A little piece of heaven

Snatching away Victory

2011-10-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

I so wanted to chronicle this match to reread it for the later years of my life.
Played on 10/18/2011, Tuesday Worldgate.
This has been one of my best wins in recent memory
I had never played with Gina as partner infact I met her for the first time before the match. Considering this was a first together I was happy with how well we played together,pushed each other when it was needed.

We were playing at Worldgate where the courts are really fast. Talking about fast the 1st set was over quickly, our opponents winning it 6-1.
It is hard to believe we came back from there to win the 2nd set 6-2!

The 3rd set 10 point tiebreak was also closely contested until 5-5. Then we ran away with it to 9-5. At this point I start thinking "is this really happening" but I am glad that I was able to quieten my thoughts about victory and focus on the point at hand.
We won 10-7 phew! what a match. hop , skip, hug, shakehands

At times like these I wish I could take a slice of my mindset(how shall I describe it, calm, focussed,positive and relishing the competition) and set it aside for reference in real life :)

Another Day Another Happy Match

2011-05-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

*Memorable matches are not the ones that you win but really the ones that you earn.
*I realise during a match "right now all my problems are defined in this tiny 36 * 78 box as against the entire realm of problems in life"..how nice!.
*As I add years to my life I realise how much I enjoy playing a tennis match. I have a new found love for singles tennis. I relish the hardwork that goes into winning a tennis match.
*I am happy to have found a good team to be a part of
Happy Weekend Everyone!

Maria Sharapova

2010-05-31T01:35:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy:tennis.com

This is such a beautiful photo.It sums up Sharapova's personality.Never Say Die.
French Open is the only grand slam that Maria is yet to win. It would have been easy for her
to give up and say, hey its clay, not my surface; like many players tend to think.
Not Maria, not even when she is pitted against the veteran Justine Henin. Henin did win but Sharapova went down ...well fighting.

Good Tennis Player vs Good Match Player

2010-04-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

I always used to wonder is playing good tennis enough to win a match?
Over the years I have realised it is not necessarily true.
A good tennis player hits deep shots, takes the ball early, hits winners of loose balls, has a very good serve.
Now a good match player:
Thinks a little in between points
1)Is the opponent a lefty? then serve to the forehand
2)Can your opponent not run very fast? then instead of smashing the ball, just place the ball far from the opponent.
3)Is your A game not working?
then at least keep the ball in play, sometimes you have to win with "not your best tennis"
Today I felt a little more complete as a player when I won a singles match 6-3,6-2.
Sometimes using the brain helps :)

Some of the Best things in life are Free

2010-03-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

I had been playing tennis for about 4 months, almost 4-5 days a week, and I was ready to graduate from my 60$ wilson racquet for beginners to a more advanced one. The best way to go about doing this was to get a demo racquet from one of the sports stores(Dicks sports in this case). A demo program as the name suggests is where they let you try out some racquets for a nominal fee before buying one. I picked a few demo racquets and left my existing one with them for restringing(all the racquets lose their tension over time and you have to restring them).
Of all the racquets I had picked I liked the Prince O3 Red the best. It was head heavy(throwing in some techie terms to up the cool factor) and seemed to give a lot of power to my shots. But at 220$ it begged the question, "was it worth it?". Still undecided a week later I went back to return the demo pieces and get my restrung racquet back. But we had another thing coming, the restringer informed us that he had misplaced my racquet and that I should try coming back another time. He seemed really sorry and he let me keep the demo racquet for another week. Only I knew how happy that made me. The next day Vinay and I were going on our first tennis vacation to a tennis camp in the beautiful Catskills mountains in Upstate New York. I was thrilled to go to the camp with the Prince racquet.
The camp was fun and I returned to Dicks with the demo racquet and a 220$ question mark on my head. The stringer, during this time, had managed to find my original and guess what he tells me.... "Since you guys were so nice even though I misplaced your racquet, I am going to let you keep this Prince racquet for free". I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Vinay and I actually ran away lest he would change his mind.
The Prince racquet has served me well over the last 4 years, its been my best weapon on the court :)
I have tried several other racquets with the quest of more power or more control but this "Prince" is the one and the fact that it was free makes me wanna jump with Joy

One more

2010-03-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was another one of those nights when I was really thankful that I play tennis.
This match was against Ed and Susan(mixed doubles). I know Ed as a very good player so I was little surprised when we broke his serve right away in the first game. My partner Steven so rightly said hey just because we broke him doesnt mean anything, he is one of those guys who just won't go away.
We managed to stay on top the first set and win it 6-4. But sometimes winning a set against good players drains you so much mentally that you tend to take a breather and if in the following set your opponent is first to serve, it could mean trouble. They are eager to make a statement and you are still riding on the high; not a good combination. We lost the 2nd set 6-0 :( !@#$.
The third set was going to be an uphill battle and what with these being timed matches(2 hours for mixed doubles) the odds were stacked pretty high against us.
I played some really agressive tennis in the 3rd of which I am proud. I felt I had really grown up in the last 2 years or so. If this were a match I played about 3 years ago I would have surely given up, pacified myself saying "I will practise more off court" , "Will take more lessons" etc etc but this time I fought, I told myself everything lies here and now.
We were tied up 4-all in the 3rd set when the buzzer went off signaling end of the match. The tie made the 3rd set invalid and they won by virtue of more number of games in their pocket.
It sucks to lose but the battle we put up there did something good for my spirit :)

Australian Open 2010 Notebook

2010-01-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

It was heartwarming to see the women's side have a good number of strong players.
~although Sharapova was out in the 1st round, Maria Kirilenko has entered my list of watchable players, good luck new Maria!
~It was sad that Dementieva had to go out in the 2nd round but I would take Justine Henin any day :)
~Kim Clijsters was beaten throughly in the 3rd round; well fairy tales do come to an end baby .... the real Kim it is time for you to make a return.
~I pray and I haven't prayed so hard for anything...please somebody oust Venus Williams; Commando Venus Williams now that is nightmarish stuff. I feel like screaming everytime I see her on TV with that skimpy outfit which she is actually proud of having designed....aaaaghhhhh

~Federer is his usual "lets get over with the first few rounds" self after that tight 1st round match. Looks like he is well on his way to his 16th....Go Roger.

Goodbye Amelie

2009-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Women's Tennis was poorer by a beautiful player today, Amelie Mauresmo, when she announced her retirement.
Of course tennis followers had been expecting this one way or the other. Either she would revamp and declare to the world she is ready to work hard again or accept that yes it is becoming tougher and retire gracefully.

For a long time Amelie was considered a choker, you could defeat her from any point in the match, you could expect her to collapse at any point in time, a trap of her own making, but finally in the year of 2006 and at the age 26 she convincingly conquered her demons when she beat Justine Henin at Wimbledon, her 2nd major title. She will always be an inspiration to me!

Although after 2006 she never really won any significant title, she was always a beauty to watch. In an era where power and baseline bashing rule, her's was a game made up of all this and complemented by a beautiful one handed backhand, classy volleys and rare athleticism.
Thanks Amelie we will miss you!

Here is a very nice article written by Perotta, sums up her career and legacy

Matches Enjoyed at USOpen 2009

2009-09-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer Vs Robin Soderling in the Men's Quaterfinal.

Roger won 6-0,6-2,6-7,7-6
It was such an entertaining match.I am glad Soderling did not give up inspite of going down 2 sets. I am glad he broke his racquet, he seemed a much better player after that.Yet again Roger wowed the crowd and proved why he is at the so very top.
His amazing serve seems to pull him through any number of breakpoints life throws at him. His attitude no matter if he has lost a set or just been broken is so inspiring: Focus on the next point! thats what he seems to tell himself
and ofcourse his hunger to win always makes one smile.

Rafael Nadal Vs Gael Monfils
Rafael Nadal won 6-7,6-3,6-1,6-3

For the first 1 and 1/2 sets Nadal and Monfils were well matched, well they were killing each other and then ofcourse Monfils runs out of gas. He had to, it was not humanly possible to do what they were doing for long. Can you imagine they had 4 27 rally points! in that much time.
Nadal's indomitable spirit carried him over. But ofcourse I wish Nadal would learn to flatten out some of his shots and thus shorten the points. It is sometimes painful to see him physically grinding out there for every match.

Let kids be kids

2009-09-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

..the BallsKids at US Open that is.

Photo Courtesy:http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com

Most of ballkid volunteers at the US Open seem to be adults or really big guys. In my opinion ballskids should really be kids, not more than say 16 or 17 years of age. Perhaps just the captain of the team should be a big kid.

I know the reason why they need such adult looking people. You see there are 6 ballkids in all:4 kids behind the baseline(called backs) and 2 on either side of the net(called nets). After every other game the tennis balls have to be transferred from one side of the court to the other in addition to the interim ball exchanges that have to happen because of serving faults or player errors. Usually the ball is rolled from one end to the nets and then the nets in turn roll it to the backs at the other end. US Open is the only tournament that boasts of "throwing" balls from one end of the court to the other side, One "back" to the other "back" in between games. I guess you need strong hands to do that and good catchers on the otherside and "kids" wouldn't usually be able to do that with as much accuracy hence the adult ballkids :(

I wish someone at the US Open would see the real reason for having ball "kids"
one, because it is a way of encouraging kids to play tennis and letting them be close to the game and two, adults really crowd the tennis court. Imagine 2 players plus 6 to 8 lines men,of course a chair umpire and add to that 6 adult ballkids. 6 "kids" would really slink away in the court but adults are much more visible!

Lucky me

2009-07-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy:tennis.com

Yay, we tennis fans are a lucky lot, we witnessed History being made.

A lot has already been said about the Wimbledon finals, about Federer and about Andy Roddick but as a Tennis player myself I have to say you do not let your opponent win unless "you" first give up and there was none of that happening on either side of the court that day. Andy didn't give in, Roger just grabbed it!

Having played many tiebreaks I had come to believe they are a matter of luck and not necessarily the better player wins. But yeah on Sunday it seemed like Federer had a command over them too, else how would you explain a come back from 2-6 down to win!

In retrospect I think Federer does not admonish himself when he makes a mistake, he is always on his own side that way he is just playing one person:his opponent.
and that is perhaps what makes him a champion. That and his unwavering determination to win.

It was a beautiful match with a fitting end and we have to thank Andy for making a thriller out of it :)

ps: I have a new found respect for not just Andy's game but his character and his sense of humor.

Too soon Too Fast

2009-07-04T22:12:00.000-07:00

My oh my the year had just started and the 3rd grand slam of the year(Wimbledon) is almost over, with only the Men's final remaining.
~Seriously without Nadal the Men's side seemed so empty.
~My only hope is the final is not lopsided but anyways I hope it is again Federer's day and what a day it will be "if", fingers crossed :)
~There were some good performances from Soderling,Stanislas Wawrinka and ofcourse the two Andy's
~On the Women's side the two sisters definitely deserved to be in the final and I am so happy I was able to watch the Serena-Dementieva semifinal in its entirety. I have a new found respect for the latter now. I love Dementieva's new improved serve and her awesome physique.

French Open 2009- My Take

2009-06-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

Photo Courtesy: www.rolandgarros.com
I know it is too late and already Wimbledon 2009 has started in full swing but I wanted to reminisce about the French Open before the highpoints in Wimbledon take over.

~ Of course Federer finally won French Open completed his career grand slam,

But this French will also be remembered for the Nadal Upset by Robin Soderling.

~ I am glad Soderling made is to the finals, he did really upset the No.1 seed and it was not a fluke

~ The Soderling-Gonzalez match was thriller, with huge momentum swings and what a comeback Soderling made in the 5th set when he was trailing 4-1.

~ On the Women's side it was really inspiring to see Sharapova make such a gutsy run to the Quarterfinals after a 10 month layoff. truly her love for the game is inspiring!

~ I was so Happy that Kuznetsova won her match against Serena Williams quelling her lingering demons and finally winning the Title itself.

