[jackdawson]

TITLE: Rafa: My Story
AUTHOR: John Carlin and Rafael Nadal
GENRE: Biography
PUBLISHED: August, 2011
RATING: ★★★☆☆
PURCHASE LINKS: iBookStore, Amazon, Kobo
MOBILISM LINK: Not yet released
ISBN: 1401324517

DESCRIPTION: Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest players in the history of tennis, talks about his journey in this memoir. Written with award-winning journalist John Carlin, he reveals the secrets of his game and shares the inspiring personal story behind his success. He is one of the few global celebrities who is always gracious and sincere and an excellent role-model for youngsters. The book talks about the man beneath the veneer, the man called Rafa.

REVIEW: A warning first off, you probably won’t like this book if you are not a tennis or Nadal fan.

Back to the book now. An athlete in his prime writing a biography struck me as odd at first. Why not later when you are off the court, having acquired all that the past phase of life had to give? But then I asked myself, as a tennis fan, as a Nadal fan, is Rafa Nadal the same as others? His intriguing rituals, the charisma, the shroud of enigma that surrounds him, set him apart from others. But was this book a success? In parts it was, in others not so much.

The book is not just about Nadal as a person, it also describes what is arguably the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played (Wimbledon 2008 Final), what Rafa goes through mentally, going up against one of the greats in his own kingdom, on his court. They are presented as a series of flashbacks, interspersed with the chapters that talk about other elements of Rafa’s life. Not my favorite approach for sure.

Another problem I had with the book was that it didn’t flow too well from one subject to another. The aforementioned flashback method sometimes kills the good things going on in the book. The transition from one match to another, one tournament to another becomes frustrating sometimes. I can understand this because English is not Rafa’s native tongue and all the translation and editing has been done by John Carlin of Playing the Enemy fame. But still nothing can force me to ignore such a major shortcoming.

An old proverb goes “Brevity is the soul of wit” But what if you get too brief, you end up in no man’s land as neither do you get the point through, nor do you look witty. At times I felt that this book went through events, not trivial ones but highly significant ones like Nadal’s first grand slam in 2005, too quickly. The first big win is a huge moment for any sportsman and I am sure it was for Rafa as well but the cavalier treatment towards some events didn’t go down well with me.

Coming to the positives, I really liked the part about Rafa’s family and friends, the part that showed me, a huge fan, who the Real Rafa is. It was exciting to know about his upbringing, his relationship with his uncle and Coach Toni and the revelations like considering switching his profession to golf. Rafa is a man who is devoted to his family and talks in detail about his parents, his other uncle Miguel (a Barcelona star, who wanted Rafa to take up football), his girlfriend (who was not given enough time in the spotlight if you ask me) and most importantly Toni, the man who shaped his career. It was great to see Rafa, a very private person in the press, open up like this.

"It was always me… that he got to pick up the balls, or more balls than the others, at the end of the training session."

Another plus was the portrayal of Toni, the necessary evil, so to say. Toni has been depicted as an irritable, moody and almost abusive figure. Rafa has also expressed the immense respect that he has for his uncle, he also adds that Toni being there makes him comfortable. When Nadal was 11, he won the Spanish under-12s national championship. He records his family's delight, but

"as usual it was Toni… who spoiled the party". Toni phoned up the Spanish Tennis Federation and got a list of the title's previous 25 winners, which he read out to Nadal. Sure enough, most never went on to become famous players. "So, Rafael, don't get too excited about today's victory," Toni warned. "There's still a long, hard road ahead."

Shocked? Another incident is when Rafa gets injured while practice and instead of rushing him to a hospital, Toni scolds him for being careless. Such incidents increase my respect for Rafa even more because it is tough for a child to go through all this and yet grow up to be a wonderful person.

Though it was not the greatest of books, it has a lot that will endear Rafa to fans. It has a lot for a casual follower to chew up about Rafa. What really touched me was that the man known as the “The Bull”, “One man Spanish Armada”, “The Swashbuckling Sultan of Spin” and what not is still a child inside, who loves to fish, play video games and spend time with his family. A generous 3 star rating.

Fairly interesting book about a tennis star's beginnings. Like many other young players, Nadal's developement is due to dedication, regimentation and ability.
Though Nadal is physically gifted, his mental prowess is overlooked. The years spent with his Uncle Toni shed light on the physical and mental training which Nadal utilized to his advantage in becoming a champion.