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DON BUDGE: A Tennis Memoir by Don Budge

DON BUDGE: A Tennis Memoir

By

Pub Date: July 3rd, 1969
Publisher: Viking

Don Budge has been a king of the courts in a career that included becoming the first to cop a ""Grand Slam"" (winning the national singles championships of Australia, France, Great Britain, and the United States) in 1938. These amiable reminiscences include the most memorable match (the Davis Cup playoff in 1937) where he faced Baron von Cramm of Germany with Queen Mary looking on and Hitler on the telephone. He also explains how a scruffy little son of a Scottish immigrant could parlay his ambidextrous skills into the citadels of a society sport. There are close-ups of personalities in and out of the game (Pancho Gonzales comes off as a dislikably obsessed competitor), of courts and crowds and shots. And there's some substantial advice here for the winner (strategies, etc.). An offhand and entertaining volley for the sneakers set.