~ Although I felt bad for Safina for having lost again, I do feel she needs to put in a little more in the finals.I mean she may be a good player but on the court there during the finals she looked more stressed than enjoying being there. Good luck to her!

so there it is, the French Open in a Nutshell, now I can say ...Welcome Wimbledon.

PS: It is heartbreaking not to see Nadal in the Wimbledon draw :(

The towel issue

2009-05-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy:www.usatoday.com

Talking of tennis and the problems that it brings along
This issue really intrigues me :)

-- where does a player or rather where does the ball kid keep the towel handed to him during match play--

For instance currently at the French Open the towel is placed on the line's person's chair --poor linesman-- but I know that is not a permanent solution; elsewhere is placed on the "serve speed display box". Infact in many courts especially on outside courts the ball kids are asked to place the towel on the court itself

We have comeup with technology to make line calls,

solution to correctly indicate when the ball hits the net chord,

come up with technology to measure not just the serve speed but also the speed of every shot that is hit,

but it surprising no one has come up with a solution to the towel problem!

Ooh La La

2009-04-03T08:44:00.001-07:00

Picture Perfect

Another Parallel to life?

2009-03-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

When playing a tennis match the word momentum is thrown around quite often.

To begin with I knew what momentum is but to understand how it really affects... well that took a long time!

It is quite hard to explain, when going strong and confident in a match and the opponent serving; the server calls out the score 30-15; my mind is asking is it really 30-15?(30 being their score), didnt we win the first point,shouldnt it be 15-30? and in that haze and scrambling to create the sequence of events from the beginning of this current game, we lose this point too and the score is quickly announced as 40-15.. aww jeez thats when I start to protest verbally and voice my doubts
but it is too late! coz a point has already been played after the questionable score
and it was with everyone's agreement. duh we lose the game.The frustration only mounts.
I make an effort to quieten my mind and bring myself back to a positive frame of mind
but you know something had just happened, something akin to going downhill, may be lose of concentration? the opponents only felt stronger, we lose points, games and right before my eyes the winning match was snatched away from me.. ouch that hurt
(Later I learnt there is term of this situation!"bleeding" they say "you have to first stop the bleeding")

picture this - another match; this was mixed doubles match, we are coasting along, ready to switch to cruise mode and lo I make another confused call, curse myself, embolden the opponent and lose another 5 games, but this time the opponent makes a mistake when leading at 5-2 and we still havent given up and perhaps thats how the momemtum swung back in our favor and lead us to victory.

Both these situations confused me to no end. Later I realised life is also pretty much the same, during the course of a day say you make one incorrect decision and you get bummed about it, that leads to another mistake;you sometimes carry that negative energy through most of the day.

All it takes sometimes for things to go from positive to negative or sad to happy is probably just one small moment, one small incident....

Some Reminiscing

2009-03-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

I started playing tennis about 3 years ago with no knowledge of the rules/techniques whatsoever.
first came evening tennis with V~, then because singles was too taxing and also because I was making a fool of myself I said why not invite a few others :). It became a routine to play doubles; sometimes we would end up just three and keep furtively hunting for a 4th partner(thats another post :)

Anyways from there we graduated to taking beginners classes, started tennis clinics(which is bunch of drills run by a tennis pro for a few same levelled players). When that became a norm and with the discovery of USTA(United states tennis association) leagues; we plunged into the competitive arena and then there was no looking back.

Mixed doubles, women's(men's doubles for V~) , combo leagues etc.

USTA matches are usually timed matches, ie they end by the clock no matter where you are in the game! (except for playoffs and championship matches)

Amidst all this frenzy I realised something very unique about tennis matches!

You see the ritual goes something like this.

You reach for a match, warm up for 10-15 minutes ; play your match, finish win or lose, shake hands go home.
Now here is my point...
When you warmup for a match be it recreational like the ones I play or the professional ones-- you warmup with your opponent
Which I think is pretty unique to tennis.An opponent who you are supposed to pound,crush and defeat actually helps you warm up and that is pretty fascinating!

thank you kind opponent!

I really dig Comebacks

2009-02-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

yesterday was one of the days when I was really thankful that I play tennis.
V~ and I usually play on court 1; the toughtest spot of all the 3 courts when a USTA league match is played. Playing on court 1 is very tricky, many a times it forces you to be at your best from start to finish

Yesterday was one such match, we started out well and we were thinking "well this team looks pretty straightforward, tough but beatable" we were at a pretty well balanced 2-2 in the first.
but somehow a tough line call that I made rendered me shaky and the opposition ran away with a 5-2 lead. but at that moment a positive outlook, ready to taken on anything attitude helped us stay composed, we not only won 5 straight games to win the first set 7-5 but riding on that high won the 2nd set an easy 6-2. Game set match

A moment of pure joy; pure happiness.... When V~ and I hugged congratulating each other on the terrific comeback :)

Australian Open, tennis, roof,heat wave

2009-01-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

I feel the extreme heat policy at the Australian Open benefited just the American players and not all the players involved......
Why did it come into play after Serena lost the 1st set...just to break Kuznetsova's rhythm? it was really unfair for the latter...however you see it.
and
Where was the policy when Djokovic was wilting?
feels very weird....

Doubly relieved

2009-01-25T19:44:00.001-08:00

~ Australian Open 2009
Couldn't bear the thought of Dinara Safina losing.... I am so so so glad she got it together and won the match..yay
Federer made an unbelieavable come back against Tomas Berdych...yay yay yay.
I love the color of the outfits the linesman and Ball kids(love their hats too!) are wearing.
There should be a mandatory minimum length of the outfits women can wear...I am not trying to be moral police but come on Jelena Jankovic's outfit is too short....weird colored...that may be the only reason I am happy she lost :)
and ....I love Nadal's cute look...
courtesy:tennis.com

Been there Played that

2009-01-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

~ CommonWealth Championships Charlottesville, Virginia 2009.

This was in Boars Head Inn tennis center, one of the best I have seen and played at.

Enjoyed playing some outdoor tennis inspite of the cold weather.

