The toll of Tennis

Consider this. In his entire career, only once has Roger Federer competed in a tennis match that has lasted over 5 hours. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, has appeared in five. At 31, Federer still continues to pursue Djokovic for the summit of men’s tennis, while the man from Majorca nurses a knee injury that has kept him competitive tennis ever since Wimbledon last summer. He is just 26.

As tennis matches grow longer, it leaves a puzzling question – how much can the athletes’ body take? The past two years has seen the rise of Novak Djokovic, a player who simply could not climb tennis’ Everest in the preceding years. He has reached 6 of the last nine finals, losing only one of those to Scot Andy Murray. What audiences realize is that the Serb is merely trudging on the foundations laid forth by Nadal. Djokovic has managed to prolong the duration of rallies and in turn the length of matches much like Nadal in his hay day.

Gone are the days when tennis was a recreational sport, the only requirement being a fit body and nippy toes. The likes of Borg, Connors, Sampras and Federer are testimony. Lighter racquets and heavy tennis balls have changed the dimensions and brought about the power of the muscle. These new balls were smoother in the air and although they travelled with the same velocity, they gave the players a few microseconds more to make returns, hence longer rallies.

For the better part of a decade, Federer enthralled audiences with nuances of a perfect game. He remained the only top flight athlete to use a heavier racquet, a reason that enables him to hit better returns at the price of lesser reactionary speed. Nadal challenged him with baseline battles and won. His muscular winners were too quick for Federer. Djokovic beat Nadal at his own game, and it all came round when Murray won at Flushing Meadows.

The sport has turned more physical even though it might lack actual contact. This will take a toll, like Nadal’s knee giving way or Djokovic’s back spasm last year. Murray frailty with his ankles are a known fable while Federer’s exhaustion makes him attack more and hence the unforced errors.

Tennis was never this complicated. The influx of muscle over mind makes it thrilling to watch, but at what cost?

Romain Grosjean – More than just a First-lap Failure

Fans have serious spite for the Frenchman ever since he took out Alonso in Spa last year .

In a totally sane dimension, had Romain Grosjean not tried that overly ambitious move in Spa, five car would have made it cleanly beyond the first corner, he would have been racing in Monza and Fernando Alonso would have been partying in Sao Paulo with his world championship.

In a sport labelled as entertainment in India, sanity is vital as a new set of threaded tyres, and according to the Swiss’ fellow racers, Grosjean lacked a little portion of it. Romain Grosjean would perhaps go down as the most destructive driver in motorsport this year, with only a certain Pastor Maldonado as competition.

But before all the bulldozing, before all the drive-through penalties, and certainly before Spa, Grosjean was a racer brimming with expectation. The 2012 Formula 1 season erased a quite a bit of success that catapulted him to a podium snatcher and a potential championship in the seasons ahead. With racing being banned in his birth country, Grosjean’s family took the trip to neighbouring France from Geneva to accommodate Romain’s passion for circuit racing. His rise was evident when he won the 2003 Swiss Formula Renault series with ten wins from as many starts. He then moved to French Formula Renault and was seventh in 2004 and champion in 2005.

In a technically demanding F3 circuit in Macau, Grosjean impressed with a 9^th place finish from the back of the grid. Unfortunately apart from his 2006 Macau debut and a rare podium in Germany, Grosjean had scanty to show for his efforts. A move to champions ASM steered him to the championship in 2007 and a contract as Renault test-driver for the upcoming season.

Over the winter of 2007/8, he became the inaugural GP2 Asia champion for ART, winning four times and beating current Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Buemi in the process. He stayed with ART for the GP2 main series in 2008 before switching to the Addax team for 2009.

Renault’s was in shambles in that year. Team principal Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were expelled after the details of Piquet’s deliberate crash to help Alonso win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix had been exposed. Piquet was sacked and Grosjean had literally abandoned his cockpit for Addax to race in place of the Crashgate Casualty at Valencia. Formula One was anything but kind to Grosjean that year. He didn’t finish higher than 12^th while (ironically) team-mate Alonso conjured miracles with an average car to seize 5 podiums. An identical crash to Piquet’s in Singapore left him red-faced before he was dropped for the 2010 season.

GP2 was where he found home and recognition. Champion in 2011 with 3 races to go, cemented his place alongside the returning Ice-man, Raikonnen at the newly named Lotus-Renault for 2012. With three podiums he managed to grab quite the attention, but not as much for being coined a ‘First-lap Nutcase’ by Mark Webber.

In another dimension, Grosjean would perhaps been a force to reckon with, and who knows, he still might be. However, in this world, you might just want to steer clear when you see a car painted ‘Grosjean’ zoomed past.    

