Tennis - A beautiful game

Pete Sampras's serve, Roger Federer's forehand, Richard Gasquet's backhand - all three had one thing in common - grace. Infact almost all pros have that poise just before contact. Even Marat Safin's booming serves had that quality; it is that quality that separates the wheat from the chaff. By grace, I mean looking unrushed which means getting into a position early. Federer at his peak looked the most unrushed player on the circuit, yet his court coverage was on par with the best. How? Because he could anticipate the ball so well, his first step gave him the extra time.

It makes sense to do better than to do more.

As an amateur tennis player, I remember our coach shouting at us to make the groundstrokes look effortless. Two years on, i feel it is the single most important thing in tennis. Ofcourse you would need a sound technique to make it look "effortless" whether its a serve, or a groundstroke or a volley.

It really is a beautiful game. Tennis with its subtleties can sound too complicated, I find it fascinating. There is biomechanics intertwined with a feel for the ball. Andy Murray with a "drop shot here, a drop shot there" has an amazing feel for the ball. It is scary the control the pros possess. They can virtually place the ball on a coin.

Its a real shame that tennis in this country is an elitist's game. I mean for proper coaching and membership of a club, you have to pay through your nose. The last few years have seen many academies opening up trying to bridge this demand -supply gap. With greater awareness through media, rising disposable incomes and most importantly increased emphasis on fitness, tennis is only going to grow here. As with just about everything in this country, pricing will be the key.

2010: The year that was

Ten Memorable moments/events of 2010 (not in order)

1. Spending new year's eve and the new year with family
2. 3000+ kms ride from IMT Ghz to Vikramgarh and back(RMX)
3. Sachin Tendukar's 50th Test ton
4. Nadal winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon
5. Me hitting 25 runs in an over!
6. A week long sojourn at Bangalore and another one at Hyderabad - two places I love
7. Bro getting final offer from Bain & Co
8. Saying no to Infi and IT
9. The prospect of me having a career in automobiles
10. Winning the Tennis leg of LoT

PS: Wishing everyone a very happy and successful 2011

A Good Year

Yes, that was one swell movie-Good Year. Now wouldn't it be nice if one could inherit chateaus and have the stunning Fanny Chenal waiting in the porch . Too good to be true, sigh. Well actually its been a year, a little over a year since I started blogging, so thought would do a post er commemorating the grand occasion :). Incidentally its also been a year since I started 'working'.

While somethings haven't changed, quite a few have.For one, we do have a new Wimbledon champion in Rafael Nadal dethroning the five time champion , Roger Federer in an epic final . For another, finally the government has rid itself of the leftward tilt, risking its survival nevertheless. Never mind the Left's frivolous stance on the nuclear deal, which has the potential to solve our nation's energy crisis to a large extent , our dear left comrades still hold the view that the 1962 Indo-China war was not an act of aggression on the part of China!Worse still, Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh have never been repudiated by these gentlemen. The question has to be asked -How are the Communists no different from the terrorists, when their allegiance is clearly towards China and not India ? Courtesy the Left, the reform process, which could have equipped us to handle the rising inflation and food crisis better, had been under the back-burner. Air India is one such one example, which badly needs a complete overhaul. It took one flight for our Aviation minister to register this fact. Everyone knows that the services of our national carrier,still grappling under the babus culture, are pathetic. With the Left no longer around to throw a spanner in the works, lets see if any corrective measures are going to be taken. Privatization with due emphasis on accountability, is one way out to save the floundering carrier.

Too much space for politics i guess. On a personal front, the last year has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride as the earlier posts would have told you. From dragging myself to office on weekends to doing longish group rides to making the semifinals of a corporate tennis tournament and then losing it , its been quite a year.

Cheers!