Enjoyed with "Matchpoints" team, the drive to Charlottesville, the lunches, the dinners, the cheering, and most important the playing

Charlottesville was hilly and beautiful, cold crisp,fresh.
We went, we played, we reached the finals, but we just fell short ( a wee bit)

We lost but it is good to have been there done that!

Everything Tennis

2009-01-05T12:24:00.000-08:00

cute little things I got from a tennis shop for my tennis buddies. My 6.0 mixed doubles team has reached the Common Wealth cup playoffs to be held in Charlotesville Virginia next weekend.
That is where I plan to give these goodies
There are 2 tennis photoframes, 2 coffee mugs, some comfortable socks, one christmas tree ornament, a tennis penholder, some tacky racquet grip and not to mention a tennis racquet embossed soap :)

Battered Ego

2008-12-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Well first came the USTA year end ratings and I am not bumped up to 3.5... bummer and then I lose 4 matches in a row....
they were not matches that I had no chance at winning.... In one of the matches I had 2 matchpoints and lost from there and in the following match I had a set point... leading 5-2 in that set and then lost 5 games in a row!.. lost the set and then finally the match.
You get the picture!
I was not sure that the USTA would finally smile upon me and say ...okay so you are a 3.5 now but you know this was the year I had a winning streak of 13 matches! ..went to Mixed doubles districts and then to Sectionals(My team didnt make it to the nationals but I had won all my matches) won some great matches in the Women's league etc etc
but yes I did have some bad matches as well especially after I returned from India, jetlagged et al I lost the first few matches with scores like (6-1,6-2) (6-0,6-2) (phew :()
secondlyMixed doubes winnings are considered only with you play mixed doubles exclusively!
and plus my net game still sucks
so all in all I guess I still have lots to do before I get there!

Men in Black

2008-11-11T08:03:00.001-08:00

image courtesy:www.masters-cup.com

drool worthy!

The new face of 2008

2008-11-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

I love watching Dinara Safina(Right now she is firing away against a Venus Williams in the Doha Year end Championships)

She has that tomboyish, brazen serve of Marat Safin and also has a hunch just like her Elder bro.

For me Dinara is the best thing to have happened to women's tennis in 2008....in a year where one of the best ..Justine Henin retired.

Buddy running with Sam

2008-10-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

Sampada my friend invited me to join her cheerleading squad in WashingtonDC on october 26th where she was planning to run the DC Marine Corp Marathon ...her first ever Marathon.

I had never witnessed a Marathon much less experienced running one so I didnt know what to expect but I was thrilled nevertheless.

Running 26.2 miles...can you imagine?

Her other friends had meticulously read the marathon route, figured which mile marker Sam would cross at what time...I just knew my time 11.30AM at the 18 mile mark.

When I reached the decided place I was immediately swept into the frenzy that was the marathon; I saw a river of human traffic, some running some walking and I so immediately wanted to be part of it(I later learnt there were 30 thousand participants!). I saw bystanders calling out names of the runners and cheering them...realized they were just calling out to unknown people by the names written on their t-shirts...how cool is that..the true human spirit.

I was so happy to spot Sam and chugged along with her. There were people holding out water, powerade, placards, infact when crossing the potomac river saw a bunch of people on a boat waiting just to cheer the runners.
By the time I had met Sam, she had run most of the marathon.. 18 miles! and I could feel how every step was becoming more difficult for her...she was at a point where she was fatigued and her mind was throwing out irrational arguments and questioning the point of running the marathon....
But run she did..finish she did... and in her own words "I was able to overcome my injuries and my demons and run to the finish line smiling. I can now call myself a marathoner. "

Congrats Marathoner.. I am so proud of you...indeed in finishing this one you proved that there is no limit or boundaries to the human spirit... if we want... we can!
and thanks so much for letting me be a part of it!

p.s. you can read Sampada's experience here

It ain't that easy

2008-10-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

image courtesy: University of Sussex

Line calls thats what I am talking about.

The professional players have it so easy...they have linesman and many a times if they think a linesman faltered then the "hawkeye"

In the tennis matches that I play you have to make your own calls that is... you depend on your opponents to call the ball that you hit as in or out and you have the same responsibility.

Now now now

sometimes when the point is crucial and the call close...and your opponents think you made the wrong call, it could lead to grumpy faces... unhappy matches,unhappy endings and not to mention the dead fish handshake to seal the deal!

but what can one do? there is this split second to decipher the distance between the ball and the line..did I see any green?(or blue depending on the color of the court)

Like I said it ain't that easy!

Muscle What?

2008-10-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

Not until recently had I heard the term Muscle memory. I found it fascinating to begin with... what!! muscles have memory? But as time went by it did make a lot of sense thanks to on court experience...literally :)
It explained why if I hadn't practised in a while and went straight into a match.. I felt rusty, lacked the confidence to hit my shots.. you may have the shot in your repertoire but the brain has a tough time recollecting the logic or the neural path.... but you know what...hang in there long enough...by the end of the match... your muscles will be up and running :)

Nothing like tennis to bring you down!

2008-10-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

just like Nothing like tennis to put you on the top!
Last Friday I played a women's doubles match at the 4.0 level( Yes I am 3.0 but since this is off season my 3.5 women's team is playing at 4.0 level)
I was telling V..this was the match of my life.. I played well at the net..played very well from the Baseline... and won the match...
Riding on that high I went in confidently into a 3.5 doubles match last Monday(My 3.0 team is playing at 3.5 level)... to be put well in place...we lost the match.
Reminded me that I still have a lot of work to put in before I can be officially a 3.5!

Ball Kidding

2008-09-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

that's me Ball Kidding at the 2007 Legg Mason Classic...

center court :)

what an experience it was!
The best seats in the court I say!
the only flip side? ....Well now I do notice the ball kids during a tennis match! they are no longer part of the court paraphernalia :(

The Awesome Sisters

2008-09-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Personally I am not a big fan of the Williamses(Is the American media responsible? they show too much of them)
but 1) I love their fighting spirit 2) I love their hunger to win 3) I love their on-court rivalry
but most of all... I love the support they give each other.
If it was me probably after having lost to my sister I would be sitting and sulking and not sitting in the stands and cheering for her...way to go Williamses

Roger Federer in the USOpen Finals..again!

