Lifting the Covers by Alan Mills
The sight of Alan Mills, walkie-talkie in hand, peeping out from the side of Centre Court as the first drops of rain start to fall, is all-too-familiar to tennis fans. In the 22 years that Alan Mills refereed at Wimbledon, he became as synonymous with the tournament as strawberries and cream. Now retired as tournament referee, he looks back over a career that started as a professional player (he twice reached the last 16 at Wimbledon himself) and went on to encompass the top job in tennis. In turns amusing, surprising and highly revelatory of the closed world of professional tennis, this is the fascinating story of the man who, for many, is the enduring public face of the world's most popular tennis tournament.
Born in Lancashire in 1936, Alan Mills OBE played at Wimbledon from 1955 until 1972. He made tennis history in 1959 when he won a Davis Cup singles match 6-0 6-0 6-0 in 32 minutes, and he was the first Englishman to beat the Australian champion Rod Laver in 1961. He took over as Wimbledon referee in 1983 and retired after the 2005 tournament. He continues to coach and referee at other grand slam tournaments around the world, travelling around eight months a year.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780755312306 |
| ISBN 10 | 0755312309 |
| Title | Lifting the Covers |
| Author | Alan Mills |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Headline Publishing Group |
| Year published | 2006-06-05 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |