Monday, January 12, 2009

Murray’s Might, Somdev’s Surge

Andy Murray has been increasingly proving to be the player to beat on the ATP tour. He has always played his tennis with panache but has shown significant improvement in his serve, fitness and match temperament since last Wimbledon. His 3 consecutive victories over Federer, including the one last week at Doha, following the US Open final loss is no mean streak. At the upcoming Australian Open, he is an equal contender as Federer and Nadal to snatch the title from Djokovic. [Would refrain from saying stronger contender than Federer and Nadal since those two rise to occasion at Grand Slams, although Nadal has to prove more on hard court slams]

Though, the story of the week for Indian tennis followers is obviously Somdev's surge from relative oblivion. The guy at just under 24 is no kid but has revived the hopes of Indian tennis fans to see a national tennis hero fighting it out at major tennis events. Presuming he is playing at the Australian Open qualifiers [the draws are yet to be out], if he makes it and reaches even third round, it will be the biggest tennis news for Indians following Sania Mirza's success at the same event 4 years back.

PS: What needs to improve in India on tennis front is the reporting of tennis matches. Having read match reports of Somdev's last 3 matches at the Chennai Open, I am yet to get even an idea of what kind of game he [or his opponent] plays. The reports read like 'it went on serve for seven games before…' or 'they were locked in an intense battle..' or 'he missed a couple of more breakpoints ..'. But there is no mention of what kind of game [front-court, back-court] the player plays, what was working on that day and what wasn't [serve, backhand etc] and what kind of strategy changes were witnessed. Instead the reports portray these matches as dramas instead of battles of skills!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Federer and Nadal Launch 2009 ATP World Tour

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (sorry, I still spell Federer before Nadal) helped launch the 2009 ATP World Tour in spectacular fashion last Sun in a unique game of tennis aboard a traditional Arabian Dhow in Doha Bay (reminds me of first such attempt by ATP in Dubai at Burj Al Arab Hotel with Federer and Agassi playing them on a helipad). These two have taken the game of tennis to new heights in the last few years in terms of everything including skills, stamina, temperament and not-to-forget, sportsmanship. The prospect of them fighting over another year for the 2009 crown is salivating to say the least. Only Andy Murray, as shown by him in the second half of the season last year, with his incredible hands and feel, can pose serious challenge. Novak Djokovic may be ranked 3rd but will have to work even harder than last year, to defend his Australian Open title. There was a huge gulf between Federer / Nadal and the rest till 2007). 2008 saw Djokovic and Murray bridge it with reasonable success. It will be interesting to see who can step up in 2009; although I don't see any of the remaining top 10 players from 2008 do it.

Like any other tennis fan, the scheduling of years first Grand Slam Australian Open intrigues me. While it helps jump-start the year after a month and half's break with it being scheduled barely into the third week of the year, it leaves you wishing that there was a more gradual build up to it. May be Indian Wells and Key Biscayne can be played a little earlier as a build up to it and the Grand Slam be played under slightly cooler skies. But in terms of the quality of tennis and popularity amongst the players, Australian Open is catching up every year and is now looked forward to almost as much as other Grand Slams.

Personally, my wish from the year would be Federer defeating Nadal at the French Open equaling Sampras's record; and again at Wimbledon - breaking the record; employing more aggressive net play! His graceful game, spotless sportsmanship, statesmanlike interviews often make you wish for a lot – and often fulfill!

PS: Regarding women's game – who cares?! With the departure of Martina Hingis, and now Justin Henin, the game has become just way too much one-dimensional. Ball banging baseline rallies are likely to rule the year – with scant respect for grace, touch or feel!