Has Novak Djokovic left the US Open ghost behind?

It's not just tennis that's back. Even Novak Djokovic is back after being kicked out of the US Open earlier this month. Last week, he won his 36th Masters title, the Rome Master 1000; the most by any men's tennis player. 

But before that, a shoutout to the United States Tennis Association (USTA) that amply demonstrated how a tennis event can be conducted in a bubble with sufficient checks and balances. After the US Open, the action has now shifted to Europe where the clay court tournaments are underway. 

Before the Rome Master, Djokovic was tied up Rafael Nadal, the world's second ranked player, at 35 Masters each. According to atptour.com- arguably the best website for all things men's tennis- Djokovic now has won five Rome Masters; the second most number of titles among his Master 1000 collection. The ATP Masters are the second most prestigious tier events after the four grand slams. He has also won five Paris and Indian Wells titles. With this win, Djokovic has also surpassed Pete Sampras' record of the number of weeks spent as No.1 ranked player. Sampras has spent a total of 286 weeks, and Djokovic has now spent 287 weeks as No.1. 

Djokovic's results at Rome Masters removes all doubts about how his suspension at the US Open might have affected him. Even tennis commentator, expert and former player Mats Wilander thinks so. I watched a bit of his finals match against Diego Schwartzman who had earlier beaten Rafael Nadal in the quarter finals. Djokovic was at his best, moved well, stayed on with Schwartzman in long rallies and preserved. In doing on, he appears to have put the ghost of US Open past him and has emerged as one of the favourites to win next week's French Open in Paris, along with Nadal and Dominic Thiem, the world's number 3 ranked player and the newly crowned US Open champion. Infact, Djokovic after winning at Rome said that Nadal would be particularly vulnerable at Paris clay because this time the French Open is going to be played in October, as opposed to the month of May when conditions are different. 

(photo courtesy: tennisworldusa.org)

Review - Rafa: My Story by Rafael Nadal with John Carlin

During the French Open 2010, former world No.1 Rafael Nadal was walking down the streets of Paris flanked by Carlos Costa- his agent and former tennis player- on one side and Toni Nadal- his coach (and uncle)- on the other. Nadal was walking in the middle of the two. Suddenly, Toni stops and says “we can’t have this”. He thought it might seem that Rafa is a special person and the others his escorts, so he changed the order and made Nadal walk at the end.

From singling out Rafael during his growing years whilst coaching young kids at the local tennis club at Manacor, a small town on the Spanish island of Mallorca- using rough language, shouting and yelling more at Rafa than all the other kids, making him stay behind after practice sessions to pick up all the balls and sweep the courts- to being the ‘toughest coach in the world’, this was all part of Toni’s devious strategy over the years to toughen up Rafael to play through all sort of pain, under all sorts of conditions, to throw the bathroom tub when the opponent throws kitchen sink at him; to endure: the one quality that has made Rafael Nadal one of the toughest players to beat on the tennis tour. Toni’s relentless methods and his relationship with Rafael Nadal takes centre stage in Nadal’s autobiography called Rafa: My Story by Rafael Nadal with John Carlin.  

The book is written in collaboration with John Carlin- a Barcelona-based senior international writer for one of the large Spanish newspapers, El Pais. Every chapter of Rafa contains two parts; one as seen through Nadal’s eyes and one seen through Carlin’s. The book recounts Nadal’s life through the lens of two of the most important matches he’s ever played; Wimbledon 2008 men’s singles final where he beat the then-ranked No.1 Roger Federer is a thrilling five-set final and U.S. Open 2010 men’s singles final which he also won for the first time becoming just the seventh man in the Open era to win all four grand slam titles in a career.

Sports autobiographies can only be as intense as much the subject- on whom the book is based upon- opens up. That’s precisely why Andre Agassi’s classic Open remains one of the best stories ever told. But much of Agassi’s life seen through Open takes its roots from his troubled upbringing and the kind of struggles he’s had to face growing up in the harsh desert of Las Vegas to morph into one of tennis’s most colourful characters. Rafael Nadal’s- former world No.1 and presently ranked second in men’s tennis- childhood has been very pleasant and protective, on the other hand, with little spice occasionally thrown in. Yet, through his autobiography, he gives us precious insights and tells us numerous stories whilst growing up, his feelings, aspirations, insecurities and copiously takes us through various events- year after year- that’s made him to be the sort of killing machine on the tennis courts that we have known.

The book takes a non-linear narrative; it goes back and forth in flashbacks and gives it a sense of a thriller, much like Jon Wertheim’s well-written and insightful take on the same 2008 men’s singles Wimbledon final between Nadal and Federer (Stokes of Genius), though clearly not in the same league. But unlike Stokes of Genius that gives us a glimpse of Nadal, Federer and Wimbledon in equal measures, Rafa takes us through his childhood days in great detail. He may be a feared rival on the tennis court, but he is scared of darkness and dogs. His mentor and also former No.1 Carlos Moya has to lock up his dog when Nadal comes home, visiting. And don’t forget to turn off the fireplace before you go to sleep, he’ll call home and tell his mother about three to four times if he’s out with friends or partying, always afraid of a calamity that he fears may befall on his family.

Growing up in a joint family set up, he lived in a five floor building with his grandparents, parents, his father’s three brothers and a sister their spouses and their families. Surely, a long-time coach of a top tennis player would be raking in a handsome fee you’d think, but Rafa tells us that all of Toni’s earnings come only from Rafael's own dad’s business where Toni is an equal and dormant partner; Rafael doesn't pay him a penny. The family's one message to him has always been: ‘be humble, keep your feet firmly on your ground and never disrespect anyone.’ But being around his loved ones at all times also gave him the sense of continuity so important, according to Joan Forcados, his physical trainer, to Nadal’s success, such as Toni being around for 20 years and others in entourage with him for well over 10 years.

This continuity got a setback when Nadal’s parents separated in 2009; a rare glimpse of what went through his mind and the eventual darkness he slipped into, that also led him to lose his only match at the French Open ever; an event that he has otherwise won six times. “Through all these years of constant travel and eve more frenzied claims on my time as my fame had grown, Manacor and our neighboring seaside resort of Porto Cristo was a bubble of peace and sanity, a private world where I could isolate myself from the celebrity madness and be entirely myself again. Fishing, golf, friends, the old routine of family lunches and dinners – all that had changed. My father had moved out of our Porto Cristo home, and now when we sat down to eat or watch TV, he wasn’t there. Where there had been laughter and jokes, a heavy silence hung. Paradise had become paradise lost.” But Nadal would soon bounce back in 2010, winning three of the last four grand slams of the calendar year to complete his career slam.

Rafa does get a bit flat towards the latter half when his minute to minute decision making during his key matches gets a bit too much. Instead, a critical analysis of his opponents- much like Agassi in Open- would have been more interesting. Like how he felt when Djokovic was impersonating everyone around, especially Nadal the most. But we couldn’t expect that from Nadal who’s ever so diplomatic and well-mannered could we? It’s also possibly why he has written so less about the trauma he faced after his parent’s separation, focusing largely on the positive side for most part of the book.

The minor complaints aside, Rafa is a good read. 

Strong Spirited Esther Vergeer

Mint's story on Esther Vergeer, the #1 ranked wheelchair women's tennis player. The girl is on an amazing winning spree; 401 consecutive match wins and counting, 146 singles titles in addition to 126 doubles titles. This is her story and also about wheelchair tennis

http://www.livemint.com/2011/01/17210528/Vergeer-lobs-tennis-to-new-hei.html?atype=tp

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in Mint

Men's tennis' top eight players share their views with Mint, on their best and worst of 2010, ahead of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (WTF), which begins on Sunday. The world's top eight players qualify for the WTF. It's all here; Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and all of them spoke to Mint via an emailed interview.


http://www.livemint.com/2010/11/17200402/Flashback-2010-before-the-gran.html?h=C

Monitoring a gentleman's sport

You may root for the players when you watch them duel on a tennis court, but there's a whole army of people working behind the curtains to ensure maximum pleasure for the fans as well ensuring the greater good of the game. Chair umpires and line umpires are only two groups of this vast army. Mint gets a lowdown on them, their life and times of the court and how to become one, if you're interested. 

http://www.livemint.com/2010/10/20211307/They-know-where-to-draw-the-li.html

Tennis is spreading in Asia

It makes a lot of sense for tennis to be spreading its wings in Asia. We have the money, we have the fans and- aside from the CWG fiasco- the rest of Asia has some of the best facilities to offer. MINT's story on tennis in Asia


http://www.livemint.com/2010/09/26194816/Tennis-serves-up-aces-in-Asia.html?atype=tp

Who is the greatest tennis player of all time?

Uptil a few years back, we all thought tennis star and former World No. 1 Roger Federer would very soon lay his claims on the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) title. He may be 29 and claim he's still not done yet, and Rafael Nadal comes along and threatens to outrun him in the GOAT race.

Read Mint's story on GOAT debate...

http://www.livemint.com/2010/09/22210617/Is-one-of-these-two-men-the-GO.html?h=B

Nadal - Djokovic in US Open Final

Another opportunity missed on a Nadal-Federer grand slam final. It seems decades ago since these two heavyweights met in a Grand Slam final. Their anticipated final this year was looked forward to for many reasons. They have never met in US Open before. Nadal has never won a US Open. To lay his claim on being the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), Nadal would need to win the US Open. And had be beaten Roger Federer here on Sunday, it would have meant that he had beaten Federer in the finals of all the four grand slam events. We'll have to wait another year for this to happen, if at all it is destined to happen.