Comeback Prince – Yuvraj Singh returns for India

Yuvraj Singh marked his comeback to the Indian batting line-up against a New Zealand side that they had comprehensively beaten in the Test series leading up to the T20 matches. Bangalore was initially haunted by a torrential outburst of fading monsoon showers, but ‘The Prince’ still managed to grab the spot light.

The India-New Zealand test series was going to be the final swansong of another of India’s golden elites. But VVS Laxman decided to go vigilante and announced his retirement a weekend before the series commenced. Indian cricket was up in confusion and it, ironically, required another eventful incident to transpire which would effectively divert attention from the Laxman-saga. India performed well against a Kiwi side that failed to understand spin and the selectors got their star from last year’s World Cup back in coloured jersey. Yuvraj was included in the 13-man squad for the two matches and the social media went abuzz, not unlike last November when the news about his illness was released.
 

After being released from chemotherapy sessions in Indianapolis, USA, his father described Yuvraj’s immense desire to continue adorning the Indian shirt. He assured that his son would come back stronger and better. This statement proved to be true when the Punjabi lad made a swashbuckling 34 off just 26 balls. That innings featured a mighty six off Vettori that sailed 90 meters into the stands; all questions about his game were silenced. India lost the match but the admission of Singh to a strangely weakening batting order, was a blissful win. 

The Indian Cricket Team opened their campaign in the on-going Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka against fellow competitors from the subcontinent. Afghanistan was an inspired team and managed to trouble the Indians in parts and bits. Yuvraj, alongside Virat Kohli, starred with the ball picking up 3 wickets for a meagre 24 runs in a dry win for India. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said in a press interview later that Singh’s slow left armers were missed sorely. His deliveries generally grip and turn handsomely on flat subcontinent pitches which were critical in vital games. 

As much has Yuvraj’s comeback has been a favourable publicity and marketing stunt for quite a few corporates, it also was showed that the southpaw was a vital cog for Team India. Recent retirees Dravid and Laxman expressed immense pleasure on his return, as well as genuine concern for the team at the moment. Kohli stands an entire staircase higher than his fellow companions in the dressing room, with the Dhonis and Sehwags seldom performing on their hay days. A line-up that includes Sachin Tendulkar was beginning to look all the less reassuring. Singh’s return adds that essential spice to India’s bland cricketing curry, that raw aggression back where it rightfully belongs.
 

Although it is too early to predict whether or not he would match up to his feats previous to the cancer, all we can do is wait, hope and keep believing for another Andrew Flintoff to spurn him up. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Yuvraj Singh is testimony to the statement.

Little bit of this, Little bit of That

For the first time in 9 years, the game of tennis is drawing parallels to golf. Four different winners hold aloft the four Grand Slams, each equally worthy of proclaiming themselves as champion. The last time tennis witnessed such contrasting winners was in 2003 - an aging Agassi won down under; then ATP No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero was victorious in Roland Garros; Federer stepped on the podium of greatness for the first time in SW19 and recent retiree Roddick promised America so much more with his win at Flushing Meadows.

 

Tennis lovers were looking forward to a competitive treat the following year. Little did they know that the Swiss from Basel had other intentions. Roddick, Hewitt and even Safin were forced to mere silhouettes, as Roger Federer went on a rampage for the next 4 and a bit years. The coveted No. 1 spot was propelled to illustrious heights; number 2 was certainly becoming the first loser. In stepped Nadal and challenged Federer for court supremacy. The clay was his fortress which then expanded to grass and then the concrete. The Swiss maestro was humbled, however brief it might have been. The pivotal triumvirate emerged just last year, when Novak Djokovic resembled more of a superhuman until Federer partially clipped his wings at the French Open. That didn’t stop the Serb from picking up three Majors and on the way, giving Nadal haunting nightmares: the kind Federer suffered from. 

Andy Murray carried the expectations of 56 million Brits and the weight of his own disappointment on his shoulders. He had challenged to break the supremacy of the trio, but tennis for him was as an elusive Olympus. His coach Ivan Lendl had lost his first five Major finals, and the Scot’s career drew a strange parallel. Winning the US Open showed Murray that he was indeed capably qualified to join strides with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. There was a moment or two in the final though, where the darker shades of his frailties begun to spring up. He squandered a two set lead, and Djokovic was grinning with flashes of brilliance. The story would have been entirely different had Novak won the last set. Serbia would rejoice again, and Britain’s wait would extend – the ghost of Fred Perry still plaguing the isle. But the tale was scripted to be romantic.

 

So far, this year has been refreshing. Not that the years previous to it weren’t, but the fact that no player was able to dominate the ATP rooster completely, filled fans and followers of respective tennis camps with oodles of joy. Little could we fathom that the rankings in January, would determine the sequence of winners. Djokovic conquered Rod Laver arena and fizzed out as the year progressed. Nadal rightfully stepped up to master the clay before his unfortunate injuries finally took a toll on him. An aging Federer proved that there was tennis still left in his heart, showcasing class and fitness beyond his years on his way to reclaiming number one. Murray forced tears of happiness, giving his nation an Olympic Gold along with the US Open crown. Whose year has it been? Well, for the sheer surprises that they have provided us with, Roger Federer and Andy Murray would have to battle it out. 

Tennis, like any other sport, exhilarates and forces us to watch it with a feeling that it is more than just a game. It defines life for these athletes who have perspired so much to inspire us all. Their victories ensure that the game itself wins. It helps lay down cornerstones which hold as foundations for many of our dreams and aspirations. Like George Orwell explains it, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

Filling cricket cv’s with much more than IPL

It was a dream debut for Suresh Raina. 

He toiled for over 250 balls to get his maiden test ton, on a flat wicket against Sri Lanka in the summer of 2010. With this he joined an elite class of cricketers who had gone past a hundred in their very first innings of a test match, much like another middle-order southpaw, Sourav Ganguly. That summer was special for Dhoni and Co. as they recorded a series win over the Lankas after quite some time, much unlike an out-of-favour Yuvraj Singh. The Punjab da puttar was having a difficult phase, lacking the temperament for the longer version, critics claimed. How stark was his comparison to Raina, who himself was going to suffer from indifferent form in the same format. 

The selectors had pondered over the coveted number ‘6’ position in the Indian batting middle-order ever since the retirement of former captain Ganguly. Now back in 2008, Dada was forced to concede into hanging his boots after a fair share of pressure and a genuine show of disrespect towards him. Quoting India’s most successful test captain, “Just one last thing lads, before I leave. I just want to say that this is going to be my last series. I've decided to quit. I told my team-mates before coming here. These four Test matches are going to be my last and hopefully we'll go on a winning note.” He was of course mentioning the Border-Gavaskar series of 2008 (which is also noted as the last series of Anil Kumble, and which India famously won 2-0). Well, Dada did end on a high, scoring a century in the series as well earning a deserved winners medal. Dhoni was even august enough to let Ganguly captain the final overs of his last test match. Besides all the ostensible fan-fare, the BCCI’s persistent hanker to breed youngsters was the prime cause of the predicament. The use of the word predicament is no show of fancy vocabulary. The sorry state stands visible to all. No player has averaged 40 in that batting position ever since Dada retired. The Bengalis are very superstitious, and would resort to peevish explanations that its a jinx. “You do bad things, and bad things happen to you,” they would say. Well, I wouldn’t take advice from people who offer fish as ‘prasaad’ (I’m not stereotyping!), but the statistics speak for themselves. Yuvraj had displayed he could bat 5o overs with a superlative knock against Pakistan the previous autumn. Adding to his resume, was his handy left-armers that was quintessential on Indian terrains. He obviously deserved a place in the team and for no reason, Ganguly was the one who had to be scrapped. That was an easy decision, after all he had been dropped before, and the Board was all up for it again. Yuvraj came, hardly saw and definitely didn’t conquer. His might have swash buckled in the shorter versions but Test cricket was not his glass of lassi.

Enter Suresh Raina. Same promise, ironically same result, which was sheer disappointment. Though the team stuck with him for a year or so, the telling scores was a story of “we-told-you-so.” Indeed the game was a great leveller. Well Raina is indeed a very talented batsman, but a talented shorter-version batsman. Some people may ask for more time, but as Sunil Gavaskar  once said, if a batsman wants to pull, he can never duck. He should want to leave the ball more, respect the good deliveries and dispatch the bad ones. With a monumental increase in T20 matches, the original Little Master’s words fade in to bare whispers. T20 requires you to hit everything; short or full, off or leg, and unfortunately, good or bad. It was supposed to be a game dominated by youngsters, but good players, good test players showed that if you could bat for 10 hours, you could definitely bat for 10 overs.

Recently Virat Kohli has been taking giant strides in world cricket. The past two years or so, had laid a platform that has suited him ideally. It was the under-21 World Cup where he was first noticed, the IPL-1 was where he took centre stage and has never looked back since. India has a plethora of genuine batsmen, who time the ball well and can very much fill in the gaps of the Indian batting line-up. There will come a time in the near future where we will desperately need more Kohli’s. Its almost curtain-call for India’s three aging gladiators, and the time has come that they pass on the mantle to the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara or Rohit Sharma. 