2008-09-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

courtesy:tennis.com

When I was watching the USOpen semifinal match between Rafa and Andy Murray I realised how tired Rafa looked; his shots had a lot of spin but no firepower and Andy did a beautiful job of putting them away and so--- Andy Murray is the one who made it to the finals--- to meet :) Roger Federer.
On the same lines it occurred to me....campared to Rafa(the current world No 1) or for that matter any other player Roger Federer was/is so much more consistent.
-> He not only plays well but plays smart(keeping himself injury free and fresh enough for all the tournaments he plays in)
-> I really appreciate his attitude towards tennis -- he knows tennis fans don't just want to see him win--more than that they want to see some good tennis-- which was evident when he was asked about his feelings after his five setter agains Igor Andreev.
-> Even though he lost his No 1 ranking he didn't seem to be down and out or unnerved or anything... we know now why he is there--- because he enjoys tennis that's why!
Hats Off to you Roger and Good Luck in the Finals!

I love running

2008-08-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

I love running. For me it is the quick and the most easy form of excercise. Want some excercise but not enough time to go to the gym.... put on your shoes and start running, Need to clear your muddled head....start running, Want to brighten up an otherwise dull day? start running.

or simply start running..all else will be fine by the end of the trail :)

The New King

2008-08-18T07:52:00.001-07:00

courtesy:Tennis.com

The fact that Rafael Nadal is now the new No. 1 is finally sinking in. But kudos to Nadal he was so patient .. with himself with the challenges thrown at him ..
Roger kept Nadal at bay for so long ; he probably created a monster in that process..a monster strong enough to finally devor the No. 1 ranking.

Friday Night Date

2008-07-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just finished playing an hour and half of solid singles tennis with V. I love such evenings when the tennis is just perfect ---a mixture of long rallies, a few satisfying approach shots followed by solid volleys, a few good backhand slice returns, a good measure of lobs and a few rounds of applause for each other. Not to mention gulping down a bottle of just plain water after a workout----- there are very few things that can be give so much contentment :)

District Diaries -II

2008-07-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

Campared to all our practise sessions, the District Championship weekend itself went by swiftly, albeit with a lot of Drama. The 2008 Districts was held in Reston this year which is just about 10 minutes from where I live which gave a kind of home ground feeling. The Districts comprised of 3 round robin(RR) matches on Saturday and early morning Sunday followed by a midafternoon final on Sunday.

Our team as a whole lost 1 and won 2 of the RR which put us in the finals.... which we ... yes we won!

My partner Vi and I played 2 of the 3 RR matches and we won the first of it 6-0 6-0...unbelievable. The 2nd one we won 6-1 6-1. We were also scheduled to play in the finals by virtue of having done so well in the RR. We faced a little challenge in the final but we won it 6-4 6-1.

The finals was followed by a good cheer, photos session and winners awards.

In all it makes us the Best 3.0 Mixed Doubles team in Virginia. A picture of our team will appear in the USTA magazine..yay.

Next we play at the Sectionals which will be in Maryland on 25th and 26th of July against Maryland, WashingtonDC, West Virginia.

Good luck to us :)

District Diaries-1

2008-06-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

When I booked my tickets for my India Vacation in April little did I realize that I would be missing our Mixed Doubles playoffs... I was extremely disappointed when my captain emailed me saying we lost at the play offs and thus not making it to the Districts this year(We did make it to 2007 Districts but that calls for another post!)
2 months later when our team got busy with the USTA women's season ... we suddenly get an email saying "we have a wildcard entry to the Districts are you still available?" ofcourse I am!
then began our 2 weeks of practice, now something has to be said about this practice you see USTA has spoiled us by having all our tennis matches indoors and then they say Districts will be outdoors...haha...... well anyway...at practice we realized it is not just our opponents but also the elements we have play against. The side effects of which can be sweat blurring your vision with its burning saltiness, the sun making your eyes squint; you have to start strategizing such that your better server gets to the serve on the shadier side...... but all in all it was a solid 2 weeks... which now exists in my sweet memories!
more to come...

The days are just Packed!

2008-06-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

er I mean tennis wise and otherwise. I am always happy when on Sunday I looked ahead at the week and see 2-3 for-sure tennis sessions bobbing their head in the weekday evenings.
Yesterday I had a match(which we won yay!) and tonight I have our mixed doubles practice session followed by a tennis match on thrusday which gives me time for a running session on Wednesday and a guilt free off from the gym on Friday, what a week!

PS: I loved using the title, it is the title of a Calvin and Hobbes collection which summarizes Calvin's summer vacation!

Safina in French Open final

2008-06-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

I think Safina was sort of "discovered" during 2008 Roland Garros, she did spark an interest in her when she defeated Henin and Serena williams not too long ago.
It is amazing that she made a come back against a player like Sharapova who is such a -I wont give up till the end-- player. During quaterfinals I switched off the TV when Dementieva was almost going to win it, I reach office and after about 1/2 hour when I logon to check the status, lo the scoreboard showed the match "In progress" turns out Safina not only made an unbelievable(again!) comeback, she also sweeped the 3rd set 6-0 hats off.
The script of the Semifinal match between Safina and Kuznetsova went like many other kuzty's final appearances; she almost always loses them because she is too tight and has lost all belief in herself. Oh Kuzty when when will you learn hold your own?
On the other hand the Ivanovic vs Jankovic semifinal is still going on well into the 3rd set.
You know people want good matches not just one better player; ultimately they are here to see a battle not just of talent but of wits, belief, comeons and a good helping of magical shots. So by all means whether Safina wins or not she has definitely won my heart and made me smile, thank you!

