The Return of the Kings

The Date - 29th January, 2017

The Venue - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

The Occasion - The 2017 Australian Open Men's Singles Final

The Protagonists - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

To quote Rocky Balboa, "every great fighter has one last great fight left in him". 

It was the finale no one had anticipated, a fortnight ago. But it was a scenario which every tennis fan had dreamed about. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battling it out in a Grand Slam final, one more time. Both men returning from extended injury lay-offs, both past their prime and yet both hanging in there though their glory days are behind them. 

Two weeks back, neither was anywhere close to being the title favorite. Realistically anything beyond quarter-finals would have been considered a tremendous achievement. Yet, as the draw unfolded, the dream scenario began to become clearer and clearer. First went out the champions Djokovic and Murray, soon followed by the old guard Tsonga, Ferrer, Berdych, Cilic, and then it was the turn of the upstarts Raonic, Nishikori, Thiem. Until all that remained in the way of the dream final were Wawrinka (a man with a habit of sneaking in Grand Slam titles) and Dmitrov (finally living upto his early potential). Both fought hard, but the old warriors survived 5-set battles to set-up the ultimate finale.

And did the match live up to the hype and anticipation. It wasn't tennis at its most sublime, the old warhorses had seen better days. At times, the bodies weren't willing, but their spirits certainly were. Federer took the opening set. Nadal hit back immediately in the second. Federer hit back harder in the third. In a see-saw battle, Nadal took the fourth. Punches and counter-punches were exchanged. Unforced errors were followed by some magical winners. In the fifth set Nadal raced ahead, Federer caught up with him and then found an extra gear right at the very end to win the match and the championship. Together these two gladiators had won the hearts of all those watching.

These weren't just two tennis players facing off for one of the prestigious titles. These are men who transcend sports. For those four magical hours everything else was forgotten, Trump and his ban on immigrants, upcoming assembly elections in India or the latest acts of "intolerance", or political scandal. Because the world was watching two men rolling back the clock to produce one hell of a fight.  After all the Kings had returned!!!

Personally, have been a Federer fan more than a Nadal fan. But during this match, there was no favorite. I wanted both to win (like this fan in the picture). And Federer summed up the general mood during the presentation "There are no draws in tennis, but tonight, I would have been happy to share this trophy with Rafa". 

As Mr. Cho summed it up, "Congratulations for such a great display of tennis tonight .... Unfortunately, only one winner can be crowned tonight. But I believe both of you should be proud of the sportsmanship and passion you have shown throughout this year's tournament."

Agree with Mr. Cho. This match was a treat for every sports fan in the world. Thank You Roger! Thank You Rafa!

"Every great fighter has one last great fight left in him". I hope this wasn't the last one for them.

P.S. I took a nap after the opening break in the 2nd set with the confidence that this was going to 5 sets. And thankfully they did not disappoint!

Indians & the Aussie Open

The year's first tennis grand slam, the Australian Open has begun. 3 days into the competition and we have seen some good tennis action and a couple of upsets. This time both the Men's & Women's sections are relatively wider open.

Federer & Nadal have lost just that bit of their top form to ensure that others now have a little chance against them. Davydenko & Del Potro would also count amongst the favorites. Likes of Djokovic, Murray, Roddick & the local guy Hewitt cannot be ignored. The Australian Open does have a habit of bringing in surprise finalists over the last few years (Johannson, Tsonga, Baghdatis). Lets see if there are some surprises in store this time around.

The return of the Belgian duo of Clijsters & Henin has added to the unpredictability in the women's section. Add the Williams sisters, the Russian brigade (Kuznetsova, Dementieva etc), Ivanovic, Jankovic and it becomes even tougher to predict. And you never know what the likes of Wozniacki, Wickmayer could do.

This time around India is also pretty well represented (relatively speaking). We have Sania Mirza in the women's side (she lost in singles first round though). In the Men's doubles we have 5 players representing India (must be some sort of a record for the country). The two big guns Bhupathi (with Mirnyi) & Paes (with Dlouhy) are there. Neither of them has the won the Men's Doubles in Australia, the only slam missing from their CV. But unlike earlier they have more company in Prakash Amritraj/Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna (with Aisam-al-Qureishi).

At least in doubles we have the numbers. Its the singles where India is still struggling. Though there are some hopes on that front also with the upcoming Yuki Bhambri coming through the ranks & Somdev in the top 150 currently. Hopefully the singles representation would also increase. With Sania saying she'll quit after marriage, the women's side would again become empty.

here is hoping for a couple of Indian winners at the Australian Open.