Rod Laver

The autobiography follows how Rod Laver, a small, left-handed, red-headed boy from Rockhampton in rural Australia, became one of the greatest champions in sport. He recalls growing up in a country town in the 1950s, breaking into the amateur circuit and dominating the game for nearly two decades. Twice, in 1962 and again in 1969, he won the Grand Slam, sweeping all four major championships within one calendar year. Laver also writes about the stroke he suffered in 1998 and about Mary, his wife of more than 40 years, who died in 2012 following a long illness. Anecdotes about great players and matches are set against tennis's shift from strict amateurism to the professional game.

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com founder Yaro Starak listed Rod Laver among the tennis biographies he has read as a keen fan of the sport.