“The last time they met this early in a draw was their very first encounter back in 2004, in the third round of the Miami Masters, when a then-17-year-old upstart Rafael Nadal — sleeveless and self-assured — introduced his matador’s mentality to top-ranked Roger Federer.”
Three days ago, on November 5, Andy Murray became the world number one in the most unobtrusive manner: a walkover in the semi-final of the Paris Masters after an injured Milos Raonic withdrew from the tournament. It was a subtle way in which to achieve the milestone, but perhaps fitting given his subtle tennis career in the era of Rafa, Roger, and Novak. more “There’s a new King in town”
As temperatures climb higher and higher, inching towards that dreaded 46 degrees, I’ve found no better way to beat the heat than to plunge into a swimming pool. Even if the pool in question is the Delhi Gymkhana Club’s sub-20 meter covered swimming pool, beloved home to frolicking children and the backstroke-fond elderly alike.
I’ve grown up swimming, thrown into that very pool when I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. I remember starting in the kiddie pool, swimming my ‘lengths’ very seriously with my mother dutifully cheering from the sidelines, before I finally graduated to the pool I swim in today. I initially learnt by watching the others around me. It was only much later that I enrolled in swim lessons to refine my stroke, delivered by Ashok Sir, Gymkhana Club’s lifeguard by day and swim coach by night (or rather, lifeguard by morning and swim coach by afternoon). Under his tutelage, where everyone at swim coaching was a ‘baby’ or a ‘baba’, my love for swimming grew. He inadvertently encouraged me into competitive swimming by pushing me to participate in Gymkhana’s annual swimming gala – an activity and interest that eventually morphed into my desire to join the school swim team. more “My swim journey”
For the bulk of my avid tennis-following (and occasionally playing) years, Rafa was the Roland Garros favourite for miles. No one else even came close. A few years back, things suddenly started to get a little iffy, as he got more and more injury-ridden. The clay court wins were no longer as resounding, the destruction of his opponent no longer as complete. Roland Garros started today, and while Nadal has recovered some of his previous clay court prowess, he isn’t quite the tournament favourite he used to be. For a die-hard fan like myself, watching his slow decline has been painful, to say the least. But seeing his perseverance, his dogged spirit, his sheer dedication to and respect for the sport through his losses has shown me the other, equally inspiring, side to him.
Today takes me back to another time I saw that side of him, a side that wasn’t easy to watch – his 2014 Australian Open Final against Stan Wawrinka. This seems like a good time to post something I wrote after that Final. more “The other Rafa”