There is also an updated paperback edition. Tim Henman's advance to a second consecutive Wimbledon men's singles semi-final, in which he took a set off Pete Sampras, features prominently in The Official Wimbledon Annual (Hazelton Publishing, £20). The author's extensive knowledge, and his sense of proportion, ensure the book is a work of intellect as well as passion. British tennis has been busy marrying Lucy, but when the honeymoons are over, Tim and Greg will resume their Duel for the Crown (Andre Deutsch, £14.99), the apt title of Neil Harman's perceptive chronicle of the rivalry between the nation's two contenders for major honours. Flink, a journalist and broadcaster from New York, has selected 30 matches, ranging from the 1920s - "when the sport's first towering figures and fascinating match-ups emerged" - to the summer of 1999, when Steffi Graf triumphed in an emotional French Open women's singles final against Martina Hingis. A favourite segment, headed Tradition and the Game, features a New Yorker piece by Martin Amis, in which the author says he is uncomfortable with the word "personality", as in "Tennis needs a new star who is a genuine personality". But, Amis adds, "...if, from now on, I can put 'personality' between quotation marks, and use it as an exact synonym of a seven-letter duosyllable starting with 'a' and ending with 'e' (and also featuring, in order of appearance, an 'ss', an 'h', an 'o' and an 'l'), why, then 'personality' and I are going to get along just fine." There is no shortage of personality in The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, by Steve Flink (Rutledge Books, $24.95). Incidentally, it was designed by Rowland Rhodes, from Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, who died, aged 38, before his masterpiece gained international prominence. The Faber Book of Tennis - The Right Set, edited by Caryl Phillips (Faber and Faber, £12.99), is a splendid anthology, skilfully stitching together an informative and entertaining continuity of themes. The author emphasises that there was much more to Davis than his Cup.

Decorated for his heroism in France during World War I, Davis became President Coolidge's Secretary of War in the 1920s, and President Hoover later appointed him Governorgeneral of the Philippines. As for the Cup, not an ounce of sterling silver is left unaccounted for in Kriplen's descriptive passages concerning the creation of Davis's punchbowl. Few writers have watched the development of the men's professional game as closely as Evans, who is also the editor of The ATP Tour - Ten Years of Superstar Tennis (Universe, $35). Although we can only surmise what Davis would have made of McEnroe's appointment, which has been hailed as the kiss of life for the competition in America, readers of Dwight Davis: The Man and the Cup, by Nancy Kriplen (Ebury Press, £16.99), are treated to a well-rounded view of the person who, as McEnroe says, "had a genius of an idea". Kriplen's admirable research - detailed in 32 pages of notes, five pages of bibliography and two pages of acknowledgements - has resulted in a fascinating portrait. In effect, we get two centenary celebrations, trusting that the second one goes smoothly, what with McEnroe poised to take Davis's baton at the start of the next chapter. McEnroe's touch and tantrums naturally feature prominently in Evans's history of the Davis Cup, a work that will not disappoint readers of the author's other books, particularly the excellent Open Tennis. McEnroe, positioned perilously close to the umpire's chair, is due to make his debut as the United States' Davis Cup captain in Zimbabwe next February. The winners will be at home to Britain in the second round, provided Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and A N Other survive on a slow clay court in the Czech Republic. The International Tennis Federation, attempting to beat the rush of anniversaries, marked the Davis Cup centenary this year, even though the opening serve in Dwight Davis's wonderful team competition was delivered in 1900. "Quite a few of my subsequent matches were afflicted with seismic rumblings." Further rumblings may be on the way. "Maybe that was a warning from the gods," McEnroe writes in a foreword to The Davis Cup by Richard Evans (Ebury Press, £14.99).

"Sometimes the things I do astound me," she intones in "Like Someone In Love" She's not the only one.. John McEnroe made his Davis Cup debut in doubles in Chile, just after an earthquake had hit Santiago. "Maybe that was a warning from the gods," McEnroe writes in a foreword to The Davis Cup by Richard Evans (Ebury Press, £14.99). "Quite a few of my subsequent matches were afflicted with seismic rumblings." John McEnroe made his Davis Cup debut in doubles in Chile, just after an earthquake had hit Santiago. Her voice is extraordinary, moving from a choirgirl's clarity to the guttural growl of an articulated lorry revving its engine. Though Björk has been performing a handful of these songs for over seven years she still seems to exude a childlike sense of wonder at every note, an almost gauche demeanour that belies the maturity and sophistication of her talents. The Brodskys seemed determinedly unabashed by her antics, their stiff upper lips even remaining intact when all but the cellist are sent to stand in the corner during a sublime version of "Like Someone In Love". Indeed, a lot of the evening's credit must go to the string musicians, for it is their generously restrained performance that gives Björk the space to reach new heights of perfection, their soft textures allowing the abstract melodies to float freely, their indomitable poise making the singer's movements seem, by contrast, all the more oddball. "I'm not much of a talker," she says, thanking the crowd and weaving the hem of her pink dress in and out of her fingers True enough Rather, it is her lyrics that speak volumes about her work. Looking more like a school dinner lady than a Nineties icon in a pink gingham dress, Björk finally unleashes the old dynamism, flinging her arms into the air, stamping her bare feet and opening her mouth as wide as possible, as if allowing her repertoire of squeaks and susurrations to come tumbling out at once.