Nole: Taking the World by Trance, Not by Chance

It’s perhaps the most talked event in men’s tennis at the moment – Novak Djokovic winning his third Australian Open crown, two in two straight years. The Serb’s statistics at the slam Down Under is quite remarkable. He has made it to three finals and holds a perfect 100% record winning all three, and most importantly, against three different opponents.

Looking and comparing at Nole’s performance between the Australian Open 2008 and the Australian Open 2012, stark differences emerge. The Nole who battled against Rafa in the almost-six hour marathon on 29^th January 2012, in Rod Laver Arena was tenacious – just like the Spaniard was when he fought off Federer in the finals in 2009. Along with tenacity, the one additional factor that added to Nole’s supremacy was his determination to battle on without giving up on even a single point, once again quite reminiscent of the Spaniard.

Fitness was always regarded to be the only chink in Nole’s armour. There have been many occasions in the past where he has thrown in the towel at Grand Slam matches – important ones – on account of inability to continue play. As the defending champion in 2009 too, he had to give up in his match against Andy Roddick and retire. It would be probably corny to say that Nole has matured with age just like wine but looking at the man today, with respect to his fitness, there does seem to be an enormous change.

Of course it was not as though he became thoroughly fit overnight. He did have fitness problems towards the fag end of last year, with shoulder and back injuries – even retiring against Del Potro in the Davis Cup semi-finals last season – and now again at the start of the Australian Open. Even against Murray in his semi-finals, he did show signs of tiring and pain but where once the same pain would have made him give it up, he ploughed on and completely turnaround the match before collapsing on the court with a mammoth five-set victory.

It’s an often mentioned fact that Djokovic gave up on gluten and starch in order to achieve greater levels of competency. But one more thing that came to light about his training before the start of the Australian Open was about him undertaking some special breathing exercises to aid his performance better. To take up any endeavour, one requires systematic planning and a thorough idea about executing the same. Defending tournaments isn’t easy, especially in tennis, where fitness and the nature of the sport take a physical toll on the body.

To Nole’s credit, after years and years of speculation about his professional maturity and after observing him dominate unequivocally for one whole year, it can be said that the Serb has come to age; and quite splendidly at that.

In a Quest for Solitude

Isolation is all I crave,

As I wander hither and thither

In the look-out for loneliness

Seeking solace and warmth,

That only my mind can provide me...

A masochist, I am not

A misanthrope, I have never been

Mental unrest plagues me...

Unattainable, seems the quest

Rife with volatility...

I know not the direction,

Of my feet, of my destination

Yet I move...unconsciously

Eager to reach the end

Anxious to find that place,

Where I can be myself,

Without any compunctions

Without any recriminations...

Roger's Worries, Rafa's Glories....

There are a lot of things that appear to matter when Roger Federer plays Rafael Nadal. Statistics, personal scores to settle on-the-court and of course the fans’ idea of retribution; each terminology takes on a new meaning when these two face-off against each other, in any part of the tennis world.

When the Australian Open 2012 draw was announced and it came to light that Roger and Rafa were pitted against each other as potential semi-finalists, fans exhilarated and worried equally. The former because, the match would be a classic – in recent times a ‘Fedal’ match has started to be referred as the el classico of tennis – while the latter on account of Roger’s continued misery against the Spaniard.

And with each passing opponent that both brushed away like skittles, the excitement multiplied. It seemed inevitable – both were on a collision course – and looked for the first time, as if the Swiss might have gained that elusive upper-hand as he won the initial rounds without losing even a single set. To his credit, Rafa did not face much trouble either. His only tough match was against Czech Tomas Berdych, whom he successfully whittled in a nail-biting four-setter. Thus the stage was set; the players were well aware of each other well as opponents while the momentum felt as if it could swing either way.

Roger took the first set, though he would be the first one to say that he hadn’t taken it as convincingly as he would have wanted himself to. He held a 4-1 lead, squandered it and ended up pushing the set to a tie-break. Faring slightly better in the tie-break he notched himself one-love up on the scoreboard.

First game second set, Rafa found himself broken. He however broke Roger back immediately, held his serve and ground firmly and broke Roger twice more to equalise things at one-set all. Third set as again, Roger broke first, Rafa broke again; game went into a tie-break, Rafa held five set points, Roger came from behind only to end up giving the set to Rafa, seven points-to-five in the tie-break. After that, it pretty much appeared to be a matter of time before Rafa routed Federer out and headed into his second Australian Open final, after a gap of four years. The Spaniard took the set and resultantly the match – three sets to one – 6-4 in the fourth, seriously denting Roger Federer’s chances of winning his fifth Australian Open title and in the process, his morale.

