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The Warrior
- Author
- Christopher Clarey
- Narrator
- Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Publisher
- John Murray Press
- Publish Date
- 15 May 2025
- Run Time
- 14 hours 21 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
From the bestselling author of The Master, longlisted for the 2025 William Hill Sports Book of the Year.
An intimate, original biography of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, and the first to cover his entire career.
After his award-winning look at Roger Federer, Christopher Clarey, one of the world's pre-eminent tennis writers, focuses his lens on Nadal, the Spanish force of nature. When he arrived on the scene in 2005, the record for men's singles titles at the French Open stood at six. Nadal more than doubled that total to a mind-blowing fourteen titles: one of the greatest sporting achievements in history.
Nadal won big and won often on all of tennis's surfaces: securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and six on the US Open and Australian Open hard courts. But clay, the grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all came together best for his whipping forehand and warrior mindset.
Clarey, who has covered Nadal since he was seventeen, draws on interviews over twenty years with Nadal, his team and rivals like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Brimming with behind-the-scenes insight, The Warrior tells the story of a global sporting icon, interlacing man and place in a unique, must-read account of the evolution of excellence.
Critics Review
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Shrewd and informative
The Times
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An affectionate and insightful biography . . . Clarey supplements this two-decade highlight reel with rich digressions into tennis history
Financial Times
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The definitive volume on the definitive clay court player of all time
Vogue
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[Clarey] wrote what is widely regarded as the definitive book on Roger Federer: "The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer." Now he has produced a similarly authoritative book on Federer's longtime rival and friend, Rafael Nadal
New York Times
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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If you have ever held a racket or seen a champion play, you will find this splendid book a rich source of pleasure and inspiration
Daily Mail
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Comprehensive . . . Rafa's humility and sportsmanship shine in this glowing portrait that also abounds with wider tennis trivia
Daily Mail
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The definitive portrait of the Spanish champion
Sunday Times, Books of the Year
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A scintillating account of the elastic Spaniard's epic run to the pinnacle of men's professional tennis
Wall Street Journal Book Review
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Masterful . . . this splendid book is a rich source of pleasure and inspiration
Mail on Sunday
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Christopher Clarey
- Narrator
- Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Duration
- 14 hours 21 minutes
- Release Date
- 15 May 2025
- ISBN
- 9781399811545
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- John Murray Press
- Genre
- Biography: sport, Other sports and competitive activities, Tennis
Synopsis
LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEARA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARFrom the bestselling author of The Master, longlisted for the 2025 William Hill Sports Book of the Year.An intimate, original biography of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, and the first to cover his entire career.After his award-winning look at Roger Federer, Christopher Clarey, one of the world's pre-eminent tennis writers, focuses his lens on Nadal, the Spanish force of nature. When he arrived on the scene in 2005, the record for men's singles titles at the French Open stood at six. Nadal more than doubled that total to a mind-blowing fourteen titles: one of the greatest sporting achievements in history. Nadal won big and won often on all of tennis's surfaces: securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and six on the US Open and Australian Open hard courts. But clay, the grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all came together best for his whipping forehand and warrior mindset. Clarey, who has covered Nadal since he was seventeen, draws on interviews over twenty years with Nadal, his team and rivals like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Brimming with behind-the-scenes insight, The Warrior tells the story of a global sporting icon, interlacing man and place in a unique, must-read account of the evolution of excellence.
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