Skip to main content

Tennis

It has been an absolutely scintillating week for tennis fans. Especially for fans of the legends! No, I am not talking about Djoker and Murray(Hahahaha) But Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. These two are among the greatest ever to have played the sport. And they will meet each other once again at a Grand Slam final at Melbourne on Sunday.

First off, I am a Federer fan. I wanted Federer to keep doing well, and he did. Federer is playing competitively for the first time in 10 months, having taken an extended break to recover from a knee injury. This saw him drop off the rankings from World No. 3 to No.17. His first Grand Slam since the injury was the Australian Open. His road to the final is quite remarkable. He decimated Tomas Berdych in straight sets, struggled a bit against Kei Nishikori, but was on fire against Mischa Zverev. The draw was brutal for him: he would have faced Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, had they both not decided to fall to lesser known opponents. In the semis, he faced his country man and friend, Stanislas Wawrinka. I watched the Nishikori game, and was confident Federer would pull through. But Wawrinka is made of tougher stuff. Even after leading 2 sets to love, I wasn’t so sure about Federer, since he just came off a long injury and the game was turning out to be very physical, which suited Wawrinka. It went to the fifth set, and Federer turned on God mode, to ensure his passage to yet another Grand Slam final. It seemed he had enormous reserves of energy hidden deep inside, and in the fifth set, he unleashed it on the hapless Wawrinka. So much fun to watch Federer on song.

Now, I am not a fan of Nadal, but I have huge respect for the guy. Even Nadal had his season curtailed by injury, so much so that he was on one leg while inaugurating an academy in Majorca, with his friend and on field foe, Roger Federer. Both were joking about each other's prospects this season, and look at them, fighting it out for the first Grand Slam of the tennis season. While I always felt Rafa's play style will take a toll on his body, I never expected him to fall this much! And he too made his comeback, in some style. He demolished Gael Monfils and big serving Milos Raonic. He faced a tough opponent in Grigor Dimitrov, who just won't give up. After a marathon 5 set game, he finally reached the finals of the Australian Open to set up a clash with Roger. Any tournament without FedEx and Rafa feels incomplete, which says a lot about these two men.

Federer's longevity is something of a wonder, if you watch the other players. Federer is still going on strong at the ripe old age of 35! Tennis is not a sport where players continue to play in their thirties. The level of the game has risen so much that most athletes fall off in their early thirties. Yet Federer defies logic and continues to prove the critics wrong. He continues to amaze fans and hope he conjures some magic on Sunday against his archrival.


How lucky have we been to have witnessed two absolute legends at their primes at the same time? Their domination of world tennis has been unmatched, and should serve as an example to young players. Just look at Federer, how he handles the pressure of being a top athlete, a father of four kids, a husband, and a role model for many, while opening academies worldwide. He is indisputably the number one for me. The way he plays, the way he wins, the way he graciously loses, is a shining example of a model professional. His style, his panache and his aesthetic style of play, will continue to live in the hearts of millions. We might never get to see the likes of him in action in a few years(Hope this never happens), so enjoy it while it lasts. Go Roger Federer!!! Forever World Number One!!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Movie review: English Vinglish

I might be 6 years late, but here is my review of this Bollywood movie, starring Sridevi. Directed by Gauri Shinde, this film tackles some This film is freakin' awesome! I can't believe I hadn't watched this movie before. And if you haven't watched it, I suggest you clear out your calendar for tomorrow and grab some popcorn. This is mostly a serious movie, but the lighter moments are well placed, and make great viewing. The plot, the dialogues, the screenplay, everything is perfect. This movie is worth paying big bucks to watch on the big screen, unlike me, who watched it 6 years late on a 14 inch touchscreen. Sridevi is absolutely mesmerizing. Her acting in this movie is one of the best acting performances I have ever seen. When you watch her, her struggles become yours. You feel her happiness and sadness. You want her to do well. You want her to show the world, how much she can accomplish. Anything more I say here will be spoilers for the few people w...

Going home, Pune trip and more

                Hola! Long time since I wrote anything, and here I am writing two posts. With so much happening, I have barely had time to breathe, least of all write a blog. Even today I just found time, because I am in a train, bound towards Kalyan, taking me away from Hyderabad for a deserved break from the mundane.                 I had to make an extremely difficult choice, one that I did not want to nor that agrees with my nature. But facing the truth is better than being under a delusion, only to be disappointed at the end. I cannot give keyboard exam this time. L (Sobbing inside) I am just too underprepared, and frankly, I have heavier things on my plate. The teacher thought 3 months would be enough, even I felt so. But it wasn’t meant to be. The exam comes too early for me, and I, despite wanting to, cannot practice and perfect the syllabus on time to p...

Robin Hood Army

18th October 2018 10:30 pm: I get a call saying there is food for more than 50 people left over at a function organized in a residential complex. I am tired after a long day but I decide to go anyway. I call a guy who has reached there, and he says he needs more people. I reach the complex and see the amount of food left over, and it is for more than 150 people! Thankfully we were 5 people, and we were able to get an auto to the place where we knew there would be a lot of people to donate the food to. We went 12km to the place, at 12 in the night, and served the food among the slum dwellers, auto-wallahs, and others. We took more time to wake people up from sleep and let them know that there is food than distributing the food itself. That day we would have served around 150 people, people who otherwise would have gone to sleep on an empty stomach. Distributing food at midnight Who are we? We are Robin Hood Army, a volunteer organization which focuses on donating excess...