BY JOHN MARTIN
Tennis (thriller) anyone? If post-Wimbledon or U.S. Open boredom has set in, why not pick up a tennis novel or two from the past?
Fatal Volley (1994) has the best cover: A bullet bursts from the front of a tennis ball hovering over the net. Terrorists are trying to kill our hero and he takes desperate steps to save himself (and win matches).
Beautiful Country (2016) follows a top ranked American junior to Asia, where he becomes close friends with a 14-year-old Chinese junior at the national tennis academy in Beijing.
The plot thickens when his friend’s coaches demand unscrupulous actions of their players.
Carnival at Forest Hills: Anatomy of a Tennis Tournament (1975), is non-fiction, a fascinatingly detailed account of the 1974 U.S. Open played at the West Side Tennis Club. It was a moment when American tennis was reaching a peak. John Newcomb, who emigrated from Australia and established his tennis ranch in Texas, writes an insider’s tale.
Author Marty Bell, editor of Sport Magazine, delivers a remarkable set of stories.
A friendly warning: Don’t buy the new version of Carnival online from the famous retailer shipper. It’s $87! The $11 used copy works just fine.