Game ... Set ...... Match

.... On a balmy summer afternoon, a thought just struck my top floor. I all of a sudden remembered one of those anonymous Mills & Boon books i had read as a kid (ofcourse i read quite a few of Mills & Boon as well). Well what seemed to be a bunch of crap all the while after i deserted the M&Bs to grow to read some thing more real and hard hitting, came back just as a point blank thought. I remember in one of those inane conversations that a woman has with her friend in one of those M&Bs with her friends that she wants a man who would be Tall, Dark and Handsome as her life partner. The man should possess thighs and legs as that of a Tennis Player. There it was!!! Tennis is one such game which enforces any human playing the game to possess the best of the Physic and the human must be an epitome of stamina. I cant remember since when i've been following tennis from, although I never ventured into the sport personally. As far as my reminiscence is accurate the first ever time I watched a tennis match was the French Open finals in 1987 on Door Darshan when i was all of six and a few months, while my brother who coaxed into watching was around 11ish then. I knew nothing about tennis, I knew nothing about who played the game, I knew nothing about where in the world it was being played. I was what some one can call as "Innocent". The reigning queen of the world of tennis then Martina Novratilova had lost to a 16 years something kid called Stephanie Graf. I knew neither, but the flouroscent colored ball traveling from one court to another hooked me on. Then it had been tennis all the way. No, I am absolutely no historian of the game. I watch the game out of sheer passion. I dont feel deprivation of not being part of it. I feel this is one game that can bring out the character of sportsman.
Tennis has always had repetitive fights for the titles by the same players. One could witness the same players facing each other in the finals of every Grand Slam. If some one is an aficionado of the game, then he or she may have witnessed the clash of titans, Federer and Nadal battling it out for the title umpteen number of times. One can hear words like "The King of Grass" taking on the "King of Clay" or "The Artist" fighting "The Warrior". This is not just the case post 2005 till date. Every era of tennis has seen these kind of battles. I can name a few though. Jimmy Connors v/s John McEnroe, Boris Becker v/s Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras v/s Jim Courier, Pete Sampras v/s Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras v/s Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf v/s Martina Novratilova, Steffi Graf v/s Gabriela Sabatini, Steffi Graf v/s Monica Seles, Jana Novotna v/s Conchita Martinez ....and so on
Tennis is not just about stamina, power and physic. It is a beautiful sport. The elegance with which it is played is as important as the sustenance. Frankly, I dont like watching Nadal play. He is raw power and nothing more. So are the William sisters. I was having a chat about them with my brother the other day and I felt they have to be included in Men's Tennis instead of Women's. Trust me tennis cannot be elegance and style when played with both the hands being used for a back hand return. Tennis can never be of style if there are no chops and slices while being played. Tennis can never be beautiful if a game is not won just by playing on the base line.
The epitome of beauty in the game of the tennis since I ever started watching tennis inclusive of men and women is any day the erstwhile numero uno Stefan Edberg. He is called the "Swan in Motion". I advocate that it is most deserved by him. I've never ever seen him use a double handed back hand return for a winner. Never. His serves although not very powerful but still were the culmination of style. So were Edberg's shots and returns. For me, the world of tennis brings a sportsman whose work was exemplary and probably one of the best sportsman ever born inclusive of all the sports in the world from aeons. "Agility thy name Boris Becker". His ubiquitous presence on the court was truly mesmerizing. I would not be prudent enough not to mention the belief that "Nordic Race is the best ever created" as quoted by Adolf Hitler" if its Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Michael Schumacher, Franz Beckenbaur etc are the kind of people who represent it. As far as i can go down the memory lane, It is Boris Becker who still holds the record for being the youngest champion at the most elite grandslam of the world of tennis, "The Wimbledon". As an aficionado of the sport myself I would like to recollect the great "Sir Arthur Ashe", the first coloured player to win the title at the Wimbledon. Those were still the days of racism and apartheid. Determination and guts took Sir Ashe a long way. The world of tennis and the world in itself has commomerated the respect he deserves by naming the stadium "Sir Arthur Ashe Stadium" at "Flushing Meadows", New York.
Tennis can also be a little funny. A couple of anecdotes bring a smile on even today. Steffi Graf at Wimbledon was asked by a stranger " Steffi, Will you marry me?" while she was all ready to serve. Steffi Graf stops in between and responds "How much money do you have?".
John McEnroe was playing Pete McEnroe in the semi finals of the U.S Open. Two sets down to nil in the favour of Pete. John shouts "Cmon, Pete Mom asked you to lose". We all know that probably Calvin grew up to be John McEnroe. He was probably the best left handed tennis player the world has seen, ofcourse not to mention Novratilova who was equally awesome. He infact won the U.S Open that year not just beating Pete but also Connors, i guess.
With the advent of probably what can be called as the new era in tennis, the style and elegance seemed to take a back seat. This era was called Power Tennis, i guess its called the same now as well. When for the first time we saw women like Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and so on started with the double handed returns more often than seldom. It turned even worse when men like Jim Courier, Andre Agassi started that too. But still tennis was Tennis. I wonder if any one remembers women like Billie-Jean King or Chris Evert from probably the forgotten time frame.
How many of us would remember one of the greatest ever tennis players who took incarnation in the world by the name Bjorn Borg? He was probably the Jim Morrison of tennis, who rose to fame quickly and faded off even quicker. He had won every single grandslam played during his time and faded off when was all of 26..... an appalling situation for the world of tennis. Oh ! i think tennis can keep me talking and keep me writing the entire day. There are so many players so many stars, so many performers, so many tabloid materials, so many style icons, so many bad boys, what not ..... doesnt the world of tennis have?

Did i ever mention that one of the most beautiful women in the late 80's and early 90's came from the world of tennis. Not that she was enormously talented but she was extra ordinarily beautiful . She is beautiful till date. She is Gabriela Sabatini

Tennis would definitely be one of those sports that would rule the world of sports till eternity

Game ..... Set.......n ......Match

Phaedrus