Viv McGrath had a baby face, a sweet temperament, and a killer backhand that changed tennis.
 
He was nicknamed 'Wonderboy' because of his astonishing achievements in the 1930s - beating world champion Ellsworth Vines, playing Davis Cup, and winning the Australian Championships, all before the age of 20. And then he was gone.
 
McGrath was the first player to use a two-handed backhand at a time when such a stroke was considered an affront to the sensibilities of the sport. He faced ridicule and worse for using it.
 
Although authorities frowned on his freak stroke, McGrath was a huge attraction for fans and so, while still a boy, he played a relentless schedule of matches and exhibitions that eventually burned him out.
 
There was a sense that the backhand would die a natural death after him but it didn't and as the decades have passed, two-handed shots have become essential to the game.
 
How Viv McGrath did it and what happened to him is the subject of this monograph. It has been printed on high-quality paper and includes evocative and rarely seen photos.
 
34 pages. Free Postage in Australia. $15 for international.