Clash Of the Titans

Every sport thumps your adrenaline, keeps you at your feet and makes you joyous, challenging and happy. Tennis is no different. Its one sport where you get to see a lot of nerve breaking games. After the retirement of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, I had somehow had stopped following the game. But when I came to know that this years Wimbledon final is between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, I thought it would be worth watching. All their encounters have been epics in itself. These two players set such high standards for themselves that it’s a treat to see them play.

Sunday was the D-day. It was a finale day. On one side there was India-SL Asia Cup final going on whereas on the other Wimbledon final. As Sehwag was literally bashing all the Srilankan bowlers I decided to watch the Wimbledon final. It was a casual start, I just wanted to watch a little and then switch to cricket but, I could not resist seeing. The match had already begun with Nadal gaining the first set 6-4. The second set was in progress.

If you ask me whom I supported, then it would be a unanimous answer which is Nadal. Yes, I wanted Nadal to win very badly. Federer was certainly the best player in grass court, but my support was with Nadal. I always liked his aggression at play.

In the second set, Rafa was down by 1-4. I believed that he would be bounce back and he did. The three sets which followed showed the ultimate character of Rafa the player. The great temperament to stay calm and cool, to fight back as if it’s the last chance and in the end to take those sets, was awesome. It involved fierce aces, speedy volleys and superb backhand shots. The fact that within 2 sets, out of the 9 break points, Fed was able to convert only one shows the challenge that Rafa had put up against him.

Each serve and volley went on for minutes. I was wondering the stamina of both the players. They have to be too good, I thought. Of course they are. No doubt about that. In any game, what I look up to, in players is their fighting spirit. I tend to derive inspiration from them. That’s the reason why all my favorite players have been great fighters. Be it Steve Waugh or Pete Sampras or Nadal or even Dhoni, they are all damn fighters of the games which they play.

During the course of the game, reflections of Fed’s greatness in the grass court was seen. The swiftness by which he served and the aces (they came in a flash, just a wink’s time!!), they were just so good. He gained points in such rapid pace when he was at his better self, during the game. The instances were very few, as Rafa steeled the show most of the time. But that does not make Fed inferior to Rafa, on his day still no one can beat him. That’s sure. But unfortunately for Fed, this was not his best, it was Rafa’s.

I am wondering how much frustrated Fed would have been, when he hit the nets for his 9^th break point. He could not convert that as he could not for the previous 7 of them. I felt pity for him. But still, I wanted Rafa to win. Instincts don’t lie.

The every single break point that Fed lost, the every single chance that he could not convert, showed the brilliance of Rafa. He was at his terrible best. Fed was challenging him but Rafa was winning. I get reminded of what Sampras had to say after one such epic final which he had with Agassi. Sampras said that Agassi was such a great player that he always brings out the best in him. I feel Rafa-Fed is synonymous to Sampras-Agassi. God is also strange. Geniuses come in pairs or what? May be only if its so, that they would continue to be genius. Don’t know. I am not one:)

Anyways, the way Agassi made Sampras a better player and a champ of his era; Rafa and Fed are making themselves better players. This is the only place where I feel, rivalry is good. It makes you to improvise your game and brings out the best in you.

Rain interrupted the game after the second set. I switched channels. India after a flying start given by Sehwag was numbed by Mendis. I dint want to see the game anymore. I wished I could kill Dhoni and his men.

On the other side, I knew Rafa would make it big. He did. After a long (the longest ever Wimbledon Final) of 4.48 hours, Rafa was the winner. The third and fourth set was taken by Fed and the final decider went for a tie breaker which Nadal clinched 9-7. He would have been the happiest man at that moment on earth. After that win at Wimbledon, he became the first player after 28 years, to win both the Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year. My favorite Sampras couldn’t make it, but I am happy that my other favorite Nadal did it. The one at Wimbledon on Sunday, the 6^th of July was an epic final and one of the rarest of its kind with sportsman spirit at its best display.

I hope that in the coming years, we would be able to see many more of this kind.

Passing Thoughts

The day I created my blog, I don’t remember the date though, was a very special day in my life. On that very special day, I was extremely happy. It was as if, I created an identity for myself in the big world of INTERNET. My views, my thoughts were getting expressed, that to, to the big big world, everything being free.

It was a personal milestone especially for a person like me, who somewhere at the bottom of her heart cherishes to write more and more and be more readable.

The entire act of blogging got into my mind very late, but once it started, it has become a favorite, serious and lovable pastime.

Somehow I have the feeling that writing gives the same extent of bliss that a mother experiences when she gives birth to her child. I feel so complacent when I write even a single good readable sentence which is just right. In my opinion if a sentence when reread does not bore you, qualifies to be a well written one. If you feel like reading it again and again, then that surely is something that you should be happy about.

The day I created my blog, I knew that I had become a different person altogether. Not due to the reason that I was doing what I wanted to do (which is to write!!), but that I was doing it well. I was surely feeling a sense of great pride and joy.

Now, when I see people who are keen to blog and those who have already started to, I am reliving the pleasure I felt when I started and hence this blog!!!