But props to Novak Djokovic on beating Roger Federer in the semi-finals. He saved two match points in the final set to win a gutsy five-setter, 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.  On Sunday, he stands between Rafael Nadal and his  ninth major. After playing late on a Saturday and an exhausting five-setter, less than 24 hours before his Final, I wonder how much recouped will Djokovic be in front of Nadal who seems to get fresher and fresher after each match. It's hard to stop Nadal when he is so charged up. If not a tough contention, it'll be a pleasure nevertheless to watch Rafael Nadal capture his ninth Grand slam title and a career Grand Slam (winning all four grand slams in his career).

Mint's story on the US Open Tennis

Mint carried a preview of the US Open tennis championships

http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/26161451/Making-a-noise-at-Flushing-Mea.html

Somdev Devvarman

Mint carried a story on Somdev Devvarman last week when he became the first Indian men's tennis player to enter the top 100 of men's single ranking, in over the decade. The last Indian to do that was Leander Paes.

http://www.livemint.com/2010/08/04204948/Past-the-twofigure-baseline.html?h=B

Tomas Berdych Has Grown Up

Of the two men's semi-finals I watched during Wimbledon 2010, I enjoyed Tomas Berdych v/s Novak Djokovic. This match had it all. Don't let the score board of 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 fool you into believing that this was a completely one-sided match. Djokovic fought till the end, but was no match to the finesse of Berdych. I always like to view matches where there is a lot of variety. Nadal v/s Murray was bit boring to watch on this count and it was quite simply a baseline slug fest where one would keep hitting shots, the other would just keep retrieving. But Berdych-Djokovic match had drama. It had fine shot-making too.

Tomas Berdych is a talented player. I remember watching him in the finals of the Mumbai Kingfisher Open a few years back (September 2006) where he narrowly lost to Russian Dimitry Tursunov in three close sets. Ever since while Berdych has moved up, slowly but gradually, Tursunov seems to have disappeared. Berdych is such a player that on a good day he could beat anyone. He came close to beating Roger Federer at the 2009 Australian Open but lost in five. At this year's Wimbledon, Federer wasn't so lucky. Having going through a career slump himself, it didn't help him that he ran into super-confident Berdych who I am sure- like many other men's tennis players- now think they can beat Roger Federer anytime and on any day.

Yesterday, Berdych was in full form. His serve and forehands were the two weapons responsible for getting him to the Finals. The court coverage was phenomenal and both players, especially Djokovic, scrambled all the court to retrieve. Berdych's height 6"5 makes him a formidable server; he served 11 aces in the match,as against Djokovic's nine. But Berdych's biggest fears rest in his mind. He was up 6 points to 2 in the tie break and he allowed Djokovic to fight back and save all those set points and another two before saving two himself, eventually winning the set when Djokovic gifted him a double fault of his own. Berdych covered the court well and hit shots with pin point accuracy. His lethal forehand also drove Djokovic far off wide the court, only to sweep in to the net to put the volley away.

This is the game that he needs to beat Nadal on Sunday. But Berdych would do well to remember that he's about to play one of the toughest competitors of tennis in Sunday's final. Unless he truly believes in the heart that he can beat Nadal, he would have lost the match before he even steps on to the court.

At Wimbledon, Some Things Don't Change, thankfully

As Wimbledon gets under way, there's a sense of deja-vu that you get everything you cast a glance at the green grass.

http://www.livemint.com/2010/06/23201608/Quiet-please-thank-you.html

Come Clean

Open recently carried a well-written story on the recent controversy surrounding Indian cricketers' refusal to accept the whereabouts clause of Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency). Various others sports like Tennis, football, cycling and so on have confirmed to Wada rules. The International Cricket Council (ICC) too has subscribed to its norms, but the Board of Cricket Council of India (BCCI) and Indian cricketers are resisting. That they claim to abide by the Wada rules, except the whereabouts clause- which states that every cricketer, at the start of every quarter must inform their whereabouts of one hour every day for the next three months so that they are available for ant-dope test- is hardly giving away much. Some cricketers have also gone to the extent to claim that cricket has to be treated differently than other sports because cricketers have to travel much and are hardly at home for a few days here or there. Hence their privacy must be respected.

Privacy of celebrities is always a concern and an issue. It's quite right on the part of celebrities to claim that even they have a right to privacy and the cameras- or in this case, a doping control officer with an empty bottle to collect the urine sample- should be limited to the hours they are on duty. But once on family time, no intruders should be allowed. After all, if current world no 3 tennis player Andy Murray claims that he had to pee with his pants down literally in front of the DCO to ensure the genuineness of the sample deposited at 7 am in a morning in his home where the DCO turned up unexpected, then what are we talking about? Have they no lives of their own or any dignity?