Federer and his Fans

2008-05-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well I am one of them for sure :)
Just wanted to write about this lingering thought.
Usually a tennis fan is happy when his "guy" is doing great out there on the court and disappointed when he is losing.
But being a Federer fan is different -- even if he isn't doing great at the moment
1) You know never know when he will move on to a different gear and dig himself out so no sweat there... you are riveted till the end.
2) Even if he loses you realise that Federer himself has not Fallen apart, his expressions, his post match talk usually say that he is happy that he reached to this point(usually semifinals or finals)
3) Finally I think a Federer fan is happy to just see him play
win or lose we all know --- you are God of tennis himself--

Oh Justine

2008-05-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

There is a small newspaper cutout neatly stuck on one of my kitchen walls which says "A backhand made in Heaven" and illustrates Justine's backhand step by step. John Mcnroe describes her backhand as the most beautiful shot in Tennis. I had that paper cut out in hope someday my one handed back hand will resemble her. When I had stuck that cutout last year, little did anyone know she would gone from the tennis court so soon!

Oh Justine I will indeed miss that backhand and the fire in your eyes during all those tennis matches.

Justine retires at 25

2008-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

It is indeed a sad day for tennis; Justine suddenly announcing her retirement!

What am I missing?

2008-04-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

The other day I was watching the exhibition match featuring Roger Federer and Pete Sampras;
I was impressed with the frequency of Sampras attacking at the net and the beauty of his volleys. Although I knew Sampras was a serve and volley player this was the first time I was really watching him.

Usually beginners and amateur players like myself tend to imitate their favorite players.
There are great servers on the tour to learn from, great one handed backhands to watch, great baseline sluggers but perhaps we are missing a great volleyer to learn from.

The joys of club hopping :)

2008-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

It has been sometime since V and I started playing on USTA leagues, in sometime we figured that our tennis matches could be in any of the sports club in the Northern Virginia, I am not sure about the 'any' part but my drive to a tennis match has been anywhere between 10 minutes to 45 minutes.
And I have to say I like this club hopping! It is like travelling; people travel to different places, different countries, to see a new place, experience a new culture. Trust me each club has its own way of working, each club has it own set of quirks when it comes to the tennis courts, some are blue, some are green, some are purely indoor while some have a bubble drapped over them during winter. Driving to a club for a match is like traveling for work, for a meeting, you feel important!
My club hopping experience talk wouldn't be complete without the mention of shopping, many clubs have their own little sports/tennis shop which can be a paradise for a tennis lover.
I may or may not visit a lot of countries but to umpteen sports club I will!

This was a first

2008-03-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Recently I had a chance to play a doubles match as a partner with a good teammate of mine 'C'. I like playing with her because she has a nice game, is fast and I love her punishing backhand which is so beautiful to watch when she hits a "down the line" .
But last time I played with her, at times her timing seemed off and she kept making double faults which was unusual of her. Although we managed to win the match, still there wasn't a punch in the winning. What I learned later not only stunned me but also put somethings about the match in place... she was in her 4th month of a pregnancy...
I was always under the impression (may be for lack of experience) that once a woman becomes pregnant she gives up all risky and strenuous physical activity until sometime after the pregnancy and tennis was definitely in the no-no list.
I still do not know what you can and what you cannot during the precious few months but definitely playing with a pregnant lady...now that was a first to me!

Balance is the Key

2008-02-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

You know what is the key to a good tennis shot? do you know what is the difference between a newbie tennis player and a tennis pro?
Balance!
Run, get in balance, hit the shot, get back in balance.
Just like it is important to be in balance in life, balanced pose is the key in tennis as well.
The difference between a clean shot and a awkwardly hit shot.
Balance not only helps your shots but also helps one avoid injuries of all sorts
Now balance is not everyone's cup of tea, I am talking from experience, it is not even understood by beginners and even when after you start getting the concept it is not easy, because before hitting a shot, you need a little time to get in balance, you need to have that stamina, quickness.
and this comes only from enough practice, physical training like running or swimming and not the mention core strengthing excercises. Talking about core, a stronger core means a well balanced body. There are lots of exercises for a strong core plus yoga, tai chi naturally make you a well balanced person.
Go get in shape, be a well balanced person, play better tennis!

Happy me

2008-01-24T08:25:00.000-08:00

What more could a tennis fan ask for, splendid tennis whenever you switch on TV and if it is a Grandslam then even better!
The first grandslam is going on and what a ride it has been, some upsets, some surprises, some discoveries
My train of thoughts about Australian Open 2008
1)Although I was never a fan of the William , I always liked their fighting spirit, it was such a shame that Serena went down without as much as a whimper in the quarterfinals against Jankovic.
2)The last time I saw Ivanovic, it was at the USOpen where she went down to VenusW, she almost looked like though she is a great player she is not grand slam material who would inevitably go down in tough situations but looks like ...she is got mentally tougher, her match against Venus and a terrific comeback in Semifinals says it all.
3)Although there were some good matches on the women's side I still think there isn't much depth in the current women's pool. Other than the top5-6 players, they seem to easily buckle under pressure
4) Coming back to men's Roger Federer and Fabrice Santoro match was fun to watch, felt sorry for Andy Roddick, Federer Tipsarevic match was terrific, Tipsarevic gave it all, he outplayed Federer in almost all areas, the one thing he couldn't do was break Roger's belief in himself. It was a tight rope match and Roger came out with flying colors(His serve was outstanding, haven't seen him serve so well)
5) Looking forward to Roger, Djokovic match, planning to wake up at 3.30am tonight to watch them :)
6) It was unbelievable that Nadal lost to Tsonga, If roger wins today it will be interesting to see him come up with answers for Tsonga, too bad if Tsonga buckles under pressure.
Before this loss, it looked like Nadal and Djokovic were on this giant crushing crusade, the players they were playing seemed like little hurdles on the way and they were all preparing for the one match, the Roger match. Nadal hadn't even lost a set before the semifinals... that's what they mean when they say Roger Federer has raised the level of tennis!
7) Every year AO seems to bring forth a fresh new face 2006- Marcos Bagtatis, 2007- Fernando Gonzalez 2008- Tsonga
7) Too bad Nalbandian went down so quickly... was his outstanding performance in 2007 just a flash in the pan?

