The Master: The Brilliant Career of Roger Federer
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- Create Date：2022-09-30 09:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Christopher Clarey
- ISBN：1529342074
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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。
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。
Reviews
Martin E Rankin
，
This is a good book that takes the reader through Roger’s life and career。 It has many interesting anecdotes， both about Roger and his major opponents （Roddick， Nadal and Djokovic）。 For example， very interesting that he and Nadal both played soccer， but were punished by soccer coaches for missing practice to play tennis tournaments。 In both cases， Roger and Rafael quit soccer because of the punitive nature of their soccer coaches。 It is a little disorganized and not chronological， but a very in- This is a good book that takes the reader through Roger’s life and career。 It has many interesting anecdotes， both about Roger and his major opponents （Roddick， Nadal and Djokovic）。 For example， very interesting that he and Nadal both played soccer， but were punished by soccer coaches for missing practice to play tennis tournaments。 In both cases， Roger and Rafael quit soccer because of the punitive nature of their soccer coaches。 It is a little disorganized and not chronological， but a very in-depth overview of Federer。 。。。more
Rkrynak
，
Being a Federer fan for many years， I felt like most of material in this book was common knowledge。
Jasmin
，
Many years ago， I was sitting on our living room couch and I was staring at this small television set that my parents used to own， and I was browsing between all kinds of channels that were on cable TV at that time。 And then I saw it。 And then I saw my first tennis match。 It was Australian Open final。 I saw the whole match， and after that， I was in love with that sport。 Right after that match， I was in love with tennis。 And whenever there was a match of an important tournament on that sports cha Many years ago， I was sitting on our living room couch and I was staring at this small television set that my parents used to own， and I was browsing between all kinds of channels that were on cable TV at that time。 And then I saw it。 And then I saw my first tennis match。 It was Australian Open final。 I saw the whole match， and after that， I was in love with that sport。 Right after that match， I was in love with tennis。 And whenever there was a match of an important tournament on that sports channel， I usually ended up watching it。 Especially this guy who went by the name Roger Federer。 I don't know what it was but I was completely blown away by the way Roger Federer moved on the court as he played against Marat Safin， Rafael Nadal， Nalbandian， and many many others。 And what especially blew me away was his ability of winning the points in truly magnificent fashion。 He quickly became my favorite tennis player。 I became his fan。 And so， whenever there was a Grand Slam match， if I had enough time on my hands， I ended up watching it。 What especially amazed me about Roger was also his ability to handle things not only on the court， but his ability to handle things off the court。 He was like a true gentleman， he was like this elegant guy who knew how to speak elegantly， and he was like this emotional guy， who sometimes just couldn't control his emotions。 He was a very good tennis player on the court and he was seemingly a gentleman off the court。 And that's precisely why， when I learnt of this book， I just knew I had to have it。 I just knew it had to be mine。 And so I got it， opened it， and I started reading it， and I ended up loving it。 It's got many yet unknown and yet untold details from Roger Federer's life， and it's got many thoughts and thus opinions of those who've opposed him during his best tennis years of his life。 Many thoughts from many of his former rivals， and also many thoughts from Roger himself。 If you've never played tennis， then this book is definitely for you， and if you have and you are fan of Roger's， then this book is also definitely for you。 It shows the beauty， elegance， and mastery of the game， and it shows that Roger's only human。 It shows that even though Roger's won twenty Grand Slam titles， he's still just this guy who loves to play tennis more than soccer， or any other sport， and that he's grown from this kid who probably broke hundreds of rackets into this man who can't break a single one， with help of many people who are by his side， who were at one point by his side but moved away， and those who have sadly passed away。 It's a truly beautiful book， definitely worthy of your time。 One thing though is the length of the chapters， for the chapters are very long， and thus it's very hard to remember everything。 It's very hard to remember what some of his former rivals have said。 But in the end， this is a book about Roger Federer and this is a book about the beauty of the game he plays so elegantly。 Or the beauty of the game he's played so elegantly， since now he's retired。 So give yourself a chance， give this wonderful book a chance， and learn how a small kid from Switzerland fell in love with tennis and became one of the greatest tennis players of all time。 Blessings 。。。more
Aziz Ketari
，