Much as we like to sympathise with our sporting idols, the answer is a resounding No. Well, dignity, yes, but privacy, no. When drug abuse is so rampant across the world and where numerous examples have come up in sports that performance-enhancing drugs are available and can be consumed, it is the duty of every sportsperson to declare himself / herself clean. And if this means peeing with your pants down in front of someone to prove yourself, then so be it. In times when sportsperson having to stand to earn millions of dollars every year, this is a small sacrifice. Sports is a discipline. It's not just about fun and games. Sportsmen are idols to millions and billions of people around the globe. It not only teaches you how to play, but also inspires discipline, grit and courage. When Steffi Graf wins the French Open beating the then-world no 1 player half her age to win the French Open, in her early 30s or when Roger Federer wins the the one grand slam that has painfully eluded him for years, despite going through the worse 12 months of his career prior to this and when almost everyone had written him off inspire people to never give up. But when these stars resort to doping and are caught, it tarnishes the name of sport. We somehow begin to ponder of others' successes too; doubts start to creep our mind. It is this larger picture that our cricketers seem to miss.

Cricketers find all the time to squeeze numerous advertisements and commercials into their busy schedule; one that has made a millionaire virtually out of everyone of them who are the most active. They may be idols in India, but to the world of sport, they are as common as any other sportsperson. And as far as their exhaustive schedule is concerned, if tennis starts in the first week of January and goes up well till November-end (add to that the Davis Cup final in December for the two nations that have to fight it out), then other sports are no less hectic than Cricket. Why should Cricket therefore get special treatment? If they want their sport to be squeaky clean, then cricketers should be prepared to unzip whenever the DCO comes knocking on their doors.

15-LOVE-FEDERER

Tennis is a cruel sport. Star tennis writer Jon Wierthem was right. Isn't it ironic that in a match that lasted four hours and 16 minutes, despite Roddick holding his serve wonderfully for most of the match, serving from behind all throughout the fifth and penultimate set, the one time he lost his serve was that final game that handed Roger Federer the Championships? For most part of the match, Roddick was the better player, yet a few points here and there turned around the match and gave us the result of a lifetime. True, Roddick had four set points in the second set tie-breaker when he led 6-2, but Fed came back to win it and level the match at one set a piece. Tennis is a cruel sport when after four hours and 16 minutes, only one of the two players has to emerge a winner and the other a loser. And sorry, the cliche 'there are no losers' don't make things any better, okay? Try telling that Andy Roddick!

But Roddick is back as a better player than he was five years back when he made it to a couple of Wimbledon finals and won his first and till-date only Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows. He has fixed his mind and his temperament. It only goes to show that the best way to get anywhere near Federer when the guy is playing great tennis is to get inside his mind. Look at Nadal. Today, Roddick came so close...

All said and done, Roger Federer has come back remarkably in 2009. Who would have thought that after breaking down and absolutely inconsolable losing this year's Australian Open to his chief rival Rafael Nadal and then later going in this year's French Open, the Fed would not only win his first French Open and complete a career Grand Slam, but would also soon follow it up with a Wimbledon title, surpassing Pete Sampras' record of 14-Grand Slam titles. To top it all now, the guy is going to be a Dad. Whether or not his priorities will change or not, only time will tell. For now, RF intends to continue to play tennis. Great for the game and his fans.

A Centre Court Celebration

I am just coming to terms after watching the spectacle on Star Sports, live from Wimbledon. The official Championship is still a month away, but earlier today the Centre Court was thrown open to public for the first time under the newly built retractable roof. For a tournament that has been increasingly plagued by endless rain delays and much discomfort and inconvenience caused to players, fans and officials, alike, a retractable roof (an overhead roof over an outdoor tennis tournament that closes if it starts to rain) was much wanted for years. Our prayers were finally answered when a few years back the nod was given to what many believe is the world's most traditional sporting tournament and thereby the reluctance to change the way the game has been played here since generations. 

And what a swanky roof it was complete with all the glitzy lighting. For a tournament that has long refused to come out of its time-warped history, for a tournament that is so historical and considered to be so traditional, nothing can more more modern with such a futuristic roof over its head, literally. Four great tennis champions, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters, were invited to play the inaugural matches under the closed roof and to test the Court under the new playing conditions; Agassi and Graf to team for a mixed doubles against Henman and Clijsters. I was thrilled to watch all the players being so warmly welcomed onto the Centre Court, but my heart skipped a bit when I saw Steffi step up. It's been 10 years since she played her last Wimbledon- in 1999; she was the losing finalist to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport, but she still looks as radiant, beautiful, glowing and young. And as the day would progress, I'd say she hasn't lost much of her agility, grace and power and court, and man, her forehand is still lethal!!! 

Anyways, performances followed by opera singers Katherine Jenkins and Faryl Smith and the boy band Blake. As Jenkins' performance got underway, the roof started to close. It was a spectacle much awaited. Soon, it was showtime. 

