Mucles. New book on Rosewall

[urban]

Just read on some Australian sources, that a new book on Ken Rosewall is out, with the title "Muscles". Its published by Richard Naughton, and obviously has contributions by players like Laver and Newcombe and famous writers like Bellamy and Barrett.
Maybe some here like Bobby one know more about it. I haven't seen an announcement here. Could be a very interesting read.
Forgive me. I made an error in the title line and cannot edit it.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by urban

Just read on some Australian sources, that a new book on Ken Rosewall is out, with the title "Muscles". Its published by Richard Naughton, and obviously has contributions by players like Laver and Newcombe and famous writers like Bellamy and Barrett.
Maybe some here like Bobby one know more about it. I haven't seen an announcement here. Could be a very interesting read.
Forgive me. I made an error in the title line and cannot edit it.

urban, Thanks for telling that great news. I did not know about it.

By the way, I know that Barrett ranks Laver a shade over Rosewall that meaning he ranks Muscles very high...

[urban]

All the best in the New Year to You, Bobby. To my knowledge, there are two other important books on Rosewall, one by Malcolm Rowley and one in German by Robert Geist. I think, Barrett knew Rosewall very well since his young age, because he worked with Slazenger, which made the rackets for Ken. He once told a story, that he - as a lefthander - hit with Rosewall before the Dallas WCT match with Laver in 1972, serving from mid court. They remarked, that there was a pipe running through the court on one service box line. And in the later match Rosewall kept hitting his serve to this pipe line.

[Gonzalito17]

The 60's book about Rosewall by Rowley is FANTASTIC. .Looking forward to this new one.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by urban

All the best in the New Year to You, Bobby. To my knowledge, there are two other important books on Rosewall, one by Malcolm Rowley and one in German by Robert Geist. I think, Barrett knew Rosewall very well since his young age, because he worked with Slazenger, which made the rackets for Ken. He once told a story, that he - as a lefthander - hit with Rosewall before the Dallas WCT match with Laver in 1972, serving from mid court. They remarked, that there was a pipe running through the court on one service box line. And in the later match Rosewall kept hitting his serve to this pipe line.

urban, Thanks for your New Year's wishes.

The first name of Rowley is Peter.

[Gonzalito17]

here is an article about the Peter Rowley book, Rowley himself actually found it and commented on it!

http://www.tennis-prose.com/articles...-intimidation/

Gonzales use of “physical intimidation”.6 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop · Edit
.
Learning details about tennis history and the great champions of the past is a hobby of mine. Two players of particular intrigue are Kenny “Muscles” Rosewall and Pancho Gonzales who had a world class game and a ferocious intensity to match.

I found Ken Rosewall’s biography “Twenty Years At The Top” by Peter Rowley in a used book store in New York City recently and in it, Rosewall shared some fascinating anecdotes about the legendary Pancho…

“…a heckler repeatedly criticized Gonzales at Boston Garden. Gonzales said, ‘You’re entitled to your opinions but I think you should keep them to yourself, so will you please shut up?’

Gonzales missed an easy net shot. The man yelled again. Gonzales tossed a ball to hit it hard at the man, but held himself back momentarily and then struck it softly at the spectator. The man got up to leave and Gonzales ran after him, seizing him by the collar. A basketball player, Dick Hemric, standing nearby, walked over. ‘You’re not going to hit him, are you, Pancho?’ No, I just wanted to let him know he wasn’t an ideal spectator.’ Gonzales won 6-2, 5-7, 24-22.”

When Rosewall was asked who were the least sportsmanlike players, avoiding a direct answer, Ken observed, ‘Connors earlier troubles stemmed from Nastase, who got them from Tiriac.’

About Gonzales, Rosewall added, “I tried to ignore his outbursts on the court, such as when he smashed his racquet against the metal rod holding the microphone and broke the rod in half. There was a terrific uproar before the crowd of 14,000 in Adelaide. In Boston Garden, he seized the lapels of the Boston Garden physician Dr. Edward R. Brown. He died recently. He nearly died then, too. It was noticeable Gonzales’ game would pick up after explosions and my game would go off a little, losing concentration.