Exhaustive piece of journalism work。A perfect balance of RF biography and details around the sports over the last two decades。What I loved about this book？It sheds some light on what it takes to be a champion using RF as the quintessential example。 In fact， the author explains at length how the power play evolves throughout the years between agents， sponsors， athletes and their families。
Dhruv Mittal
，
As a big tennis fan and even bigger Federer fan， I had high hopes from this book （and partly because this book has a pretty good rating at Goodreads）。 Prior to this， I had read "Open" （Andre Agassi's Autobiography） and "Rafa" （Rafael Nadal's autobiography） and loved both of them。 Therefore， I was even more excited to read this biography。But， unfortunately this book turned out to be a disappointment。 The storyline and narrative is all over the place。 The author provides long details about the jou As a big tennis fan and even bigger Federer fan， I had high hopes from this book （and partly because this book has a pretty good rating at Goodreads）。 Prior to this， I had read "Open" （Andre Agassi's Autobiography） and "Rafa" （Rafael Nadal's autobiography） and loved both of them。 Therefore， I was even more excited to read this biography。But， unfortunately this book turned out to be a disappointment。 The storyline and narrative is all over the place。 The author provides long details about the journeys of other individuals （Federer's key competitors， support staff etc。） to the extent that you sometime forget whose biography is being read by you。 To me that is the most irritating part about the book。 。。。more
Amit
，
Let me begin by saying for RF the book should have been a 3 but I have given 1 extra for the author in the way he made all others - players ， coaches。 History come alive and made them true characters in a book about Roger。 As you read you get to know the player but not the man 。 I loved the history ， the context ， the journey but I have not known the person ， the struggles， the dilemma the hurt of the player or the man。 I loved to read about RF and his tennis and his career。 I now believe he cou Let me begin by saying for RF the book should have been a 3 but I have given 1 extra for the author in the way he made all others - players ， coaches。 History come alive and made them true characters in a book about Roger。 As you read you get to know the player but not the man 。 I loved the history ， the context ， the journey but I have not known the person ， the struggles， the dilemma the hurt of the player or the man。 I loved to read about RF and his tennis and his career。 I now believe he could have been greater player and even greater achiever 。 The book has many moments that reader will cherish 。I still feel Roger lost this slam in the semi’s。 For me the winner still is open- book on Aggasi followed by Rafa- book on Nadal。 Have not read novaks biography and it could be the wild card - who knows 。I hope Roger Peñs a book where in we get to know the man， why did he chose PL and PC or what he felt truly when he won and lost， why did the Nike deal actually not happen or his surgeries or his true feeling on reaching 15 and then 20th slams win。 Till then I will see his matches， miss him on the court and admire him from a distance。 Happy retirement champion。 May the years be kind to you 。 。。。more
Vivita Dzērve
，
I have no idea， why i even bought this book 😂 i guess the price was low enough。 I did not acknowledge a lot about Federer as a person in that sea of information， because there was everything about everyone in tennis history。 As i am not a fan of tennis and do not know the specifics and rules， big part of the book was not interesting at all and i could not value the uniqueness of Federer’s tennis abilities。 I guess for a fan this book might be a lot more interesting and valuable。 Not bad， but for I have no idea， why i even bought this book 😂 i guess the price was low enough。 I did not acknowledge a lot about Federer as a person in that sea of information， because there was everything about everyone in tennis history。 As i am not a fan of tennis and do not know the specifics and rules， big part of the book was not interesting at all and i could not value the uniqueness of Federer’s tennis abilities。 I guess for a fan this book might be a lot more interesting and valuable。 Not bad， but for me it was a struggle to get to the end。 。。。more
Kat
，
The audiobook was great。 Super interesting！ I learned a lot about Federer and Tennis in general。 Also liked that Clarey touched upon other players and the business。
Aparna Kamath
，
Great read。 Definitely enjoyed as Fed fan and tennis fan！
Andy Klein
，
A solid sports biography。 The book does a great job giving you a sense of what Federer is like。 But， and there was probably no way around this， there was too much blow by blow of Federer’s wins and losses in Grand Slams。 In fairness， while Federer has made a ton of money and has done a fair amount of charitable work， the bulk of his life has really been spent playing tennis and marketing his tennis career。 So there was not much more than tennis to fill up a complete book。
Felix Vezina Paquin
，
3，5 étoiles
BP Blouin
，