What the BCCI has to follow, is that Test matches are a different ball game from the IPL. It is important to recognise talent from this popular, cash-rich format. But the likes of Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman didn’t have an extravagant stage to highlight their talents, 15-20 years ago. They churned out performances against good bowlers in domestic cricket, and were selected on those grounds. Taking a hat trick, or scoring a meaty century in the IPL shouldn’t be sole criteria for recruitment. If a bowler manages to dig out six yorkers in a T20 game, it isn’t compulsory that he might succeed in the same manner in a test match. A batsmen will just defend all those deliveries and eventually dispatch a bad one to the boundary. 

Selection, rather proper selection, should be the base of Indian cricket as we look forward to a Test World Cup in the coming years. Australia, Pakistan and even England are posting gallant teams that look and play mean cricket. It is no time for us to be meek. But putting a brave team is not the  only answer. A player who can hit a 100 metre six in 20 overs, may get bounced out in Tests. This is fact. If you expect him to duck the next time, that’s fiction, for he will not. We need ideal replacements, and quick. Or else Virat Kohli may end up like a Brian Lara, a batsman capable of distinction in a fairly average team.

Two bells, one chime…

20 years ago, Roger Federer wasn’t the all time leading champion in Grand Slams, neither did he hold the records for most season-ending ATP tour wins or pocketing the highest prize money in the Open era. Instead, the furrow-browed, Swiss-cheese loving 10 year old, spent nearly 7 hours a day in the indoor tennis academy in Basel. He had a tough time getting selected to participate as a “ball-boy” in the ATP tournament held there, but like he puts it now, grinning as he spoke, he outpaced every other kid by a furlong to the gates of the stadium. 

Two decades on ‘Fedex’ is still setting the pace for bookmakers or tennis avid around the world. A win against Roger is considered to be some of the tennis professionals’ career-defying moment. But the champ himself has transformed from the burly young hot-head to a sense of calm and humbleness that is almost mystifying in the world of men’s tennis. Connors, McEnroe, and even Roddick defined Americans in the ‘tennictionary’ as the traditional tantrum throwers, occasionally showering some unfortunate match officials with royal outbursts. McEnroe, for once, even offered money to a line official to get his eye-surgery done. Roddick should have signed a non-negotiable contract with his racquet maker, that ensured durability of his tool; I’m sure Arthur Ashe stadium still has a mark on him near the right base-line! 

Roger Federer is, in plain journalistic words, boring to write about. His game and flair may fill up journals upon journals, re-write coaching manuals or even draw a million hits on a social site. But the person Roger Federer, offers a charming smile laced with his gleaming teeth, as he walks in 15 minutes late to his post match interview. “I’m sorry guys I’m late", he says and the media forgives his straight-away knowing that being held up for charity photos can be the last thing they can complain about. His win-loss ratio is quite stark in comparison, but his win-loss reaction is nearly similar. Same fist pump on every point, same grimace on every unforced error, same tears of joy and sorrow. Neither does he abuse his racquet nor does he scold the officials. He doesn’t throw away the towel in disgust or look towards his contingent in the crowd to yell inaudible chants. He is no con-man or joker off court, nor did he date beautiful Latin singers; he loved his childhood crush and made a family with her. His good deeds far outweigh his bad ones, however meagre they maybe. The Roger Federer Foundation generates ample sums of money, all done for the prosperity of children all over the world. The guy is so humble, he even stays back for pizza after every Basel Open with the ball boys and girls, proudly proclaiming that the slice of ham was once his only winnings out of the tournament! The demise of a certain eminent Tiger from the field of philanthropy has, ironically, aided Federer to reach such heights in human welfare that even though he may lose heart-wrenching semis to a physically superior Serb, he has won hearts all over the world more with his charm than his game. There is no clay, let alone tennis in Sub-Saharan countries you know. 

What is greatness? The question seems to an open cauldron where unique ingredients need to be added to conjure but the perfect potion. It has been proven in history that greatness had a certain, rather unmistakable touch of humbleness to it. We don’t need to scan world encyclopaedias for such instances, when our country itself provides testimony. Mahatma Gandhi preached ‘ahimsa’ and freed two nations. R.N. Tagore scripted perhaps the most beautiful anthem ever. Amitabh Bachchan hosting a T.V. show and opening arms to commoners, Sachin ever so graceful when he looks to the heavens to thank the Almighty; these are all instances of humble greatness. These people weren’t a Macedonian warlord set to conquer the world, who commanded people call him great. 

Federer maybe two different people, the artist and the observer, but his heart beats for the one sole purpose, same motto. Every win, a tournament or a mind perhaps gives him the same amount of happiness. He has won the world in the past decade, what can he lose now? My blog is just a minute snow flake in this shower of appreciative snowfall on the shoulders of perhaps the best we will ever see. I’m proud and happy just knowing the fact that I’m lucky enough to see him play and write about it. 

Roger Federer: two bells, ringing the same soothing chime.