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Meet the tennis media: Peter Bodo
21 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
![2403-145321[1]](https://www.tennis-prose.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2403-1453211.jpg)
Nobody does it better than Peter Bodo. He’s here at the Sony Open working his craft once again for Tennis Magazine and ESPN.com. By the way, Pete’s next tennis book is going to be about the Connors-Ashe Wimbledon final. Meet Pete…
First tennis memory? “Ballboying for my dad, red clay courts, Passaic, New Jersey.”
Why do you love tennis? “Because of its mental demands.”
Favorite players to interview? “Goran Ivanisevic. Roddick. Nadal. Wilander.”
Cool insider story? “Helping the Federer fans get there ‘Genius At Work’ sign to Roger. (Where?) Cincinnati.”
Greatest tennis moment as a media member? “Mats Wilander over Ivan Lendl in U.S. Open final. Best tennis match I’ve seen.”
CS3 · March 24, 2014 at 9:31 pm
I always find Bodo’s pieces to be a very interesting & entertaining read on ESPN.com… He likes to stir the pot & gets some of the regulars on the message boards worked up with his critical as well as complimentary analysis of the notable players & ever changing current state of the game but he’s a knowledgeable guy who clearly has a passion for Tennis… ESPN Tennis writers & commentators can come across as having a BIAS for or against certain players but overall I find their coverage of the sport to be as good as it gets along with Tennis Channel… Peter Bodo & Greg Garber I think are the standpoint writers for ESPN Tennis!
Scoop Malinowski · March 24, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Peter Bodo is also the author of one of the best but underrated tennis books ever, Inside Tennis, a journey on the tour in the 70s. It’s a large size photo and text work with interviews, sort of a precursor to Feinstein’s Hard Courts. Just a super super read. It can be found on ebay at times. Of course, the Sampras book was also excellent, don’t understand why some people criticized that book, it’s fantastic. Thanks for your comment CS3.
Dan Markowitz · March 24, 2014 at 10:03 pm
Sampras book was not a great read. I’m sorry, Bodo put too much of his own voice into the book, but knowing Sampras, and how tough it is to draw him out, I guess Bodo felt he had to try to pump up Sampras’ voice. But I had an agent who represented E M Swift who had teamed with Sampras to write a book, and she gave me the first chapter of that book, and it was infinitely more interesting than what Bodo wrote with Sampras. Problem was, it was so interesting and telling, Sampras backed out of it.
Mitch · March 24, 2014 at 10:04 pm
I really liked Courts of Babylon, but find some of his tennis.com articles to be sloppy with the facts or otherwise silly.
Andrew Miller · March 24, 2014 at 11:11 pm
Can’t stop Bodo – amazing. So is Tignor (the Federer of tennis writing I think! Wertheim is way up there, too). I’m sure it is awful hard to do a Sampras book with his cooperation (and it’s also hard to believe Nadal already has an autobiography out). I think some of the old Sports Illustrated articles on Sampras got into a lot of the Sampras mentality, but in terms of the authoritative book on Sampras – yet to be written really. It would have to be pretty grand.
Dan Markowitz · March 25, 2014 at 1:40 am
I loved the New York Times Magazine piece done on Sampras and Agassi that showed Sampras’ dry humor. In fact, the piece suggested that Sampras was actually the more loose guy, but this was the period when Agassi was still into his image so much. But Sampras, particularly when he was with his girlfriend who was older and the law student, was painted in the article as being quite a gigolo.
Scoop Malinowski · March 25, 2014 at 9:46 am
Dan it’s possible Pete didn’t really give us his true voice. Pete spoke with his racquet and action, he was never one to use words or talk much. I think he kept most of himself under the vest. And I think it’s possible Pete’s voice is not quite what you perceive it to be. Pete’s obviously a very smart guy to rule over tennis for six years number one, it takes a very intelligent smart quick thinking mind. I loved Bodo’s Sampras book, FOUR stars all the way.
Dan Markowitz · March 25, 2014 at 12:54 pm
Scoop,
If you don’t speak with words well, you shouldn’t write a book. That was my problem with the Sampras book or the Williams’s sisters books, they didn’t say anything new or stir the soup any.
Dan Markowitz · March 25, 2014 at 12:58 pm
Now that being said, I had the same problem with John Starks. Howie Rose once said on WFAN sports radio that if John Starks is writing a book, then that opens up the floodgates, but I disagree with Howie. John had an amazing story and for a short time, he was the toast of New YOrk City. There are very few athletes who captivate a city like New York.
