'Fedex' Derailed!

History repeats itself! Bjorn Borg's dream run at the Wimbledon was halted by a left hander, but not before the Swede had won 5 successive Wimbledon crowns ( 1976-1980). Federer who had high hopes of surpassing the legendary Swede's feat, was also halted by a south-paw again in a grueling 5-set encounter.

Fans, Media and Players themselves have started drawing comparisons between the 2008 Final and the 1980 epic final between Borg and McEnroe, latter is considered to be the mother of all Wimbledon finals. But McEnroe himself confessed that final between Federer and Nadal (2008) was the best of all time. The match lasted for a marathon 4h48' testing the mental and physical toughness!

Federer looked out of sorts in the first set, came hard next set. But Nadal made a swift comeback from 1-4 down to win the second set 6-4. Nadal won 5 straight games and pocketed a handsome 2-0 set lead. Rain, ' the divine intervention' for Federer gave him a break to quickly regroup his game and concentration and immediately Fedex was on a roll and at his menacing best.

Federer staged one of the best ever comeback in a grand slam final, produced some scintillating stroke play and won the third set 7-6. Federer won points at net at will. The fourth set again headed for a tie-break, and just when everyone thought Nadal was running home with the crown, Federer displayed unbelievable tennis to save 4 championship points. To be more accurate, when Nadal was serving for the match 8-7, Federer came up with an incredible backhand winner, only to save the match! Spectators at the centre court and millions of people around the world must have had the heart in their mouth for a split second. Federer won the fourth set, again 7-6.

After an agonizing rain interruption, match resumed again and both the finalist used all possible weapons in their armory to clinch the Grand slam. In what was supposed to be most dramatic fifth set final ever, Nadal had the last laugh. Spaniard won 9-7, and he couldn't hide the emotion. If Pat Cash, was the first to start the tradition of climbing up to the Guest Box, to get a hug or two from family and friends, Nadal( if I am right )was the first to climb up to the Royal Box! Glorious moments, Nadal would cherish for the rest of his life.

On a personal note, I would rate this final on par with 1980 final between Borg and McEnroe, 1990 final between Becker and Edberg and of course the 2001 final between Ivanesivic and Rafter. Incidentally all the six players, are serve & volleyer's , which is a rare breed these days!

This year, has not been a smooth sail for Federer! But adversity brings the best out of champions. Federer has found a new and perhaps his first adversary in Grass!

Clash of Titans...

After their epic-R16-encounter at The Wimbledon 2001, Sampras and Federer are due to clash one more time in an exhibition match at Malaysia on Nov 22. It seems just like yesterday, when the Swiss sent him( Sampras) home packing in a grueling five-setter! The fact that they've never played against each other since then, should generate lot of interest. Hope Sampras gets a sweet revenge!

India, still a one-man-army?

After being steamrolled on earlier occasions, Indians were yet again brought to their feet by the invincible Aussies in the 5th ODI at Vadodara. More than the defeat, the meek surrender of the Indians was the real cause of concern… Barring Sachin's valiant 47 and last minute resilience from the tail-enders, the score card wasn't a happy reading… It was an excruciating experience to watch Sachin left reeling for partners, as the wickets kept tumbling at frequent intervals… Had it been not for Sachin timely knock, Indians would have bundled-out themselves for a paltry 80 or 95… Adding insult to the injury was the derogatory 'monkey chant’ off-the-ground-heroics of the notorious crowd against Symonds… Denounce those uncivilized assholes!

Now here's the million dollar question…Is India still a one-man-army??? Can Indian cricket survive without Sachin…?

Even though Sachin's batting has always been found under the scanner, invariably Sachin's knock has helped India in many a victories… The recently lost 3-4 ODI NatWest series at England saw Sachin amassing 374 runs at an enviable average of 53.42, with 4 half-centuries (3 half-centuries resulted in India's victory) under his belt... Of course there is huge junta who wouldn't agree with me on this point… Here's another fact-file for them...India's only victory in the current and on-going Future Cup came in the 4th ODI at Chandigarh and the Master' piled a gritty 79...

Sachin has always been the savior, when the Indian batting has been in doldrums… And am sure when Sachin hangs up his boots, he’ll leave a huge void… And these bad-mouthing journalists will understand what a force Sachin was to reckon with and how indispensable he was... But then it would be too late…

And without Sachin Indian Cricket will never be the same…

P.S: Latest update is aussies have scored a massive 317/8 in the penultimate game… And if India were to win this game, Sachin’s intervention is mandatory…

Sampras gets his due!!!

