The Master

The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer

By: Christopher Clarey

Narrated by: Kiff VandenHeuvel

Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

A major biography of the greatest men's tennis player of the modern era.

There have been other biographies of Roger Federer, but never one with this kind of access to the man himself, his support team, and the most prominent figures in the game, including such rivals as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick. In The Master, New York Times correspondent Christopher Clarey sits down with Federer and those closest to him to tell the story of the greatest player in men's tennis.

Roger Federer has often made it look astonishingly easy through the decades: carving backhands, gliding to forehands, leaping for overheads, and, in his most gravity-defying act, remaining high on a pedestal in a world of sports rightfully flooded with cynicism. But his path from temperamental bleach-blond teenager with dubious style sense to one of the greatest, most self-possessed, and elegant of competitors has been a long-running act of will, not destiny. He not only had a great gift. He had grit.

Christopher Clarey, one of the top international sportswriters working today, has covered Federer since the beginning of his professional career. He was in Paris on the Suzanne Lenglen Court for Federer's first Grand Slam match and has interviewed him exclusively more than any other journalist since his rise to prominence. Here, Clarey focuses on the pivotal people, places, and moments in Federer's long and rich career: reporting from South Africa, South America, the Middle East, four Grand Slam tournaments, and Federer's native Switzerland. It has been a journey like no other player's, rife with victories and a few crushing defeats, one that has redefined enduring excellence and made Federer a sentimental favorite worldwide.

The Master tells the story of Federer's life and career on both an intimate and grand scale, in a way no one else could possibly do.

©2021 Christopher Clarey (P)2021 Twelve

Critic reviews

"Roger Federer is the most beautiful and balletic player I've ever seen. In this entertaining and deeply researched book, Christopher Clarey, the top tennis writer of today, tells the story of how Federer became one of our sport's greatest champions and how much harder it was than he made it look." (Billie Jean King, former world number one professional tennis player)

“With the same elegance and excellence that defined Roger Federer’s great career, Christopher Clarey has chronicled the making of a legend. The Master is a truly enjoyable deep dive into the qualities that set Federer apart from the rest.” (Mike Tirico, host of NBC Sports)

“A deeply reported and researched portrait of one of the greatest tennis players ever.... A fine work of sports journalism, well worthy of its estimable subject.” (Kirkus)

Humble Swiss role model

Beautiful and exciting book which is hard to put down. Well written with loads of details. Great story about Federer life but also about some of his friends competitors. Also remarkable how Federer despite his success remain such a great family man and humble person. A magnificient role model who can inspire many of us.

Magnificent sports audiobook!!

This book was extremely enlightening and entertaining! If you're a Federer fan, a tennis fan, or just a sports fan in general, you will definitely enjoy this book! The author is a professional sportswriter who followed RF's career from the earliest days through to his most recent matches in his 40's. He details many different chapters of Roger's life and career, and uncovers many new tidbits of interviews, information, and never-heard-before snipits and soundbites that make for a fascinating portrait of the tennis guru's amazing journey. There is great information about other tennis starts as well, such as Sampras, Agassi, Nadal and Djokovic, and you get a wonderful perspective of Federer's entire evolution as a young man, a dominant professional on the rise, and ultimately a seasoned veteran and superstar. This book is amazing and is not to be missed!

Great story told at a good pace

Interesting inside descripcion of Roger life from the perspective of an outsider. Still very detailed and excellent narrative.

The star all others are measured against

The accents are wild just speed up the audio and you are good to go

It is ok

The best parts of this book are the details on a 20 year snapshot of tennis history. Loved learning about the mini bios of so many greats.

What this is not is a detailed tell all biography about Fed. It touches on his life but lacks the emotion and soul of “Rafa”.

The worst part of the audiobook are the atrocious, almost comical accents used by the narrator. It is not hyperbole to say that is nearly ruins the experience. Amazon/audible should consider re-recording this in an accent free version.

For great tennis fan…

I’ve been fortunate enough to watch live some of the matches described in this book. Being a great Fedal Fan felt special to somehow understand their thinking and tactics behind the scene. The one chapter with a lot of Djokovic is the one I couldn’t quite make connection to the whole story. But overall amazing book!

Excellent

This was an excellent book filled with interesting information and details. The author captured the essence of Federer.

Very engaging

As a Rafa fan, I was still very interested in this book and appreciated the unique perspective the author brought to this incredible era of tennis. My only slight complaint would be that the narrator used some somewhat odd accents in embodying the various personalities, but I became used to these choices over time.

Excelente

Entretenido y formador para todos aquellos que amamos el deporte y admiramos a los más grandes.

Emotional intelligence recount

Nothing was less than enjoyable. A very thorough and thoughtful recounting of events covering the many aspects of tennis.