Limerick man’s award-winning book ‘The Racket’ lays bare the struggles involved in trying to carve out a career
Conor Niland: ‘Tennis means putting so much of your life on hold; that you need to be training three or four hours a day at 14 or 15 to be a top-class player ultimately. And that is kind of horrifying.’
Thirty five years ago, when I was still living the dream as a professional cyclist, a swarm of journalists called to my hotel one morning during a stage of the Giro d’Italia. I was sharing a twin with Stephen Roche, one of the sport’s superstars, and our room was soon heaving with cameras and microphones:
“Buongiorno Stephen.”