Way to go

There are three sportsmen I admire bordering on worship. And none of them are new additions to my list of favourites, it's since 1989-1990 that I am amazed by these superb athletes and following them closely on a regular basis. One each from my three favourite sports, they are the incomparable, adjective-exhausting Vivian Richards, artistic Marco van Basten and charismatic Andre Agassi.

Well, I could go on with unwavered enthusiasm about each of these greats, but let's keep it for some other time. I thought of writing this as an introduction to this speech by Andre Agassi after his last match at the US Open last year. My dream was to see him in the US Open 2006 since it was his last hurrah and I could have been in New York. But, as fate would have had it, I was in India during that time. This is what he had to say to all his fans wearing his professional gear for the last time. Quite impressive and inspiring. Times changed and so did his form, appearance and image - but in each of those 21 years he was there, the loudest cheer in any part of the world would always come for Andre. When a fan would say, "We love you Andre!" he would respond, "I love you too, man!"

Watch it here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7lO23K8wi0

Watch out Roger

I went for my first tennis lesson with exactly the above in mind. I had always had a great fascination for the game and always wanted to learn it. But, tennis was never a game for the masses and I had to contend with watching the game closely over the last 17 years. So when on the way for my first shot, I was excited to say the least. For those who know me, my interest and enthusiasm for this would be evident from the fact that the classes are from 7:30 am for an hour, six days a week. Given the deadly combination of my sleeplessness and laziness - both certified as exceptional by all and sundry - accepting such a timing was in itself a stupendous effort from my side.

Anyways, with my Wilson in hand and a my gear on, I walked to the courts this Sunday morning. (Fortunately the place is just a 3 minute walk from where I live, and it'd give me an extra 30 precious minutes to sleep.) I learned the technical details of playing the forehand. I have an inner feeling that this would last for sometime and deepen my interest in the game.

After an hour, I was told that I did quite well for my first shots at the yellow ball. However, before you visualise me hitting ripping cross-court forehands from the baseline like one Andre Agassi, let me tell you that the title of this post is quite literal - with balls flying higher and further with each subsequent shot. One of them could have easily knocked him down - wherever he was lifting his latest trophy that day. :D

TV again

I switched on the television after a long time yesterday. The channels I get here are from the basic package the cable company provides - and, hence, are not worth raving for. Morever, I am not a TV regular and do not fall in the 'everybody' group that loves Raymond. Neither am I an English movie/music buff. I am not into basketball, baseball and golf - that is shown almost always in the sports channels. This leaves me totally out of choices and I just managed a princely combined duration of 2 FIFA world cup matches and another 20 minutes in front of the TV in my apartment in five months.

Yesterday night was different. After a long time, I switched it on for the Australian Open Women's Semifinal match between Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters. The match turned out to be almost entirely one-sided as Sharapova cruised to a straight-set victory. Much to my disappointment, though - Clijsters, along with Justine Henin-Hardenne, is one of the two women I like in the circuit at present. Sania Mirza remains a sentimental favourite nonetheless.

Talking of tennis, if I were to pick just 2 of my favourite players, I'd pick Andre Agassi and Gabriela Sabatini. They remain my favourites from as early as I can recall.

I am not interested in the men's game after Agassi's retirement and would not want to watch Sharapova vs Serena Williams. So I guess I had my share of tennis viewing for now. Will Sania Mirza break into the 30s once again? Would there be any different champion in the men's grandslams this year ( other than the 3-1 between Federer and Nadal)? These are the questions I'd be having this year...