Dedicated to Novak Djokovic and Radek Stepanek... for bringing Tennis back to me.
I used to be an avid Tennis fan. One of my earliest recollections of sports on TV , apart from the 1987 cricket world cup, is watching Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg battle it out in three back to back finals in Wimbledon in the late eighties. Throughout the 90s i had followed every single Grand slam event with religious passion and discussions in school during lunch recess used to be dedicated to debates ranging from Agassi vs Sampras and Steffi vs Seles.
But over the last many years , I thought that Tennis has started to get boring. I felt that it did not have the intensity and passion , it could not keep me glued on for its entire duration of play. I found it one dimensional. I may not be justified but then i blame what many call the greatest tennis player ever for taking my interest away from the game. Roger Federer the fedex has won 11 grand slam titles in the last 5 years. Reached the last 9 grand slam finals , been world number one since 2004 and by the time he retires he would have every record in the game. His game is a treat to watch no doubt, but then i dont want to watch one way traffic.
In the nineties Pete Sampras also dominated the game like how Federer is doing now. He won Wimbledon 7 times in 8 years and ended with 14 Slams. But the key difference between the Sampras era and the Federer domination has been the players on the other side of the net. Sample the rivals that Sampras had.... Agassi, Becker, Courier, Rafter, Ivanisevic, Chang and dangerous floaters like Cedric Pioline , Todd Martin etc. . And the rivals that Federer has .. Nadal , Roddick , Hewitt, Davydenko, Blake ,Safin.... ! Doesnt really measure up to the previous list does it ?
Most of Sampras's victories in the finals also have been very one sided. But the quality of the other players of that era was such that it dished out so many wonderful Tennis matches in the early and latter stages of a tournament. Rafter and Agassi played three back to back wimbledon Semi Finals. Agassi and Becker had a great rivalry going. The Sampras - Courier Quarter final in 95 Australian Open was the stuff of legends. The Ivanisevic - Rafter 2001 final is the greatest tennis match i have watched. An unknown Petr Korda defeated Sampras in the US open and also won a Grand slam. Compare that to the current state of affairs, Safin always misfires , Hewitt runs and runs but does not go the distance , Roddick i fear will end up a one slam wonder. Nadal the great hope is the King of clay but he has not really challenged Federer anywhere else , maybe except for this years Wimbledon final.
Where is the fun, where is the unpredictability , where is the joy of watching a 5 set no holds barred humdinger of a game ??
And then , I watched this match on TV today. Radek Stepanek ( who ?) vs Novak Djokovic , seeded 3rd ( seed 3 but no grand slam finals yet , leave alone a slam) . A second round match at the US open. An upcoming star of the game against a journey man pro who is doomed to always play the supporting role and make an early exit in the scheme of things. And what a match it turned out to be. A 5 setter with all the twists, turns , drama and intensity that makes the sport such a crowd puller. The beauty of the game is that it doesnt have a fixed schedule of play at the end of which whoever leads or has scored more wins. The match is over only after the last act is enacted, only after the last point is won and till someone wins it , the game is always open. And this was one such match , where none of the players belived they could lose and did not yield an inch. Every set went the distance, every point was played as if their life depended on it. There were thrilling rallies galore, breathtaking passing shots and overhead winners, sweet volleys and rugged baseline plays. Aces, winners, tense tie breaks and crucial errors. There was passion, there was pride , on view were two fighters giving all that they had.
As the 5th set tie break started, the game was almost 4 and a half hours old and the score was 7-6 6-7 7-5 5-7. Nothing to choose between. Both the players were cramping up but none of them threw the towel down. This is one of those matches where you dont have a loser. At the end of the match when the tie breaker was decided , and as the players embraced , one could feel the emotions they were going through and the respect each one has gained in the others view and in the larger audience's mind.
This was Tennis i grew up watching . Maybe i should get back to following the game. It still serves up such magical matches.