First off, the mixed doubles match between Agassi-Graf v/s Henman-Clijsters. It seems that a few months back after these players were invited to play a series of exhibition matches on the Centre Court to try out the court under the retractable roof, Clijsters- like the other three- started practising hard and started to train, etc. That is what changed her life and she got back her lost-love for tennis. That is when it is said she decided to make a comeback on the tour. I couldn't be more happy for her. Here is a champion who has all the lethal weapons in her armory to beat the best in the world. And with woman's tennis in such a fractured leadership at the top of the game, Clijsters' entry is most welcome. 

I rarely watch exhibition matches. Somehow they bore me, what with all the lacking of a typical competitive match. Exhibition matches are typically pots of money offered by sponsors to participating players and players have a lot of fun, giggling, smiling, laughing, talking and making merry whilst playing these so-called matches. I do not know about the money part, but pretty much the rest of it was there. But make no mistake. All three matches were as competitive as they could have got. The mixed doubles was the first off, and it was quite entertaining. Graf and Agassi complimenting each other with a kiss after many a successful point, Henman showing many glimpses of his beautiful serve and volley tennis and Clijsters doing the running around the court displaying her on-court fitness. The match couldn't have got any tighter as they reach the tie-break. Henman-Clijsters scrap through a tight victory.

After a brief break, the two men are back on court. But all the smiles and giggles and fun that characterised the mixed-doubles match disappeared fast; the men's singles was most competitive and for a moment I forgot that this was just an exhibition match. Though Henman was back with his serve-and-volley game and made Agassi run all over the court, the latter was the better of the two players and showed why he was the No 1 player and winner of eight single grand-slam titles during his career. Agassi won 6-4. 

The last of the three-match series was played between Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters. Now if you remember, it was on this court 10 years ago when Graf played her last Grand Slam title and Clijsters played her first match on this Centre Court and they faced one another in the fourth round. Graf won that encounter, rather easily. Ten years later, fate brought them back together under different circumstances. And if the first two games were any indication, this was set to be a close match. After Graf raced to a 2-0 lead, Clijsters fought back and leveled things at 3-all. Eventually after a tightly fought contest- and thankfully didn't play out frivolously at all like typical exhibition matches- Clijsters won 6-4. Graf's forehand is still there. I am a HUGE fan of Steffi's and I was extremely delighted to see her play at this level even after so many years. And oh yes, she looks as young and beautiful as ever. Did I say that already? 

So how was the roof then? It was nice and much needed. Rain delays, atleast on the Centre Court, will now be a thing of the past. Though I would miss the sights of ball boys and girls systematically dragging the edges of the court cover from opposite sides of the Court, rushing towards the centre of the court to cover it as soon as it starts to rain, the cover then inflated to make it look like a tent, half-empty stands with its few occupants cozily nestled under umbrellas, bands playing music to keep the spectators entertained during numerous rain delays. Though in recent years, I have to admit these rain delays used to wash out days and days of plays. This was very agonizing. And though Star Sports showed re-runs of Classics, after a point in time, it gets to be boring. And as Roger Federer said in his televised message that though rain delays were part of the tradition, people would love to see some tennis after a few days; excruciating delays would now be a thing of the past. The roof looks great, it takes about two and half minutes for the roof to close and another 10 odd minutes for the gigantic air-conditioning systems to be up and about. And perhaps a few other handful of minutes for players to warm up before the interrupted match resumes. Infact during the singles exhibition matches today it was said to be pouring outside, but the action and excitement inside the arena went uninterrupted, so that's the whole point. Besides, it gives Wimbledon a never-seen-before indoor tennis tournament look. Notice the loud ball sounds that gets echoed within the closed arena. 

And this last point: Will Clijsters be able to climb back to the top of professional tennis? Much as I want to root for her, I would take a step back here and wait and watch. She has the shots, she has the fire, she has her forehand. But she is still rusty. For a player to be coming back to professional tennis after a gap of around two years, she will need many more matches under her belt to really hone her skills. I think she needs to work more on her mental fitness and try and bring her errors down. She moves beautifully on the court, so her speed and physical fitness is almost there. Even after today's play, she is a top-10 player. With match practice, an ascent should not be difficult. 

Grit and combacks at the Australian Open 2009

Probably the first time this week, I have been able to enjoy the Australian Open tennis championships all day long on TV. Of course, today being a Sunday, it helped. Roger Federer played Tomas Berdych in a classic 5-setter. I did not expect Berdych to play this well, especially the way he opened the match and rushed through the first two sets. Berdych is a talented player and has good groundstrokes and a big serve. I watched him play a very good match against Dimitry Tursunov in the finals of the first edition of Kingfisher Open (Mumbai) in 2006. Whilst Tursunov had very narrowly won that match, Berdych showed a lot of promise. He has won four tournaments till date and remains one of the few active players to have won a title on all three main surfaces, clay, grass, hard-court and one even on carpet. Experts say that his lack of self confidence has prevented him from doing great in the Grand Slams. Out of 21 appearances in Grand Slams, he has gone past the Round 3 just nine times. His best showing in a Grand Slam remains a Quarter Final show in 2007 Wimbledon. 

