From the vault: Niland's journeyman life on tennis tour a net loss but a brilliant book

Conor Niland has written one of the best Irish sports books. It's not so much an autobiography, more an inside look at the weird life of a journeyman tennis professional and the strange social norms on tour. 

NETBUSTER: Conor Niland of Ireland reacts after losing his first round match against Adrian Mannarino of France on Day Two of Wimbledon 2011. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

"Your ranking determines your social status on tour. The guy ranked 90 in the world doesn’t get as warm a handshake from the Slam champion as the guy ranked at 20. The Williams sisters didn’t linger to have a chat with me at Bollettieri’s but a girl I hit with who was ranked 50 in the world did."

Conor Niland, The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%