I used to be an avid Tennis fan. One of my earliest recollections of sports on TV , apart from the 1987 cricket world cup, is watching Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg battle it out in three back to back finals in Wimbledon in the late eighties. Throughout the 90s i had followed every single Grand slam event with religious passion and discussions in school during lunch recess used to be dedicated to debates ranging from Agassi vs Sampras and Steffi vs Seles.
But over the last many years , I thought that Tennis has started to get boring. I felt that it did not have the intensity and passion , it could not keep me glued on for its entire duration of play. I found it one dimensional. I may not be justified but then i blame what many call the greatest tennis player ever for taking my interest away from the game. Roger Federer the fedex has won 11 grand slam titles in the last 5 years. Reached the last 9 grand slam finals , been world number one since 2004 and by the time he retires he would have every record in the game. His game is a treat to watch no doubt, but then i dont want to watch one way traffic.
In the nineties Pete Sampras also dominated the game like how Federer is doing now. He won Wimbledon 7 times in 8 years and ended with 14 Slams. But the key difference between the Sampras era and the Federer domination has been the players on the other side of the net. Sample the rivals that Sampras had.... Agassi, Becker, Courier, Rafter, Ivanisevic, Chang and dangerous floaters like Cedric Pioline , Todd Martin etc. . And the rivals that Federer has .. Nadal , Roddick , Hewitt, Davydenko, Blake ,Safin.... ! Doesnt really measure up to the previous list does it ?
Most of Sampras's victories in the finals also have been very one sided. But the quality of the other players of that era was such that it dished out so many wonderful Tennis matches in the early and latter stages of a tournament. Rafter and Agassi played three back to back wimbledon Semi Finals. Agassi and Becker had a great rivalry going. The Sampras - Courier Quarter final in 95 Australian Open was the stuff of legends. The Ivanisevic - Rafter 2001 final is the greatest tennis match i have watched. An unknown Petr Korda defeated Sampras in the US open and also won a Grand slam. Compare that to the current state of affairs, Safin always misfires , Hewitt runs and runs but does not go the distance , Roddick i fear will end up a one slam wonder. Nadal the great hope is the King of clay but he has not really challenged Federer anywhere else , maybe except for this years Wimbledon final.
Where is the fun, where is the unpredictability , where is the joy of watching a 5 set no holds barred humdinger of a game ??
And then , I watched this match on TV today. Radek Stepanek ( who ?) vs Novak Djokovic , seeded 3rd ( seed 3 but no grand slam finals yet , leave alone a slam) . A second round match at the US open. An upcoming star of the game against a journey man pro who is doomed to always play the supporting role and make an early exit in the scheme of things. And what a match it turned out to be. A 5 setter with all the twists, turns , drama and intensity that makes the sport such a crowd puller. The beauty of the game is that it doesnt have a fixed schedule of play at the end of which whoever leads or has scored more wins. The match is over only after the last act is enacted, only after the last point is won and till someone wins it , the game is always open. And this was one such match , where none of the players belived they could lose and did not yield an inch. Every set went the distance, every point was played as if their life depended on it. There were thrilling rallies galore, breathtaking passing shots and overhead winners, sweet volleys and rugged baseline plays. Aces, winners, tense tie breaks and crucial errors. There was passion, there was pride , on view were two fighters giving all that they had.
As the 5th set tie break started, the game was almost 4 and a half hours old and the score was 7-6 6-7 7-5 5-7. Nothing to choose between. Both the players were cramping up but none of them threw the towel down. This is one of those matches where you dont have a loser. At the end of the match when the tie breaker was decided , and as the players embraced , one could feel the emotions they were going through and the respect each one has gained in the others view and in the larger audience's mind.
This was Tennis i grew up watching . Maybe i should get back to following the game. It still serves up such magical matches.
1 comment:
I hope this doesn't ends up with you stabbing Federer somewhere in Europe....
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