But he played magnificent tennis today against Federer in Round 4 at the Australian Open 2009. It's not an easy task to go up two sets to love against Federer, but he matched groundstrokes to groundstrokes against Federer. In the first set Berdych's serve was the key as his first serve percentage was 72 % as against Fed's 57%. And more surprising was Federer's massive comeback as he clawed back from two sets to love down. I do not really associate Federer as someone who would have such tenacity to come back from two sets to love down in a grand slam, but you gotta give it to the guy for fighting for his life out there today. But then again, Berdych is not the toughest mental guy out there. If Federer wants to have a decent chance to win the title, he'll have to do much more. 

The story of the tournament so far has been Jelena Dokic. What a match that was. Jelena Dokic beat Alisa Kleybanova, 7-5, 5-7, 8-6. Kleybanova played very well and did almost everything to beat Dokic, but still Dokic came out trumps at the end, despite being injured. The crowd was all behind cheering Dokic -and reasonably so -but it took a lot out of Dokic to get the better of Kleybanova. To borrow a quote from Andy Roddick, Kleybanova threw kitchen sink at Dokic, but Dokic went inside and got the bathtub. Could Dokic surprise the world by going all the way, just the way Jenifer Capriati did in 2001 (she won the Australian Open beating the then-world No1 Martina Hingis, after having gone without a single win for five years in a grand slam prior to that)? You never know...

looking ahead at Down Under...

So the Australian Open tennis championships are under way. It's a pain to get up so early at around 5.00 am (India time) to watch the Open, I prefer to catch up the results on its official website. I used to get up early when I was in college during Steffi Graf days. Her matches were scheduled to be the first -or at worse the second -match of the day. She always used to prefer it that way. Her early round matches usually used to get over within an hour, so it fitted well in my schedule. But those were my good, old days. 

Of course I did not expect India's Sania Mirza to do much. She could at best crack the top-20 and then taper off, but she's definitely not a top-10 player by any standards. Expectantly she lost to Nadia Patrova, 6-3, 6-2 in just 70 minutes. Not that Petrova is a push-over exactly, but if Mirza is at her best, she has the game to beat Petrova. I still feel that no matter how much she'll try and regroup herself going from here on (especially after a dismal and forgettable 2007 and 2008), Mirza will not break the top-20 unless she has a dedicated and a quality coach and she has access to adequate infrastructure in her hometown (courts other than hard-court to practice on). Still, the Indian media will go ga-ga over Mirza and the oldie lot of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi; I don't understand why. I was just watching Times Now and their day's round-up of Australian Open in their sports capsule started off with "Good news for India; Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles have entered Round#3...". We Indians seldom look anywhere beyond cricket, and even there we're not the best team!!!

For the 2009 Australian Open, I am placing my chances on Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Though I would like Federer to win, I think his best days are behind him, as seen by his high standards. I do hope I am severely wrong on this; it's a treat watching him play. And though Nadal lost tamely in Doha earlier this year, I just watched his convincing victory over Tommy Haas of Germany and you'd be a fool to completely rule him out. Sure Nadal hasn't yet won a hardcourt Slam, but his game has improved tremendously over the years. This could be his breakthrough year at the Down Under. 

The woman's field is wide open but I like Elena Dementieva's chances this year. She's in fine form, unbeatable in both the warm-up tournaments she's played so far this year. Dementieva is a very good player and she's had some great results; she 's a runner-up at the French and US Opens in 2004.  The way she's playing these days, you cannot rule her out. She has the goods, but does she have the head? We'll see. But that is also why I would place Jelena Jankovic a bit higher on the chances-scale. She could well end up surprising Dememtieva and the rest of the field and I have a feeling this is her Open. 

Is Sania Mirza all hype?

Instant fame beckoned her in a sports hungry (other than Cricket, of course) nation. But Sania Mirza has failed to live up to the hype.

There is no doubt that Sania Mirza is one of the most talented tennis players India has ever produced. She made her Women’s Tour Association (WTA) debut in 2005 and soon became the first Indian women’s tennis player to reach the third round - and later in the year the fourth round - of a grand slam. That was her breakthrough year where she won became the first Indian women’s tennis player to win a WTA tour title. From a ranking of below 200 at the start of that year, she cracked the top 50 by the end of 2005, becoming the first Indian women’s tennis player to be ranked in the top 50.