I am with you Sania

2008-01-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

Currently Sania Mirza is through to the 2nd round in the Australian open and might potentially face Venus Williams in the 3rd round. I read an article about her on Tennis.com.
She is just a 21 year old who is not only dealing with stardom, tons of money, pressures on court but she is also forced to deal with a ton of controversies and thanks to us-- Indians.
I do not understand why do we have to make big deal out of everything. If she had her bare feet very close to the Indian Flag, write an article about that and please forget that, don't go ahead and launch a full force legal case against her.
I agree she might not be one of the players on the top, she might meander around the 30-40s ranking and might eventually dwindle out but what is worth noticing here are the ranks that she has reached inspite of having grown up in India.
Why do I say this: last year I was in India for a vacation. My brother in law was a member of the international sports club(or something of that sort) which boasted of tennis courts.
Getting to play "an hour of tennis" itself and that too in one of most so called progressive cities in India, Banglore took us all day. The drive to place which was in the outskirts took us almost 2 and 1/2 hours. When we reached there we didn't even get good tennis rackets to rent, he first thought we were there to play badminton, anyways finally the court we played in was in pretty bad shape as well as way too expensive.
Compare that to playing in USA? you could literally find a tennis court every 5 mins of drive, joining a social league is just a phone call away or an email away.
Inspite of all this Sania is there and perhaps thanks to her we may soon see more youngsters playing tennis, frankly speaking I dont know how Sania did it.
and what do we give her in return? Controversies.
I think it is high time we stopped minding Sania's businesses and instead did something about infrastructure, something about affordability, something about instilling a love for sports in young children and truly salute the ones with the beacon...go Sania!

What is the sweetest sound?

2008-01-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well if you asked that to a tennis player the answer will definitely be the sound of ---- opening a new can tennis balls which is only heightened by the anticipation of playing with the fantastically bright and perfectly firm tennis balls :)

On the flip side what is that that you don't want to hear? ... The Snap! the snap of your racket string. The first time it happened I didn't event recognize it and when I did I felt a wee bit proud of myself for having broken my first string and for having played enough to have broken one!

The fancy sure wore off the second time around especially since it was Christmas holidays and I was looking forward to playing tennis with tennis courts available round that the clock and to add to that none of the tennis pros were available to restring my racket. Fortunately for me a kind soul who was still in town agreed to restring my racket if I could bring the racket to his home.

Being Nadal

2007-12-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

Usually when you are watching a tennis match even when you do not know the score of the match you can tell who is dominating at the moment by looking at the body language, usually ... but not when it is Nadal playing on one side.
Nadal seems to play with the same exhuberance no matter where he is at, the best example would be Nadal playing the 2nd set in the 2006 Wimbledon final( He had lost the 1st set to Federer 6-0 !)
Having played numerous tennis matches in the last 2 years( V and I actually played our first match USTA try out match on 31st Dec 2005); I have realised when you lose a set or a game and not lose your go get attitude, it sort of unnerves the opponent. Sometimes riding on that wave it even brings your confidence back, your belief back, it puts you back right into the game!

I am happy to say that this never say die attitude has won us many a match, brought us back from the brink of defeat to victory, sometimes we lose too but.... oh well it is the journey that matters not always the destination ... a match hard fought and lost is much better not having put up a fight and lost!

Something to cheer about

2007-11-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

The year end USTA results are out and I am happy to say that 'V' is a now officially a 3.5 rated player.

Aside from the fact that V definitely exhibits a caliber of a 3.5, it is good to have been officially bumped up

Good Bye 2007 Welcome 2008

2007-11-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

No I meant good bye to the 2007 Tennis Season :)
It was great to see Federer win the year ending Masters Cup Shanghai in style, coming from a first round robin defeat to Gonzalez to emphatically defeating Roddick,Nadal and Ferrer in that order.
Some points during that match were so amazing all the commentator could say was "are you kidding me?".
It is really beautiful to watch Roger play and I think we the current tennis fans are really fortunate to see Roger in action; history being made.
2008 seems really exciting not only because Roger will try to cross the "14" mark and make another bid to the French Open but also because the later half of 2007 has brought to light a whole bunch of promising players- Djokovic, Nalbandian and Ferrer(What a discovery!) and we also have Roddick, Gasquet and yes ofcourse Nadal!
Go Tennis!
Found the link to this cute commercial which was on TV a while ago featuring Roger Federer and Tiger Woods

Madrid Year End Championships

2007-11-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

The year-end championship match between Justine Henin and Sharapova was an amazing match, worth watching again and again. Both players played their best; a total of 10 deuces in the last game of the first set says it all. None was ready to give up which is very rare in a women's match off late.

I thinkwomen's proffessional tennis is not doing great at the moment, there isnt much depth. Justine the no 1 player defeated 9th ranked player Marion bartoli 6-0,6-0: go figure(on a side note; what a revenge!). Although I am not a great fan of the William Sisters I absolutely like their fighting spirit on the court.

Coming back to the championships I think the match was very refreshing. In the end it was Sharapova's fitness which gave in and not her spirit and Justine prevailed as the 2007 champion.

A strange day and a strange serve

2007-11-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

I do not remember playing 2 tennis matches in a row, today was one such day but that was not the strange part; It was the contrast between the two matches that really got me excited.
The first match was mixed doubles 7.0 level match which was fun, with lot of speed, spin and drama in the beginning but once we won the first set the opponents' game fell apart and we won the 2nd set an easy 6-1.
(usually my husband V and I play as a mixed doubles team. We are both USTA rated 3.0 players so ideally we should be playing 6.0 mixed doubles, but since this is the off season we are playing up at 3.5 level)
From there I went to have dinner and to the 2nd match which was a women's doubles 6.0 match.
Our opponents C and P were 2 elderly ladies easily in their 50's and during warmup we figured they were soft hitters and that it could be an easy match. But one serve our P served and we were all frazzled.
In my 2 years of tennis I have always been told that the serve should be deep or angled or on the body and that is what has been working for me but this serve went something like this..this lady would toss the ball high, the on the ball's downward journey would hit the ball high up!, the ball would land anywhere from very close to the net to sometimes on the side line and would bounce in the most awkward way. The other thing was each and every return of C was a slice shot. A slice does weird things to the ball and a slew of slices does weird things to your brain. Not to mention the ladies were almost aristocratic, they called out the score deliberately before each point, they also gave us the balls after every other game in a gentle manner and expected us to do the same :)
So really the match was not tough but it was awkward which frustrated us and thus losing points in a frenzy, as hard it was to believe we lost the first set 4-6
And then...I remembered my coach's mantra--adjust adjust adjust--yes however good a player we are we have to adapt to the game. A little bit of that, a little positive attitude and the thirst to win saw us winning the 2nd set 6-2.
By virtue of we running out of time(90 mins) and by virtue of us having won more number of games we won the match...yay
A nice end to a strange day :)

A Milestone Reached

2007-11-08T07:47:00.000-08:00

This post is sort of delayed...but I had to chronicle this!