Il s’agissait de la 1ère biographie que je lisais à vie et je n’ai vraiment pas été déçu。 Ceci-dit， j’étais un peu vendu avant de débuter la lecture， étant un grand fan de tennis。 Non seulement on apprend énormément sur la vie et le jeu de Federer， mais aussi sur plusieurs autres joueurs tels que Hewitt， Roddick， Nadal， Agassi， Sampras et Djokovic， ce qui rend la lecture encore plus intéressante。 Petit bémol sur les nombreuses descriptions de match de tennis qui deviennent par moment un peu trop Il s’agissait de la 1ère biographie que je lisais à vie et je n’ai vraiment pas été déçu。 Ceci-dit， j’étais un peu vendu avant de débuter la lecture， étant un grand fan de tennis。 Non seulement on apprend énormément sur la vie et le jeu de Federer， mais aussi sur plusieurs autres joueurs tels que Hewitt， Roddick， Nadal， Agassi， Sampras et Djokovic， ce qui rend la lecture encore plus intéressante。 Petit bémol sur les nombreuses descriptions de match de tennis qui deviennent par moment un peu trop longues mais ce n’est pas assez désagréable pour enlever une étoile。 Une biographie que je recommande à 100%！ 。。。more
Sebastien Casson
，
As a huge Federer fan， I was always going to enjoy this book， even if it was bittersweet to re-live the rollercoaster of emotions and pain experienced during Wimbledon 2008 and 2019。 I have to say I really liked Chris Clarey's writing and ways of re-telling the stories， a lot of which I already knew。 It was generally not just a series of descriptions of his different matches so I also liked the way the book was constructed。 I found the bit on Federer's sponsoring， how he built his "empire"， and As a huge Federer fan， I was always going to enjoy this book， even if it was bittersweet to re-live the rollercoaster of emotions and pain experienced during Wimbledon 2008 and 2019。 I have to say I really liked Chris Clarey's writing and ways of re-telling the stories， a lot of which I already knew。 It was generally not just a series of descriptions of his different matches so I also liked the way the book was constructed。 I found the bit on Federer's sponsoring， how he built his "empire"， and the behind-the-scenes of his deal with Uniqlo really interesting too！Would certainly recommend this book to any tennis fan - but probably less to those who don't follow tennis 。。。more
Beverly Manring
，
I was given an early copy in exchange for an honest review。 This was an insightful in depth review of the person not just the celebrity。。 a man who started his life in very humble beginnings to become a man at the top of the tennis world never forgetting where he came from with a mother who had lived through Apartheid。。 Federer projects normalcy amongst the extraordinary。 Whether an interview or how he handled moving with his children around the world。 Federerer would play his first tournament o I was given an early copy in exchange for an honest review。 This was an insightful in depth review of the person not just the celebrity。。 a man who started his life in very humble beginnings to become a man at the top of the tennis world never forgetting where he came from with a mother who had lived through Apartheid。。 Federer projects normalcy amongst the extraordinary。 Whether an interview or how he handled moving with his children around the world。 Federerer would play his first tournament on the grounds （grounds which were encircled by barbed wire。）that were overlooked by the prison which at one time had housed Nelson Mandela。 He would begin and end his career here on this humble court。 His father was Swedish therefore he”was born with dual citizenshiip and lived a good part of his life in Switzerland I am not much of a tennis fan but enjoyed this book very much。 He is a person who has given back to those around the world for children to have the opportunity to learn the sport。 Well worth giving it a go。 It was a book I saw and thought I didn’t know much about him and wanted to learn。 I would recommend this book。 Thanks to #NetGalley，，#Christopher Clarey， #TheMaster 。。。more
Oleksandr Komarevych
，
Christopher Clarey had amazing work by bringing to light the story of a great athlete and person - Roger Federer。 Before reading the book， I could not tell much about why Roger was a remarkable tennis player， but he had the halo of talented and gifted communicators between the tennis and non-tennis world。 In the book， you have lots of statistics on matches， and Christopher delivered it as you were sitting with him， with other people on the court。 You can also read about different points of view Christopher Clarey had amazing work by bringing to light the story of a great athlete and person - Roger Federer。 Before reading the book， I could not tell much about why Roger was a remarkable tennis player， but he had the halo of talented and gifted communicators between the tennis and non-tennis world。 In the book， you have lots of statistics on matches， and Christopher delivered it as you were sitting with him， with other people on the court。 You can also read about different points of view on the life of a pro athlete: during the training session or after the match "room discussion"， the interviews with tennis starts as Djokovic， Nadal， Federer's coaches and tennis experts。 It is about the culture， team， family， friendship， and love to the sport。 Federer's credo: "Just be interested; be interested in all your things。" 。。。more
Dustin Hudak
，
A great book about Roger Federer and his life。 Anyone interested in tennis or a professional athlete should read this book。
Fer Marin
，
I love it！！！ A great book that gives you the opportunity to know Roger， the best tennis player ever， in all aspects， not just as a great tennis player but as a great person。
Miguel
，
