News

*NEW YORK, June 7 – *The career and childhood of Roger Federer is chronicled in the book THE ROGER FEDERER STORY: QUEST FOR PERFECTION, the first U.S. published book about Federer, who Sunday completed a career sweep of all four Grand Slam tournaments and tied Pete Sampras’ men’s record of 14 major singles titles.

Federer finally captured his first title at the French Open, defeating Sweden’s Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the men’s singles final. The win marked Federer’s 14th career major singles title, equaling the all-time men’s record set by Pete Sampras from 1990 to 2002. The victory also placed Federer in exclusive company as only the sixth man to complete a “Career Grand Slam” – winning all four major tournaments over a career – joining Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi. Federer’s Grand Slam tournament trophy mantle, that now features the 2009 French Open, also includes five Wimbledon titles (2003-2007), five U.S. Open titles (2004-2008) and three Australian Open titles (2004, 2006, 2007).

THE ROGER FEDERER STORY: QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($24.95, New Chapter Press, www.rogerfedererbook.com) was written by Rene Stauffer, the esteemed Swiss tennis journalist who has covered Federer since the budding tennis champion was a 15-year-old. The book chronicles Federer’s life as tempermental junior player, through his early struggles on the ATP Tour and his break-through win at Wimbledon in 2003 and beyond. The book also focuses on his values, how he has been marketed, his relationship with the media as well as his numerous charitable pursuits.

“When I first saw Roger Federer play tennis when he was a 15-year-old, I didn’t think that I would even write his name in my newspaper, let alone a book about him,” said Stauffer, who opens the book with his “Encounter with a 15-year-old” chapter when on Sept. 11, 1996, he first came upon Federer at the World Youth Cup tennis event in Zurich. “I am very happy I wrote this book, since a lot of readers told me that they find it very entertaining and educational about Roger and his career.”

Stauffer is one of the world’s leading tennis journalists and the highly-respected tennis correspondent for Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger and Sonntags-Zeitung. A sports writer since 1981, Stauffer worked for the Swiss newspapers Blick and Sport, before joining Tages-Anzeiger in 1993. After first writing about Federer in 1996, Stauffer has traveled the world covering Federer and his many triumphs.

Published by New Chapter Press, the book has met with many positive reviews from the international media. The Toronto Globe and Mail called the book “excellent” while Britain’s Daily Telegraph called it “an intimate and insightful portrait.” Wrote Tennis.com of the book; “It’s accessible and sketches out his career development very logically. At the same time, it throws in enough about his personality and the rest of his life to flesh out the tale without turning it into it a flabby puff-piece.” Other positive reviews have included noted tennis reporter Charlie Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, who wrote, “It’s a virtual encyclopedia of Federer’s career. There’s material in there I’ve not seen anywhere else. Fantastic.” Wrote leading tennis website Tennisreportersnet, “It could have easily been called the Encyclopedia Federer.”

The Roger Federer Story is not an authorized book by the Federer family, but has been well-received by his inner circle. The Wimbledon champ’s mother, Lynette Federer, uses the book as an encyclopedia on her son’s career. “It’s useful for me, because I often am asked about things and I don’t know for sure without checking,” she told Zurich’s Tages-Anzeiger. “Now, I will always know where I can look them up.”

Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.newchapterpressmedia.com) is an independent publisher of books that is part of the Independent Publishers Group (IPG). New Chapter Press has also published THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS, ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY and BOYCOTT: STOLEN DREAMS OF THE 1980 MOSCOW OLYMPIC GAMES.