Good start…
Small wonder then, that the ever-hungry-on-quality-sportsperson Indian media went ga-ga over her and many of them proclaimed her to be the next No. 1! Don’t laugh; I am serious, I used to watch T.V. in 2005 also. Instant fame and instant recognisiton came her way. In 2006, the government of India gave the Padma Shri award – the fourth highest civilian award in India after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibushan and Parma Bhushan - to Mirza. There was no looking as far as Indians were concerned where Mirza stood. She was all over TV, newspapers, magazines and was giving out as many interviews as, say, Serena Williams would probably in USA.

But was that all worth it?

….gone wrong
2008 is Mirza’s fourth year on the WTA tour. In the past three years, she has not won a single singles titles after her 2005 Hyderabad triumph. That lone title, too, came in her hometown in front of her home crowd that would obviously vociferously support her. But it takes real guts to win a title on foreign shores - playing against an opponent who belongs to that same country and therefore also – in front of a partisan crowd. Her best grand slam result so far remains a sole fourth round appearance.

What’s wrong with her?
Let’s get the facts straight. The problem is that Sania Mirza is not dedicated enough. It’s easy for a player to jump from 200 to 50 or at best 25-20 in the world’s rankings. But to crack the top 20 is another matter altogether. I am not even getting to the top 10. You need to be consistent. Your body needs to be great shape for most part of the year and it also requires constant exercising and also conditioning. Plus, you have train like a thorough professional and have access to all the facilities.

Sania Mirza has done nothing of the above. She is injury-prone; in 2007 and just her third year as a professional tennis player, she had knee and wrist injuries, apart from a surgery. That cut short her 2007 tour abruptly in September.

Mirza also has an incomplete game. She has only one weapon – her forehand. Her serve – especially second serve - is her weakest weapon in her repertoire. In tournaments after tournaments, her opponents have ripped apart her weak serves. Lack of proper toning and conditioning has also limited her mobility; her movement on-court is lethargic. She has no net game either and she isn't a very cunning player on court also.

Wrong guidance
The biggest problem with Mirza is her entourage. Obviously, she is not getting right guidance. She does not even have a proper coach. In the past three years, she has changed six coaches. (Presently, her father is coaching her.) Typically, it takes around 4-6 months for a player to get adjusted to his/her new coach and results to show. But half the time, Mirza has been adjusting to her coaches and before things start to get a little bright, out goes the coach and in comes yet a replacement. Either the choice of coaches is wrong or her approach towards coaching is faulty.

The other problem is her place of residence. With infrastructure being a problem in India, especially a crowded city like Hyderabad, does she have access to all kinds of courts and surfaces for her to practice on? I don’t know how she prepares for the clay and grass court season, but India certainly lacks quality clay and grass courts – the ones required for the European clay and grass court season. You cannot land up at the event after a 12-hour long flight and then start practicing for the event, merely 5 hours before your first match. You need to practice in your backyard and then go to countries to participate in the tournaments.

Avoidable media glare
Last, but not the least, all the unwanted attention. Media has a knack of playing up under-achievers to the hilt – there are a gazillion examples in Cricket, sometimes the entire cricket team – and putting them on a pedestal. The fact is that no Indian athlete has won an Olympics gold medal in the last 50 years. With just one title - that too in her own hometown- and no singles grand slam titles, not even a quarter-final appearance in any of them, Sania Mirza is already a Padma Sri. GOD knows what will happen, if she ever were to win a grand slam. Of course, as per current standards, a open-air, double-decker bus ride from the airport to the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad her home town, where she will be felicitated by the who’s who of the State’s political machinery. The point is so much media attention and adulation also goes to a player's head. He/she starts to believe at some level that they have done enough already instead of the reality that the game has just begun.

As per current standards, Sania Mirza looks, at best, a player who might reach a career-high ranking of 20 and nothing more. Pity, this was a lot opportunity.

End of a famous grunt

“COFFFFAAAAAAEEEEEEEE” “COFFFFAAAAAAEEEEEEEE”

You are forgiven if you think that’s someone wanting a cup of coffee. That evening of May 1990, watching my favourite player Steffi Graf crumble against the might of an unknown and gawky pony-tailed girl who was all over the court and just wouldn’t stop shouting COFFFFAAAAAAEEEEEEEE on hitting each shot, I was heart-broken. To watch my idol loose like that, I had never expected. But one thing was clear. Determination just got itself a new meaning. For that was not any ordinary call. That was a spectacular release of energy – experts call it a grunt – that Monica Seles was accustomed to while punishing her opponents, repeatedly. That was a determination to win quite unseen in anyone else. That was professionalism that had the urge to block out everything else when on a tennis court – even an unfavourable crowd in the stands – and to turn adversity into advantage and set sights on that trophy. That was the start of an illustrious career that saw Seles win 53 single titles, including nine grand-slams and six double titles.

