Life Etc Etc

Wimbledon 2023 final is done and we have a new champion nullifying all the pre-tournament predictions. In a thrilling merry-go-round of a match, the young contender, Carlos Alcaraz took down the reigning king of Center Court , Novak Djokovic .  Carlos Alcaraz after second set tie-break <Courtesy: Wimbledon > The decade long undefeated streak of Novak in which he took on all comers is finally over. But how good did Novak really have to be in order to maintain his supremacy at Wimbledon? Let's take a look at the stats and facts pertaining to his grand slam exploits since the pandemic: Won six out of the eleven grand slams he contested Reached nine grand slam finals (including Wimbledon 2023) Lost only four grand slam matches since the pandemic ( not counting the disqualification loss at US Open 2020 )  Rafael Nadal contributed to two of those defeats while Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz were the victors on the other two occasions All of the defeats except the most ...

It has been a topsy-turvy year to say the least. Things have started to open up, people seem more relaxed, there's also a hint of normalcy yet there is more to it than what meets the eye. We are not fully out of the pandemic but sport along with its myriad incarnations is back in a major way. This in my opinion has been a substantial factor in driving out the gloom that had settled in since the onset of the pandemic. But sport by itself is nothing without the unbelievable individuals who permeate its every fabric. I was fortunate to witness the fascinating stories of some very talented sports people this year. Here in this blog I will try to do my best to not only recount those stories but also the various lessons that can be gleaned from them. So let's begin! Lesson 1 - You can't have it all Rarely has a tennis player looked so complete and as perfect as Novak Djokovic in full bloom. The year 2021 was set to be his signature year. He trampled competition at the Australian...

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...

Life and sport rarely offer a sequel upon request, but today the 2019 Queen's Club Championships delivered a heart-warming and larger in every sense sequel to the 2017 edition. The hero on both occasions being our man of the moment, Feliciano Lopez. There's something in the hallowed lawns of Queen's Club that spurns the genius in 'Feli' (as his friends on the tour call him) and transforms him into a mythical hero who scripts incredible sporting moments every time he sets foot on this court. Champion again! (Courtesy: Sportsnet.ca ) The History: But let's rewind a bit, Feli had just concluded winning the 2017 Queen's Club Championships in a thrilling fashion. As an avid tennis fan I was extremely excited about his prospects at Wimbledon 2017 but no sooner had the first round begun Feli was forced to retire with an injury. The next time I saw Feli was in the 2018 Queen's Club Championships where he was in decent form but couldn't get past Ni...

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...

The year 2018 will go down in history as one of the great years for sports and today my friends I present sporting gold from the first half of 2018 (in chronological order). Here are some truly classic matches and moments which I had the pleasure of watching this year. Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz: Two unbeaten heavyweights met for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship in March. Hard hitting American Deontay Wilder defended his world title against the Cuban technical specialist Luis Ortiz . Both the heavyweights approached the bout in contrasting manners. While Wilder searched for the one punch knockout Ortiz made life difficult for Wilder by adopting a sideways stance and picking him at will with his precise lefts. Wilder finally broke through in the fifth round to knock Ortiz down only for Ortiz to recover and give Wilder the beating of his life in the seventh. Wilder narrowly escaped a certain KO and came back with ferocious rights of his own before finally finishing off Ort...

It was a perfectly drab morning and I was gearing up for the day ahead by peering through the sports headlines. Nothing exciting struck me until I laid my eyes upon an ongoing quarterfinal match at The Queen's Club Championship between Tomas Berdych and Feliciano Lopez . Now Berdych vs Lopez is not exactly a match-up to crave about like Federer vs Nadal. Both men are in their 30's which is the age where most players retire. Both men are seemingly past their prime and both haven't exactly set the tennis world on fire in the recent past. If it was another day or time I would have moved on to do something else but today was different, I decided to go ahead and watch the match. You ask me why? I still wonder why? Is it because that both Berdych and Lopez are genuine grass court players? Is it because that on their day both men are extremely dangerous players? Is it because that it was a match up of styles between the power of Berdych and the silken finesse of Lo...

The turn of the millennium signaled the business end of school for me. With the retirement of most of my favorites I no longer found the time to follow and watch tennis. But all of that was about to change with the comeback of a  hero  whom no one gave a chance. 2001 Wimbledon I had just finished school when the 2001 Wimbledon Championships rolled in. I had plenty of time on hand but had no interest in the championships as Pete Sampras the defending champion was in ominous form and with all due respect to Sampras I had no interest seeing him lift the trophy once again. Two days into Wimbledon I was extremely surprised and thrilled to know that Ivanisevic was playing in the championships on a wild card . By that point Ivanisevic had almost retired with a recurring shoulder injury. If a slump in form and fitness wasn't enough his father's heart problem and sister's cancer diagnosis pushed him to the edge. Ranked 125 in the world , his final attempt at glory was a ...