“TITANIC: THE TENNIS STORY” NARRATES POSSIBLY THE GREATEST STORY IN THE HISTORY OF TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 2nd April 2012

“TITANIC: THE TENNIS STORY” NARRATES POSSIBLY THE GREATEST STORY IN THE HISTORY OF TENNIS |

NEW YORK, N.Y., April 2, 2012 – Is the incredible story of two tennis players, Dick Williams and Karl Behr, and how they survived the sinking of the Titanic disaster 100 years ago only to play each other in the quarterfinals of the modern-day U.S. Open tennis championships – with the winner going on to stage a major upset victory in the final–the greatest story in the history of tennis?

The new novel TITANIC: THE TENNIS STORY by Lindsay Gibbs ($12.95, New Chapter Press, available here: http://m1e.net/c?136915875-4Cdv.CO/YUCkk%407390021-tMk4SHZy0qi5o tells a narrative tale of Williams and Behr and their incredible stories of survival from the Titanic disaster. The two tennis standouts amazingly survived the sinking and met each other on the rescue ship Carpathia. Two years later, the two became U.S. Davis Cup teammates and again faced each other in the quarterfinals in the biggest tennis tournament in the country, the U.S. Nationals – the modern-day U.S. Open. The winner went on to become the unexpected singles champion of the tournament, winning their first major singles championship with a final-round upset over the world’s best player Maurice McLoughlin – the Roger Federer of this era in tennis.

Behr was one of the best tennis players in the United States when he boarded the Titanic on April 10, 1912. He was a member of the 1907 U.S. Davis Cup team and a Wimbledon doubles finalist that year. In 1912, he was madly in love with Helen Newsom and his courtship brought him to Europe, where he chased after his future wife and her mother, who was disapproving of the relationship. Both Behr and Newsom had return trips to America on the fated ship Titanic. Behr escaped with in a stroke of luck with Newsom and her family on the second life boat. The two became officially engaged a few months after the sinking and were married 11 months after the disaster on March 1, 1913.

Williams was traveling with his father to the United States to enroll in Harvard and was set to begin to test his skills against the top tennis players in the United States. His father was killed when one of Titanic’s smokestacks crushed him, but Williams was able to miraculously survive the night in the cold, icy sea by hanging on to a partially collapsed lifeboat. While on the rescue ship Carpathia, a doctor recommended that his frozen legs be amputated to save his life, but Williams refused and endured enormous pain walking the decks of the ship to restore his circulation. Six weeks after the tragedy, he won his first tennis tournament on U.S. soil at the Pennsylvania State Championships (defeating a young Bill Tilden en route), followed by victories at the U.S. National Mixed Doubles Championships and the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships.

The novel is the first for Gibbs, originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, now a resident of New York. She is a film school graduate of New York University and blogger for www.TennisGrandstand.com. Gibbs constructed the novel based on extensive historical research in newspapers, magazines and other periodicals and from historical first-person writings from the era and of survivors. She took creative license with dialogue and personalities and created certain situations in the novel, classified as a work of historical fiction. TITANIC: THE TENNIS STORY is available in print or electronic edition at your local independent bookshop, www.BarnesandNoble.com, www.indiebound.org, iTunes, Kobo, and elsewhere. It is not currently available in a Kindle edition.

Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is also the publisher of “Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection” by Rene Stauffer (www.RogerFedererBook.com), “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” by Bud Collins, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver, “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was” by Sidney Wood, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey (www.CliffRicheyBook.com), “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “On This Day In Tennis History” by Randy Walker (www.TennisHistoryBook.com), “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by Tony Serksnis, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com), “The Lennon Prophecy” by Joe Niezgoda (www.TheLennonProphecy.com), “How To Sell Your Screenplay” by Carl Sautter, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker” by Stewart Wolpin, “Bone Appetit: Gourmet Cooking for Your” Dog by Suzan Anson, “People’s Choice Guide To Cancun” by Eric Rabinowitz, “Lessons from the Wild” by Shayamal Vallabhjee, “Weekend Warriors: The Men of Professional Lacrosse” by Jack McDermott among others. In June, New Chapter Press will release “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time” by Steve Flink.

Topics: Dick Williams, Karl Behr