Problem was, when I sat down to interview John for the book, I realized he viewed me as an adversary and I couldn’t break down that wall until his older brother, Monte, started telling me the interesting stories which got John to open up some. Some athletes shouldn’t write a book because they’re not open personalities.
Andrew Miller · March 25, 2014 at 10:30 pm
Any rap on Hubert Davis? I modeled my jumper on his but could not maintain it.
Scoop Malinowski · March 25, 2014 at 10:51 pm
Dan who does rock the boat in tennis besides Agassi, Rios, Safin, Hingis, Serena? Even Vince was rocking the boat but then he had second thoughts about it. Pete plays it smart, he’s a champion, in the classic Australian mould.
Danm · March 26, 2014 at 1:01 am
Well, obviously, Gulbis is the biggest rocker of the boat in tennis today. Serena, Hingis, no, their actions might be that of rocking the boat, but I don’t know if they would produce good books, and in Serena’s case, we know that wasn’t the case. No, you’re right, tennis is a very pc game right now. I guess a Roddick book might have some racy topics in it.
Why do you think Bodo (in his upcoming Ashe v Connors Wimbledon 75 finals), Tignor and Matt Cronin all went back to the 70’s for the subjects of their books?
Scoop Malinowski · March 26, 2014 at 8:02 am
Hey Dan if Vince Spadea can pen a very entertaining book, surely Serena and Gulbis and many others could also. Serena’s book was disappointing because she didn’t share much of anything of interest, it was more like an in house self promotion book. I think the tennis writers of today like the 70s era because it was a golden era which is still fascinating to fans, and it’s just harder to get a book deal with one of the current stars.
Dan Markowitz · March 26, 2014 at 8:05 am
Sorry, Andrew, no rap on Hubert. We got into Don Nelson a bit who started Hubert over Starks when he coached the Knicks for a short time before he was fired.
Harold · March 26, 2014 at 11:23 am
If you can get an advance on a book about John Starks, you should head the Journalism department at Columbia. What was interesting about Starks? 4 colleges in 4 years? Supermarket worker? The predecessor to guys like JR Smith? Credit for dunking on Jordan, when Jordan just flies by late? Great games in the finals? NOT!!!!!. Cost the Knicks bigtime. Headbutts?
Shall I go on?
Harold · March 26, 2014 at 11:24 am
Bodo had a major man crush on Wilander in the 80’s.
Did a great interview with Wilander for Tennis in 88
Dan Markowitz · March 26, 2014 at 3:58 pm
Never not got an advance on a book I wrote. My big blown opportunity was getting a $200,000 advance from Simon & Schuster with Chuck Oakley to write a book and Charles pulled out because he heard from Jordan that Barkley got 7 figure advance for his first book.
But, I disagree with you on Starks. He was a magical player. Yes, he had big failures, but some of his finest moments were in big Knick wins and of course, the Dunk, was in my mind and many others, the greatest single Knick play in the team’s history. And even with all the malevolence, there was an innocence to Starks which I’ll never forget. The first time I went into the Knicks locker room to interview him, he was listening to jazz on his headphones and eating an oatmeal cookie.
Harold · March 26, 2014 at 4:41 pm
The greatest play in Knick history is an offensive rebound put back by Dave Stallworth in the game Willis Reed got hurt, and they beat the Lakers, game 5 of a championship series
Andrew Miller · March 26, 2014 at 5:08 pm
Liked Stark. Though Hubert was excellent 6 player super sub whose “d” never caught up to his o. Stark was the right starter. Don Nelson to me shouldn’t have been hired.
Andrew Miller · March 26, 2014 at 5:18 pm
As for player books why not. Roddicks would be excellent – he saw end of Pete , found himself king of tennis , then had to play probably three more of the best open era players. I’d like to read all the tennis bios and books on the sport. Players though need good writers to help them write the book they want. Bryan bros book would be good – they’ve seen the world through doubles and Davis cup.
Look a lot of today’s tennis will be lost. If someone doesn’t write about it who is going to remember Leconte? Or Ivanisevic? Some of the long articles on players like wawrinka are the best we will get. A graf book. Courier is due but he won’t write until he’s done with Davis cup. A lendl book would be good – he revolutionized the sport. A challenger book would be good. A WTA book on someone like henin would be good. I think a clijsters book would be bad!
Scoop Malinowski · March 26, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Did Wilander ever do an English book? That would be a fantastic read.