Straight to your inbox | |
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