Monica Seles was no ordinary player. She was the first girl to introduce women’s tennis to the power game – something that the next generations of girls would build their games around. With power came precision. Balls hit by the Seles racket would always find the lines and corners. And coupled with such power that few could find a way to hit them back. Many would be left standing in the middle of the court, watching the balls zip by, helplessly. Her predecessors like Navratilova, Evert and Graf relied more on grace, but Seles was brute-force and knew how to hit the ball never to see it come back again. The Williams sisters were to only to follow years later.

Similarly, though Martina Hingis was known to be a chess player on a tennis court, it was Seles who mastered the art of using the head. On numerous occasions, her most illustrious opponent Graf would hit her now-enshrined, inside-out fraulien forehand at her with brute force, going out far wide, and Seles would simply use that power to her advantage and simply place her forehand back into Graf’s court, but at the opposite end, miles away from Graf. Lesson learnt: no matter how great your forehand is, placement is as important when Seles is on the receiving end.

Seles was on a meteoric rise in the early nineties. In 1991, she played 16 tournaments and reached the final of all of them. Of them she won 10. The next year, in 1992, she lost only five matches. During the period from January 1991 to February 1993, Seles won 22 titles and reached 33 finals out of the 34 tournaments she played in. She compiled an astounding 159-12 win-loss record (92.9% winning percentage), including a 55-1 win-loss record in Grand Slam tournaments. In the interim, she held the top ranking in women’s tennis for a total of 178 weeks – the fifth-longest No. 1 streak in women’s tennis. This streak could have gone on for many more years had it not been for her stabbing. On April 30, 1993 a crazy fan of Steffi Graf stabbed Seles during a changeover during Seles’s match at the Hamburg Open. He did this because he wanted Graf to regain the top spot. Seles was sidelined for two years during which she became a US citizen.

Two years later, in 1995, she returned back on tour, won 2 exhibition matches against Martina Navratilova, won her first professional tournament – Canadian Open, crushing Amanda Coetzer in the final and quickly made it to the final of US Open – the year’s final grand slam – only a month later. All this, without dropping a single set. In the final of ’95 US Open, she ran into an inspired Steffi Graf. She lost 6-7, 6-0, 3-6. Few months later and in January 1996, Seles captured her ninth - and what would eventually be her last - grand slam title, Australian Open.

Seles never reached her brilliance thereafter. She had two sparkling moments in her tennis career in the years that followed. The 1996 US Open where she lost the final, yet again, to Graf and 1998 French Open where she beat the then-world no.1 Martina Hingis brutally in the semi-finals but lost to Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario in the final. After a series of insignificant results and injuries that kept her sidelined for over two years, Seles finally called it a day on February 15, 2008.

This is to one of the greatest personalities the sport of tennis has ever seen. Monica Seles has been a terrific player on-court and a wonderful person off-the-court. She took competition to another level and gifted it with a sense of professionalism that would, in years to come, be a source of inspiration to all the young guns of tennis. Wish her all the best for the future!

Some outstanding Seles matches that would stand out in her career
Monica Seles vs Steffi Graf – French Open final 1992
Monica Seles vs Martina Navratilova – Wimbledon Semi-final 1992
Monica Seles vs Jennifer Capriati – U.S. Open Semi-final 1991
Monica Seles vs Martina Hingis – French Open semi-final 1998

Martina Hingis - end of an era

In probably the lowest point in tennis so far in 2007, Martina Hingis retired on the backdrop of the accusation levied upon her very recently, that she had tested positive cocaine at Wimbledon, soon after losing to Laura Granville of US, in the third round. Much to everyone's surprise she has chosen to retire from tennis - the second time she did in her career; the first time she retired was in 2002 only to make a comeback in 2006.

I have never been a staunch Hingis-fan. I only came to support her during her second run as a tennis player since last year! Perhaps because she was the next to take the mantle of No. 1 (her mid-90s run) after my all-time favourite Graf. But i admired her play and her sheer tenacity on court. She was like a chess-player, carefully plotting her moves and and then hitting a winner or forcing an error out of an opponent's racket. She did not have the power like the other girls such as Williams sisters. Her biggest strength was her mind. She used the power of others and her own mind games to unsettle the opponent. She was one of the most crafty players I have seen on court. In today's day when you see players merely whacking the ball, Hingis was a refreshing change as she kept the opponent - and us the viewers as well - guessing her next move. A healthy mix of down the line forhands, drop shots, lobs, slice, double-fisted backhand and even a good net game to go with it, comprised her armoury. Good variety.

I particularly enjoyed watching her matchces against Graf and Seles. She had surprisingly mastered Seles and had a streak of 5-0 against her untill Seles reversed that trend in the French Open semi-final in 1998.

Her retirement, especially in this way, is a shame. I feel very strange that she would have taken cocaine or any drug. As a tennis fan, I hope she did not and her name gets cleared asap.