David Senra

God damn it, hit harder.

Not in the fucking net.

Tennis is his life, his reason for getting out of bed, his obsession.

My father lies in bed and sees a court on the ceiling.

He says he can actually see it there.

And on that ceiling, he plays countless imaginary matches.

And this is when it hits you when you're reading the book.

He's tormenting his son to live out his own unfulfilled dreams.

And Andre realizes that he has to do this because he's going to help his family, which doesn't have a lot of money, make money.

They live in Las Vegas.

As a casino captain, it's my father's job to seat people at the shows.

Right this way, Mr. Johnson.

Nice to see you again, Mrs. Jones.

The MGM pays him a small salary and the rest he earns in tips.

We live on tips, which makes life unpredictable.

And his father starts using his eight-year-old son as a tennis hustler.

They go down to the local courts.

They see Jim Brown, who just happens to be one of the greatest football players of all time.

Jim Brown is a big, hulking man.

And Andre's father goes up to him and tells him, my kid is going to beat you.