Grace point

You know what makes Federer great? Or should i ask, what makes him one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time?

Let me answer that for you: his prolonged athleticism coupled with matchless perseverance and enduring health. Federer, unlike most contemporaries on the court, has mastered the art of causing least amount of damage to his body. He somehow has managed to remain fit throughout his career. There have been very few instances where his health ditched him. He might be 34 now but that shouldn't a concern. He is bound to stick around. One of the main reasons why he's adored by the likes of Laver, Borg and Sampras is they all know he's the last of his tribe. He's the perfect balance of gust and grace. As the intensity of power play kept going up with more and more baseliners making their presence felt, Federer continued doing what he does best: stay effortless and highly artistic. Maybe that's why giant servers like Karlovic and Isner are just that in front of him—giant servers. Of course, there's no denying that Djokovic is the toast of the season and he's going to last for a really long time. But then that's pure speculation, right? After all, we never thought Nadal would slow down thanks to his overworked pair of knees. 
Federer, at any given rate of comparison, is the only player in Open era to continue playing the way he does. Yes, Connor and Lendl were around for what seemed like eternity but were they dominant the way Federer is? Well, no one comes close. Not at the age of 34. Maybe Djoko might surge ahead someday if he continues with his gluten-free diet and whatnot regime. We'll have to wait and see. But then, Federer hasn't missed a Grand Slam since 2000. And if that's not awe-inspiring enough, he hasn't ever retired from a match. Not even once. And i think that is his greatest legacy. A lesson to all his fellow players—and upcoming ones too—who have forsaken aesthetics for muscles. Who have come to believe that power lasts longer than grace. Who haven't served-volleyed or played a drop shot in ages now. Evolution of tennis? Bullshit. Whether they get it or not, beauty lasts the longest. And grace, much longer. 

No more INSANE Sania marriage news!

Today is a historic day. Sania Mirza got married. At last. And by any media calculation, it means the end of circus.

We, hoi polloi, on both side of the border were glued to this drama for over three weeks now and no matter how much we hated the futile news coverage, we didn’t dare ignore the charade.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Sania Mirza. To me, she had something of a wonder run and then she got caught on the wrong side of fame. She is the first Indian to cover a lot of milestones in the field of tennis but then she could have done a lot better had she stayed focused on her on-court preparations rather than off-court distractions. She could have been the Saina Nehwal of tennis, which sounds a bit clichéd now! Alas.

Coming back to her marriage part, I thought, isn’t it too early for her to jump the wedding gun. She’s of my age and I don’t think 23 is an ideal age to marry considering her incredible “second-round-success” on WTA tour. She should have waited a bit longer for her form to return. Who knows she just could have got her form back, which is almost non-existent just like her alleged wrist injuries. Whatever, who am I to suggest anything and who is she to waste my blog space!

I’m also a bit aghast at her choice of beau. I mean, I’m sure almost all of us must have had this thought, “…couldn’t she find something better??!!”. I too felt the same given Shoaib Malik’s history of tasting his foot again and again with no fault of his for we are born the way we are and some of us learn and some of us just, well, run. I remember his famous gaffe after Pakistan defeated India and he went onto thank all the Muslims in the world for supporting Pakistan, forgetting that there were two active Muslim players in Indian side at that time, if not, millions of Indian Muslims right over the border!

Anyways, it’s her life and in a more generalized sense, she’s doing what very few Indian girls do and that is breaking historically-built barriers. I just hope she finds happiness wherever she is, for she belongs to us.