“I think Gonzales may have tried to physically intimidate me, frighten me, by his violence on the first pro tour. But he did it with everyone. He was naturally like that, and I don’t think he did it deliberately.”

“There was some pushing and shoving with other players, though he never pushed me. He and Trabert were always at each other. He never tried anything with Hoad. Lew was very strong. Gonzales always looked as though he was going to fight, but I don’t think he ever wanted to.”

Question: Why in an interview with him in about 1970 was he rating you below other stars, many of whom you were clearly superior to?

Ken Rosewall: “I think if you beat a man a lot, you tend to have a low opinion of his game, even if he is a very good player and beats about everyone else. I think that’s why he said it (referring to Gonzo’s 2-1 victory in their tour).”

Question: Do you think he harbored any old grudge because you were the one that ended his dominance?

Ken Rosewall: “I and others did.”

Question: Why do you think he gives you some credit such as praising your training habits and your always being in position for the ball?

Ken Rosewall: “He has to give me some credit [laughs]. He always did recognize my ability to move.”

."Tried to physically intimidate · frighten me."

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by Gonzalito17

The 60's book about Rosewall by Rowley is FANTASTIC. .Looking forward to this new one.

Gonzalito17, Yes a great book. By the way, it was published in the mid-1970s. Therefore it does not cover Rosewall's last years of his career.

I rank Muscles as a top ten player as late as 1977 (second part of the year): He won two tournaments (Hongkong and Gunze, Tokyo) and reached two finals of important tournaments (ToC,beating Fibak, Nastase and Dibbs and winning a set from Solomon 6-0) and Sydney indoors where he defeated Gerulaitis and gave Connors a tough match.

[urban]

Thanks for the tennis prose article. Its nice, that there is a webside with regards to and reflections on the game's history. I read Rowley's book in the late 70s in a public library in Britain, when i was spending some weeks there as a student. There was not much tennis literature to be found then in Germany, and the London bookshops and libraries were a paradise for a tennis fan.

[Gonzalito17]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

Gonzalito17, Yes a great book. By the way, it was published in the mid-1970s. Therefore it does not cover Rosewall's last years of his career.

I rank Muscles as a top ten player as late as 1977 (second part of the year): He won two tournaments (Hongkong and Gunze, Toky) and reached two finals of important tournaments (ToC,beating Fibak, Nastase and Dibbs and winning a set from Solomon 6-0) and Sydney indoors where he defeated Gerulaitis and gave Connors a tough match.

Great book for sure. I read somewhere that Rosewall was nearly the equal player to Laver, if not better in some ways, but Laver was the beneficiary of a more adoring media, namely Bud Collins who never missed a chance to blow his trumpets saluting the greatness of Laver. While Rosewall did not have such a powerful and persuasive media backing as Laver did. I don't know if it's true but it was an interesting comment which stuck in my mind.

[Gonzalito17]

Originally Posted by urban

Thanks for the tennis prose article. Its nice, that there is a webside with regards to and reflections on the game's history. I read Rowley's book in the late 70s in a public library in Britain, when i was spending some weeks there as a student. There was not much tennis literature to be found then in Germany, and the London bookshops and libraries were a paradise for a tennis fan.

Agree Urban. Love modern tennis but I find reading about the champions of yesteryear to be equally if not more interesting and revealing. Today's players for the most part are very guarded and careful, the former champions have more perspective and freedom to share their experiences. Agree, the tennis-prose.com site is very good for shedding light on historical tennis. I remember reading very interesting interviews with Guillermo Vilas, Corrado Barrazzuti, Virginia Wade, Jimmy Connors, Manuel Santana, and others on that site. There was also a fascinating interview with Jimmy Connors son. It's one of my favorite tennis sites, along with ATP and tennis.com and actually tenniswarehouse.com also is fantastic.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by Gonzalito17

Great book for sure. I read somewhere that Rosewall was nearly the equal player to Laver, if not better in some ways, but Laver was the beneficiary of a more adoring media, namely Bud Collins who never missed a chance to blow his trumpets saluting the greatness of Laver. While Rosewall did not have such a powerful and persuasive media backing as Laver did. I don't know if it's true but it was an interesting comment which stuck in my mind.

