Post by Dayna815 on Aug 9, 2008 20:33:27 GMT
Hello everybody! This isn't breaking news or anything, but I've been reading a book this week and found a Mariano reference, so I thought I'd share. It's "Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player" by Vince Spadea, and it came out a couple years ago but I think a slightly updated version has been recently released. Anyway, the majority of the book focuses on the 2005 season, and it really does read like a diary of his behind-the-scenes tennis experience.
I've never been a Spadea fan, but he is starting to seem a little more "human" to me now after reading more about his life. He talks a lot about women, of course. (My most vivid memory of him from Masters Cincinnati way back in 2000 is him constantly chatting up the hostess at the restaurant inside the player's hotel.) This excerpt is from page 64:
January 20, 2005
"Safin is another guy who likes his share of women. Carlos Moya, who all the women love with almost the same fervor they once reserved for Patrick Rafter, is not much of a womanizer. Mariano Zabaleta and Feliciano Lopez have their share of female admirers. Jan-Michael Gambill and Taylor Dent are not hounds. ... But anyone who doesn't have a serious, serious girlfriend is going to dabble. And some of the guys with girlfriends might be worse than the guys without girlfriends."
I thought that was a nice shout-out in the middle of a somewhat stereotypical paragraph. I know it won't surprise anyone here. Vince also talks about the friendliness of the players. Here's a little tidbit from page 48:
"The Spanish language dominates the locker room. The Spanish and Argentine players are very bold and freewheeling, characters who hug each other freely and love to talk. They're not offensive, but they can get a little bit over the top by taking over the couches and computers in the players' lounge."
I still have about 100 pages to go before the end of the book, so I'll let you know if anything else of interest pops up. It's turning out to be a more compelling read than I thought when I picked it up. Even though everything is through a Spadea filter, it's an interesting "insider" look at the sport we love.
I've never been a Spadea fan, but he is starting to seem a little more "human" to me now after reading more about his life. He talks a lot about women, of course. (My most vivid memory of him from Masters Cincinnati way back in 2000 is him constantly chatting up the hostess at the restaurant inside the player's hotel.) This excerpt is from page 64:
January 20, 2005
"Safin is another guy who likes his share of women. Carlos Moya, who all the women love with almost the same fervor they once reserved for Patrick Rafter, is not much of a womanizer. Mariano Zabaleta and Feliciano Lopez have their share of female admirers. Jan-Michael Gambill and Taylor Dent are not hounds. ... But anyone who doesn't have a serious, serious girlfriend is going to dabble. And some of the guys with girlfriends might be worse than the guys without girlfriends."
I thought that was a nice shout-out in the middle of a somewhat stereotypical paragraph. I know it won't surprise anyone here. Vince also talks about the friendliness of the players. Here's a little tidbit from page 48:
"The Spanish language dominates the locker room. The Spanish and Argentine players are very bold and freewheeling, characters who hug each other freely and love to talk. They're not offensive, but they can get a little bit over the top by taking over the couches and computers in the players' lounge."
I still have about 100 pages to go before the end of the book, so I'll let you know if anything else of interest pops up. It's turning out to be a more compelling read than I thought when I picked it up. Even though everything is through a Spadea filter, it's an interesting "insider" look at the sport we love.