Sampras made his way to the prestigious "HALL OF FAME" to join the extraordinary league of tennis-men, who took the game to the next level. The self-effacing 14 time Grand-Slam champion delivered a humble speech, truly reflecting his persona.

Sachin is Back!!!

It was heartening to see, a write-up on Sachin (in THE HINDU) by renowned columnist Ted Corbett.

The Little Maestro is back amongst runs. Well, the LITTLE MASTER has always been amongst runs!!!! It's just the pace at which he scores matters and eventually amplifies speculation.

But this time around, he had no mercy for the England Lions, steamrolling the bowlers all over the park. Sachin was simply at his elements. Maestro piled-up a gritty 171 runs off just 236 balls silencing the ‘bad-mouthing’ journalists (or shall I say harpists), who claim Sachin's innings of late has become sluggish. I've just got one thing to say to them, he can’t be explosive each time he gets to the crease. He's also made of flesh and blood.

When Sachin came to the crease the Indians were tottering for 2/2, losing early wickets .Sachin waged a lone battle…And emerged triumphant!!! When the going gets tough, the tough(Sachin) gets going…

Hope he comes out blazing against the Englishmen in the Test Series which gets underway on Jul-19. It would be great to watch Sachin amassing 11000 test runs in the English soil. Can’t wait to see it...

Let the LION roar!!!!

Wimbledon 'Fedex'ed to Swiss…. Again!!!

Crowds that thronged to the "AELTC"(read All England Lawn Tennis Club) to watch the much anticipated title clash between Federer and Nadal got their money's worth, as the final proved to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

A veritable feast of high-voltage tennis action!!!

The Royal Box, had a special guest in the name of Legendary Swede Bjorn Borg (wondering whether he was there to cheer or jeer Federer ), who called the shots at Wimbledon for more than a decade. This is the just the second time he’s returning to this village post-retirement from professional tennis. Both Federer and Nadal should consider themselves lucky, having played the final under the gracious presence of the legend himself.

Finalists exhibited some amazing ground-strokes that would have made the legendary Sampras, Connors and McEnroe proud. They played all the shorts in the book and much more. Worth a special mention is the seamless backhand-crosscourt of the Swiss that left the crowd to raptures.

The first set went down to the wire, a Tiebreaker!!! It could have easily gone either way. As luck would have it, the first set went to Federer (9-7), who was on the prowl for his fifth successive Wimbledon crown. A record that would only emulate Borg's herculean-feat accomplished in the late 70's.A gung-ho Nadal came back harder in the second set, and just when everybody thought the set was heading for a tiebreak, Nadal broke the serve of Federer in the penultimate game and won the set 6-4. Third set was a mere repeat of the first set. Federer won the tiebreaker hands down (7-3). The match rallied for the fourth set. Nadal was storming through, breaking Federer early, twice. Spaniard rose from the ashes just like the mythical-phoenix bird. The customary Rolex scoreboard read 4-0. Couple of line calls that went in the favor of the Spaniard scatterbrained Federer. Federer was busy ranting and raving at umpire's call, while Nadal was smartly drafting the set 6-4. Fourth set went to the gutsy Spaniard.

Ever since the tournament began, a Federer-Nadal marathon five-setter final was always on the cards. And now it came into reality!!!

The Fifth and final set, started off as a nail-biter (when the score read 2-2) but in the end proved to be a damp-squib (for Nadal fans & anti-Federer fans). The decider set looked as if it was preordained by Federer even before the match started. The Swiss serves were a real thunderbolt!!! All of a sudden 'FedEx' started dominating his opponent. Swiss pocketed the set 6-2. The marathon five-setter 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 lasted for close to 4 hours and Federer had the last laugh( Shattering my hope).Eventually, rose to an eternal-glory that is enjoyed only by Bjorn Borg!!!!

As I recollected the match the same night, I felt Federer was not really tested (throughout his career). I simply couldn't digest the fact that he broke Sampras record of 4 consecutive Wimbledon titles. Call it coincidence or irony, Federer back in 2001 ousted Sampras out of Wimbledon. The latter was then, in the quest of capturing 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles (97, 98, 99, and 00). It must have been a soul-shattering experience for Pete. And today, the same kid, who crashed Sampras party (back in 2001), has achieved what Sampras couldn’t, in the open era!

But in my opinion Sampras was way ahead of Federer, in terms of technique, stroke play and modesty!!!!

Likes of Courier, Agassi, Rafter….would have definitely made the road hard and rugged for the FEDEX!!!

Justifications apart, the day truly belonged the Swiss ace who can bask in glory of 5 Wimbledon Titles on-the-trot, for the rest of his life!!!!

Game, Set, Match… Federer!!!!