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| Tennis is fortunate to have two wonderful human beings at the top. |
Rafael Nadal continued his (seemingly) inexorable glide towards tennis destiny by taking the US Open crown yesterday evening. For a fellow who was initially considered to be a one-trick (read: clay) pony, he has transformed into the most formidable tennis player in the world today. Pound for pound, no one scares their opponent more than Rafael does.
My impression of Roger Federer as the Greatest of All-Time has not changed one bit (and I am not interested in a protracted discussion of the merits of Nadal or the demerits of Federer, either) but it is hard to see how Roger can beat Rafael, especially on clay, unless Federer (shock! horror!) improves his game.
Roger has 6 Wimbledon titles but, today, Nadal is the better volleyer and a much better constructor of points. Very rarely do you see Nadal charge the net when it is not a good idea. Federer apologists will say that Nadal gets illegally coached by his uncle. To hell with that! You can coach a fellow all you want but he still has to perform on the court. Nadal is outstanding in that department.
His post-match comments at the prize distribution ceremony were worthy of a champion. His English is improving, his command of the game has reached new levels, but his comportment as a person has not changed one bit. He is every bit as endearing, charming, and polite today as he was when he won his first French Open title.
Mr. Nadal, I will still root against you everytime you reach a Grand Slam final (and especially against Federer) but it will not stop me for giving you a standing ovation when you do win the tournament. You are a credit to the game of tennis. Long may you continue to play and be successful.
P.S. By the way, the next time you meet Dick Enberg, can you tell him that your name is not pronounced Ra-FEE-al Na-DOLL?
11 comments:
JQ, secretly I admire Rafa's brutish game..he's to Tennis what Dhoni is to cricket for me..powerful and effective shot making, not easy on the eye always, but very effective....and Federer is more classical like Dravid(so no guesses on who remains my favourite :) )...if only Rafa would stop screaching ala Sharapova while playing!
A video I came across today..Rafa and Nadal having a bit of a laugh while shooting...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94xyOpETYYs
That's priceless, M. I am going to put it up in a post right away. How nice that the two guys at the top of the game can be such good friends and well-mannered off the court while fighting for every inch on it.
M, you must be enjoying Dravid's "resurgence" as a player of note in limited overs cricket. So much so, he is doing better in T20 than most other fellows!
Yes..it is really nice to see him play well...i think he is the only batsman in CLT20 who has not hit a 6 so far!
The only downside to this being that it raises my hopes for a possible return to the ODI team, which I know ain't gonna happen :)
M, in 2003 and 2007 I went through the same gamut of emotions you are currently experiencing with RSD. Only, in my case it was for VVS. I still cannot get over the fact that the selectors and SCG thought that Dinesh Mongia was superior to VVS. Dinesh Mongia?! Dinesh Mongia???!! Aaargghhh!
Don't hold your breath for RSD. The tournament is being played in the subcontinent. If it was SAfrica or Australia they would have brought him back in the blink of an eye, but in India a Jadeja with his "bowling" skills will be favored over a fellow who has somehow scored more than 10,000 runs in ODIs without ever being considered an ODI hero.
I jinxed my man! sigh.
I understand your pain very well now...can't understand for the life of me why Jadeja plays cricket at all..please dear selectors...anyone but him x-(
Off-topic, but..Bio Professor? I never would have guessed :)
M,
Your man will be the key position in the India-Australia series that is going to start soon. (Ooooooohhhh I can hardly wait for the sleepless nights to come). It will decide whether he continues into next year or not. Indications from the CLT20 are that his mojo is returning. he even took catches in the slips.
And, while going off-topic, did you peg me down for a software professional, too? :-)
JQ,
Fingers crossed! :) Even though I am not feeling the excitement yet..i have been feeling strangely disconnected from cricket for the past 4 months or so...
And yes, Computer Science was the general idea..I knew you were at Uni so I figured u might be doing research or something...stereotyping, i know!! :)
M, has the fantastic finish to the Test match brought the interest back?! If this does not register a pulse in you, I don't know what can. :-)
Also, I was never as interested in research as I was in teaching, so my calling was in academia but in the role of a teacher.
Folks are always surprised that a Hyderabadi guy is teaching Biology and not punching code into a computer! :-)
It has most certainly...watching VVS lose it on Ojha was a treat :P
It's a pity that I will be travelling this weekend and all of next week and miss out on the 2nd Test completely (and also CWG!)...I hope my hotel has wi-fi so that I can at least keep track of the scores
WillowTV is not showing this series so I'm in the same boat, too, even though I am not traveling.
Surely, these two teams cannot top Mohali, can they? MSD is not your typical Indian captain otherwise I would have feared that India would have played for a draw first. Having said that, something odd has crept into his captaincy of late. he is more reactive than he used to be. Earlier he was better at setting fields before the edges or mishits came. Now his field placements seem more dictated by the bowler's lack of faith in his own ability (I'm talking to you, Bhajji).
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