Last sunday I reached the 5 mile mark in my running adventure. It was a proud and exhilirating moment for me.
About 2 years ago I started running basically to supplement my tennis. During tennis matches and clinics I would get tired after 45 mins of hard play. I realised I needed to build my stamina; what better way than to run?
I started off with a mere 1 mile run and another 15 mins of stationery cycling. As I increased my distance I figured that running was a lot of fun.
The best part is our gym(worldgate sport and health) has a running track; I dont enjoy running on a treadmill so much. Also I try to run outdoors whenever I get a chance.
I usually run full stretch once a week and with shorter spells whenever I can on other days.

To go back to where it all began, yes my running has definitely paid off. I am in better shape, my tennis is much better, I can run faster, reach more balls.. I reach to some balls or pick up drop shots....which was impossible 2 years!

Prince in Shining Armor

2007-11-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

Everyone expected Nadal to dethrone The Mighty Federer sometime in the near future especially after the Wimbledon final, then came our Djokovic and stole our hearts. It seemed like Djokovic had a better chance to get to no.1 (if at all). And then out of nowhere came Nalbandian, regained and regrouped. Who not only beat Federer twice(both matches were pretty close!) but also beat Nadal pretty convincingly, 6-0 the last set in Paris masters Final.

What is amazing about Federer is that he has raised the level of tennis for the last 3-4 years, anyone who plays him, unwillingly plays his best tennis. Now that Nalbandian(DN) is back it will be interesting to see how this plays out ..whether DN will continue play at such exemplary levels and if he does.... will Federer raise his tennis to even higher levels(Gosh I never thought I would say this about him) or if this prince will finally become the King :)

TennisCrazitis

2007-10-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

How do you find if you have been infected by TennisCrazitis?
1) You wake up smiling and you know your day is going to just bright... because they are showing some live tennis on the tennis channel
2) Your weekends are always good when there are semifinals and finals of some tournament on that weekend
3) you would get ready no matter what time of the day or how tired u are...to play tennis
4)When u go to the gym with the intention of workingout but one look at an empty tennis court you cannot hold back and just go and play...kya kare control nahi hota
5) Your heart flutters when u see an empty tennis court while on a long drive
6) You carry your tennis gear whereever u go :)
7) You always first think of tennis vacations whenever you plan on vacations
8) When you are househunting you make sure there is a tennis court around even before you consider looking inside
9) You refuse to move to NewYork because tennis courts around are way too expensive.
if anyone feels like adding more to this list, go ahead, would love to know more symptons ;)

Good News and a Racing Heart

2007-10-29T08:08:00.001-07:00

My younger Brother G got selected in the Indian Army for a SSC(Short Service Commission). It really makes me Happy and proud but at the same time my family is a little anxious because he is taking on such a huge responsibility and not to mention those responsibilities involve risk.

He was only one of the 3 to make it from a batch of 45 aspirants. He had to undergo some tough tests and finally even after making through everything, he was declared unfit on basis of a eye condition "extropia", a condition wherein in rare conditions he cannot see distant objects . Extropia is like many eye conditions; not easily treatable. After having ruled out the option of surgery, he underwent a series of physiotherapy and ayurvedic treatments. Finally his positive attitude and perseverance paid off.

I am so very proud of you my brother!

Match Lessons #1

2007-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Match: 6.0 Women's doubles against BreakPoints
Time & Venue 10/20/2007 Saturday, 6.00 pm @ Herndon Community Center
Position: Court No.1 with Zan

During warmup figured out that our opponents were quite handleable, just no mistakes play your game and we should be fine is what I told my partner.
thats how pretty much our 1st set was and we raced to a 6-1 win.
2nd Set:
Don't lose intensity and it is not yet over is what I always tell myself after winning a set
but...I dont know what happened, it began with them winning the first game and then on we made a unforced errors on regular basis and we were at a tantalizing 4-4.
We knew we could win it...but @ 4-4 what do you do?

Go back to basics
1) When your opponent is serving, concentrate on when the Racket strikes the ball
2) Keep your return shots deeper
3) Expect every ball back!
That and never to forget
4) Play one point at a time
5) Be positive
Thats what I did and sure enough we broke their serve and I held mine serving @ 5-4.
And thats how we won the match
isnt that cool :)

One more Key Thing:
when you find yourself making too many unforced errors, your timing might be going wrong, try this simple technique

Why oh Why

2007-10-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

Why Roger why did you lose to David Nalbandian? You broke millions of hearts. I am sure no one believed until the last point that you would lose.
But no doubt David played an amazing match, he was doing what Roger does to others. Some how Roger was out of position at many points which is very unlike him. Though I hate to see Roger lose, I think it is good for tennis, one more rivalry to watch out for!

The Ambitious project

2007-10-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

I am fairly new to the tennis world, I have been playing tennis for the last2 years or so. What started as an evening pastime and mainly because V had to play tennis, has now become an all consuming passion. Tennis has taught me a lot of things, it has helped me handle life better, made me more positive and yes sort of made me discover myself. It has been an amazing journey until now and I am hoping to chronicle my tennis life here.

I currently play @ USTA 3.0 level; hoping to be a 3.5 someday soon!