Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis--Lessons from a Master
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Edition: Reprint
- Author: Brad Gilbert, Steve Jamison
- Publisher: Fireside
- Release Date: May 1994
- ISBN-10: 067188400X
- ISBN-13: 9780671884000
- List Price: $14.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryHe's been called the best in the world at the mental game of tennis. Brad Gilbert's strokes may not be pretty, but looks aren't everything. He has beaten the Tour's biggest names -- all by playing his "ugly" game. Now, in Winning Ugly Gilbert teaches recreational players how to win more often without necessarily even changing their strokes. The key to success, he says, is to become a better thinking player -- to recognize, analyze, and capitalize. That means outthinking opponents before, during, and after a match; forcing him or her to play your game. Gilbert's unconventional advice includes: * How to identify the seven "Hidden Ad Points," and what to do when they come up Winning Ugly is an invaluable combat manual for the court, and its tips include "some real gems," according to Tennis magazine. Ultimately, Winning Ugly will help you beat players who have been beating you. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Winning Ugly
Rating:
Brad Gilbert is an admitted long-time sports nut and analytical strategist, and he brings his unique, analytical perspective to tennis. After having read his book (I'm on the second go-round), I'm finding myself much more observant of both my own game and that of my opponent. The book is more of a left brained Inner Guide to Tennis, and is well worth the reading time. Plus, Gilbert has a kind of sardonic, self-depreciating sense of humor which makes it fun to read.
Winning Ugly.
Rating: 
Great book. Lots of useful tips to make your tennis game better. Entertaining as well, since the book is peppered with personal anecdotes to illustrate his point. The only thing is that I was not following tennis during his professional career, so I only know the players of his era superficially.
Love this book!
Rating:
[I'm an intermediate/avid tennis player.] This is a GREAT book. Gilbert is very matter-of-fact about how he was not a #1 player, but how by utilizing little tricks/techniques in both summing up his opponents and in being realistic about his own strengths/weaknesses -- he was able to make his own mark on the world of professional tennis. He does have specific examples of his matches with some of the greats, which are interesting to read -- but they're not so much used as "the story of Gilbert" -- but more as references for his suggestions on how to approach similar situations in the readers' own personal matches. In this book, Gilbert talks about how one needs to take advantage of a myriad of smaller elements -- which in sum, can actually give you the edge in the game. I read this book initially, but now will still pick it up regularly, just to read a chapter here and there, to remind myself of some of his strategies. I think about Gilbert's advice regularly when I play -- and I believe that it really can make a difference when utilized.
A VERY FUN, USEFUL READ
Rating:
This is a fun book written in a very laid back style. It inspired me to track down a Sampras vs. Gilbert match so I could view his style of play. He definitely practiced most of what he preaches in this book. I've also read "I've Got Your Back" and the books have merged in to one in my mind though this one is clearly better. The best part of this book is the strategy section. He covers facing most styles of play including serve & volleyers, pushers, baseliners, and lefties. He's refreshingly direct and honest. He stresses to never to donate free points to your opponent, play within your skill level and step it up on "setup points". There's one point I do disagree with and have proof it doesn't work. I played a 3.5 match and my opponent had obviously just read this book as he was doing the Gilbert pre-match warm up --running circles backwards & forwards. He won the spin and elected that I should serve first. Well, I held and never looked back. Nowadays 3.5s can get their serves in and usually hold. Perhaps the book is designed more for 2.5s but I think it would be useful to anyone up to 4.0 USTA rating (actually James Blake would do well to read this several times). I don't play the pusher style but I ABSOLUTELY HATE DONATING POINTS and that alone allowed me to go undefeated and get a trophy in a weekend warrior league. Brad Gilbert took some nice athleticism and pretty ugly looking strokes to #4 in the world and a million dollar pay day in Germany because of strategy. Thumbs up.
Very Helpful
Rating:
Very helpful book.. Especially for younger players who probably never thought of the mental part of the game. My 14 year old was definately somebody who just "showed up" for the game. After reading your book he started winning again..Great!
Charles
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