Life Etc Etc

Italian Open Final : Third Set, One set All, Two games all and 30-40 in favor of Djokovic Djokovic had Nadal in all sorts of trouble forcing him to retrieve a down the line shot. Nadal could only get a one handed backhand to it, the ball looped up into air with Djokovic setting himself up for a crosscourt forehand smash. Djokovic never misses shots like these, I certainly expected him to make it but Tennis Gods probably had other plans for him. Nole's safe hands deserted him as he promptly deposited the ball into the net. It was a lucky reprieve for Rafa and I remember telling my father that the shot could probably cost Nole the championship. In half an hour's time my words would be vindicated as Rafa found his form and thundered away to his 10th championship at Foro Italico . This wasn't the first time I seemed to read the minds of tennis gods, my words would prove fatal in the semifinal too. Lorenzo Sonego was about to complete a remarkable turnaround with three break ...

In the year of COVID, the last thing on my mind was penning a sports commentary. But I had to, considering the incredible one-sided French Open final I had just seen. Incredibles and Unthinkables have kind of become the norm this year: We had a US Open before empty crowds We had the World No.1 being defaulted just when his 4th round match was beginning to catch some steam We had a French Open in the Fall We had false positive COVID tests with irate players threatening lawsuits  We had hand sanitizers being handed out to the presenters who had come to present the trophies We had a lop-sided final, where the world number 1 Novak Djokovic  whose 36 (completed) match winning streak was broken and destroyed by one Rafael Nadal I am a huge Rafa fan but a score line of 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 was far away even from my imagination. I still remember the disappointing  2019 Australian Open Final . I had woken up early to catch a glimpse of the final but could only watch the presentat...

The Indian Wells Masters is one tournament on the ATP calendar I've consistently enjoyed over the last couple of years. Not only is the tournament well attended but it also arrives on the cusp of spring just when everything is about to look up in the Northern Hemisphere. I still remember the humdinger of a final  from last year and was particularly disappointed that the defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro was unable to defend his title this year because of a nagging knee injury. The magnificence of Indian Wells (Courtesy: Tennis Tours ) The Draw This year though the deck was firmly stacked in favor of the number one seed Novak Djokovic who was in imperious form leading up to the tournament. Novak led the upper half of the draw and was ably supported by mercurially talented players such as Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Milos Raonic. Stefanos Tsitsipas who ousted Novak at the Toronto Masters and Federer at the Australian Open looked set to be dark h...