The author’s access to RF’s inner circle make the reader have a look into the personal side of all the milestones of Roger’s career。 The book is often too technical about Tennis as as sport but the rest of the content make it worthwhile to power through。
Mike Peterson
，
Goat book for a Goat。
Slawek Czuba
，
As a huge tennis fan， I find this book very politically correct and rather high level in terms of informative value。 I learnt very few interesting facts， nor was I exposed to any strong/controversial opinions to explain some of Federer’s ups and downs in this book。Also， the author keeps repeating himself over the chapters， I almost had a feeling that he wrote them completely independently and then collated them into a book。Moderately interesting at best。
Maha
，
Is it a 5-star read because I'm a fan of Federer's？ Probably。 Nonetheless it's a must-read for every tennis fan out there， not only because it's access-granted for Federer's earlier career days， but it shows how much the game has evolved as well， alongside the standards of which the game has been received。 It beautifully states the way in which Federer has adopted the game over the years， and that my friends， is something that has been understated and unminded repeatedly in a way that needed suc Is it a 5-star read because I'm a fan of Federer's？ Probably。 Nonetheless it's a must-read for every tennis fan out there， not only because it's access-granted for Federer's earlier career days， but it shows how much the game has evolved as well， alongside the standards of which the game has been received。 It beautifully states the way in which Federer has adopted the game over the years， and that my friends， is something that has been understated and unminded repeatedly in a way that needed such a daring move to say it out loud， and this biography didn't fail to deliver just that。 。。。more
Rob Pruden
，
I have been a tennis player my whole life and while my intense interest in the professional ranks focused more on the Borg and McEnroe rivalry， I have certainly followed the Federer， Nadal， Djokavk era as well with awe。 This author certainly knows the sport and had wonderful access to his subject and thus presents a compelling account of a world class athlete and a true credit to his country and mankind over all。 It even got me to You Tube yesterday to review some of the highlights captured in t I have been a tennis player my whole life and while my intense interest in the professional ranks focused more on the Borg and McEnroe rivalry， I have certainly followed the Federer， Nadal， Djokavk era as well with awe。 This author certainly knows the sport and had wonderful access to his subject and thus presents a compelling account of a world class athlete and a true credit to his country and mankind over all。 It even got me to You Tube yesterday to review some of the highlights captured in this wonderful book。 。。。more
Mr。 Kim
，
A beautifully written book about Federer。 Clarey’s words helped me visualize and remember so many wonderful （and painful） moments from Fed’s career。 I especially appreciated the stories of Fed’s youth， which I knew very little about。
Nightingale
，
Covering Federer's tennis path， personal life， and great rivals， Clarey understands and brings to life the tennis world in which Federer moves in this biography。 My knowledge of the tennis world has been greatly enriched by this book， and I enjoyed rewatching matches in my mind's eye through Clarey's brilliant writing。 Covering Federer's tennis path， personal life， and great rivals， Clarey understands and brings to life the tennis world in which Federer moves in this biography。 My knowledge of the tennis world has been greatly enriched by this book， and I enjoyed rewatching matches in my mind's eye through Clarey's brilliant writing。 。。。more
Shu
，
Ever since reading DFW’s 2006 article for the NYT， “Roger Federer as Religious Experience”， I’ve subconsciously used it as a yardstick to measure any writing about Federer。 So far， none has come even close to how DFW captured the transcendental beauty of Federer’s game。 This book also fell short。 Then again， this biography is more of a reportage than a commentary。 What this book does quite well is the first hand interviews of other players and their thoughts on Federer。 Reading the book in 2022 Ever since reading DFW’s 2006 article for the NYT， “Roger Federer as Religious Experience”， I’ve subconsciously used it as a yardstick to measure any writing about Federer。 So far， none has come even close to how DFW captured the transcendental beauty of Federer’s game。 This book also fell short。 Then again， this biography is more of a reportage than a commentary。 What this book does quite well is the first hand interviews of other players and their thoughts on Federer。 Reading the book in 2022 and reliving some of RF’s classic matches surely made me feel nostalgic and aching for his return to the court！ 。。。more
Rdream
，
Great biography。 Author describes Federer’s career completely and exposed some aspects that we hardly know。 It’s a awesome book to understand the whole career， personality of him and the reason why Roger is the GOAT of tennis。
Muneesha Goyal
，
Excellent overview of Federer’s career and what he’s meant to the game of tennis
Bobby
，
This book was everything I wanted it to be。 So god damned great。 A。
Katie Reynolds
，
A truly thorough look at one of the greatest players of all time！ Amazing to learn about all that Roger has done both on and off the court。
Mariam
，