Morale because Federer was coming into the match with a 24-0 undefeated streak; a streak that saw him win three back-to-back tournaments towards the end of the 2011 season. He had defeated Rafa convincingly in one of those tournaments in straight sets and the winning of this semi-final encounter would have been the perfect consolidation to that victory. Punters and experts had still given Roger the title of a favourite and looking at his wins against Argentinean Del Potro and the resilient Australian teenager Tomic, the Swiss did appear to be justifying the immeasurable faith put on him. But there was a huge difference in the Roger Federer who played in the initial rounds and the Roger Federer who played on the 26^th January 2012 on Rod Laver. The difference being that, that the latter manifesto of the Swiss failed to capitalise and close out points that he managed with successful ease against those two players. While he was able to break his opponent’s serve, he failed to consolidate his serve, allowing himself to let go of the break and at times, the lead so painstakingly gained.

How this factor of ‘failure to close’ will affect Roger Federer’s game this season remains to be seen. It’s just the start of 2012 and three more grand slam tournaments are still to come the Swiss’ way along with the Olympics at London. These windows of opportunities coupled with the fact that Roger has still not lost the keen sense of desire to win majors will and should make a difference. In the meantime, for the moment, it’s the drawing board that beckons Roger Federer with a greater urgency – to re-chalk his game and regain his mental perspectives completely.

From Affection to Affliction: The Case of a Wannabe Cigarette Smoker

Fact no. One: I am not a smoker nor am I fan of smoking.

Fact no. Two: It’s got nothing to do with morality issues.

There was once a time when I really wanted to try smoking – just for the heck of it. And while I wasn’t consciously obsessed with the idea, unconscious obsession was a different thing altogether. Everyone was doing it around me so I thought, why not add myself to that ever-growing list and brag about it, if given a chance.

After having settled the fact that I wanted to explore the avenues of smoking; the next hurdle that stood before me was – how to go on about it? For a girl who was brought up strictly on religious values and orthodoxy, it was unconceivable even to think about going to a local kiosk and asking for a cigarette. Also, I had no idea about the best brand that existed though I was fairly cognizant with the name of the brands per se, which made it even more difficult to march up to a store and ask for a cigarette.

Luck by chance – note that this is purely an Indian terminology – I happened to go for an outing to a beach with my college colleagues and there it appeared the perfect solution; people were smoking and I had no qualms about asking one guy – don’t remember his name – his cigarette. Holding it in my hand, the way I had seen scores of people at public places do, gave me a semblance of power. Inhaling a puff felt like taking a whiff of something different; air with a flavour and texture unique to its own. And a single puff was what I had permitted my self-control. Handing back the cigarette to the guy, my fingers felt bereft and for a moment, I even contemplated going for seconds. But, conscience and guilt had intervened and for the rest of the picnic, I felt like I was Eve who had tasted the forbidden fruit.

This innate sense of crippling guilt made me confess to my best friend. And looking at her stony face – which grew stonier and stonier, as the cliché goes – the sense of guilt gutted my insides even further. And when I decided to reply, I was half-afraid that she would decide to cut all ties with me there and then. Fortunately, she didn’t do that and unfortunately (or fortunately, if I were to look at things today) she told me to choose – between her and the offending object. I chose and there came down the curtains to my potential addiction with nicotine rolled in a piece of paper.

 I haven’t smoked after that episode. And now have come to a point where I can’t even stand beside a person smoking – the fumes irritate my throat and send me into a fit of hacking coughs. Looking at this sudden transformation to acute intolerability, I wonder where what changed and how. Did my sub-conscious start to play tricks on me or did I recess into a prude of my own unknown volition?

Let's Go, Rusty

There's one thing about the Aussie sports fans, they never give up on their country players. I have seen this happen on the cricket field, where the Aussie cricketers - albeit rarely - would be crumbling, but the chants of the crowd would be as vociferous as ever. It's as though the players might be down but the fans are never out.


Watching Lleyton Rusty Hewitt take on German Cedrik Marcel-Steba in his first round match at the Australian Open, I was once again struck by this unwavering and unstinting support and belief that Australian fans show towards their players. Throughout the course of the match, hollerings of 'Let's Go Rusty' could be heard, without a drop in the intensity or with a defeatist attitude. The latter should have definitely come into the picture when the 83rd ranked German was serving to take the match into a nerve-wrecking five-setter. But it never did, and as the fans' beloved Rusty came rallying back to win the set and the match three sets to one, the crowd was at its feet, with the ululations and hollerings quadrupling in their saturation. 


Experts argue that Hewitt's best has gone untested and untried on account of injury problems and repeated periods of absences from the game. But these arguments do not matter to his fans nor do the debilitating facts that stare at them boldly. Hewitt, who is playing his 16th slam Down Under has come back to the game after a lay-off of almost eight months with a ranking of 181 in the world. But to his fans, he is still their beloved Rusty whose nickname is quite paradoxical as compared to his spunk, which is visible in copious amounts even today. 

As a fan hearting a favourite, the world's has a lot to learn from the Aussies. Not that the other nations' sports fans are mellowed, toned down or sceptical about their countrymen, it's just that the Australians are a different genre altogether when it comes to fandom and rooting. This makes them unique and worth admiring, from any remote corner of the world.