Gilbert (Winning Ugly
) has enjoyed a successful career as a tennis coach, including coaching the last two U.S. men who ended a year ranked number one in the world, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick (both of whom provide a foreword), and in this book he tells how he did it: intense loyalty, careful listening, meticulous scouting and doing whatever it took to ensure his player arrived at each match mentally focused on winning. Although Gilbert is considered an excellent technical coach, there is little mention of strokes, grips or tennis strategy in the book. It is an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look at the preparation for a professional tennis match, with only brief attention paid to the match itself and its aftermath. He unsuccessfully tries to stretch the lessons to apply to other sports and business management: full time dedication to bringing a temperamental individual star to peak competitive performance is not transferable to a team sport or a business executive. Moreover, in tennis, the player selects and pays the coach, which makes the relationship different from that of a boss. The book will appeal to tennis fans as an insider's account of the tour, and it will deepen their appreciation for the game that takes place off-court. (Sept.)