Gonzalito17, You might be right with your opinion about Laver and the adoring media, especially Bud Collins.

To Bud's honour I can tell that Bud is also a great Rosewall admirer and he once said to me that Rosewall as No.1 is not a bad choice considering his longevity and his two Dallas wins.

[BobbyOne]

I forgot something interesting regarding the 1977 Australian Indoors (Sydney) when grandpa Rosewall reached the final after a two sets win against No.4 of the world, Gerulaitis. Since Rosewall gave Connors a tough battle then, it's maybe not too bold to say that in that special week Muscles was the No 3 player indoors at (almost) 43, just behind Borg and Connors! Vilas (the world's NO. 3) was not a great indoor player.

This must rank among Rosewall's greatest feats, and it came 13 years after his peak...

I also mention that because we often can read that Rosewall had weak competition...

[treblings]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

I forgot something interesting regarding the 1977 Australian Indoors (Sydney) when grandpa Rosewall reached the final after a two sets win against No.4 of the world, Gerulaitis. Since Rosewall gave Connors a tough battle then, it's maybe not too bold to say that in that special week Muscles was the No 3 player indoors at (almost) 43, just behind Borg and Connors. Vilas (the world's NO. 3) was not a great indoor player.

This must rank among Rosewall's greatest feats, and it came 13 years after his peak...

Bobby, do you know whether the book by Robert Geist is still available? i´ve checked several antiquarian sites and had no luck. i think i saw a copy of it in the Wimbledon library.

[BobbyOne]

Originally Posted by treblings

Bobby, do you know whether the book by Robert Geist is still available? i´ve checked several antiquarian sites and had no luck. i think i saw a copy of it in the Wimbledon library.

treblings, It seems to be sold out. Does Alan Chalmers or Tennis Collectables still have a copy? I doubt.

[treblings]

Originally Posted by BobbyOne

treblings, It seems to be sold out. Does Alan Chalmers or Tennis Collectables still have a copy? I doubt.

thanks, i might try Alan. usually end up spending too much on his books

[Doug_Hartley_2012]

I have read the latest Rosewall bio,Muscles. It's quite interesting and just the kind of book Rosewall wanted. Modest but with a lot of flavour of the times. However I also read Peter Rowley's book which pushed the thesis that Rosewall was possible the best of all time. I liked it even though I found it a bit dry. And I have read Robert Geist's book on Rosewall - difficult, as my German is basic - and it was full on Rosewall best of all time. I have planned a book of my own that over the past ten years has not got past....the plan. I have all three in my library. I spent nearly 40 dollars because I really wanted to read it, but if you wait a few months I'm sure you'll be able to pick it up for around 15 dollars. Bottom line...THREE books HAVE been written about Rosewall.

[Gonzalito17]

The media and TV guys do not trumpet Rosewall today to the same degree of emphasis as they do Laver, that's for sure. There is no arena named after Rosewall that I know of. Laver gets all the glory, Rosewall is portrayed as like a secondary, just another guy from that era, with Stolle, Newk, etc.

Perhaps like Courier and Chang are portrayed as second tier to Agassi and Sampras.

Thanks for sharing information about Rosewall here.

[FedericRoma83]

Originally Posted by Gonzalito17

The media and TV guys do not trumpet Rosewall today to the same degree of emphasis as they do Laver, that's for sure. There is no arena named after Rosewall that I know of.

There is one, but surely not famous as the Rod Laver Arena.

[urban]

Laver was certainly no matinee idol. Just hadn't the looks of a film star. To the contrary he was often described as shy and unassuming man with freckles, hawk nose and bow legs and so on. Just not media-like. The first tennis star who made real money on the media sector by his looks and star appeal was Newcombe, who was built up as a sort of tennis Magnum at Hawai. And there were quite many solid experts then like Maskell, Barrett, McCauley, Bellamy, Clerici, Schröeder, Pignon, and many others who ranked Laver pretty high. I don't think, they all were infiltrated by Bud Collins.

[NadalAgassi]

Ooh thanks, I am so anxious to purchase it.