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The handheld banner by a sports fan (a cute girl, I must add), proudly proclaiming, “Just Married But Willing to Exchange for Roger Federer” clearly reflected the sentiments of the crowd as Roger Federer and ‘Zero Fat Djoko’ went head-to-head in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
On the way to the semi-finals Djoko had a close shave with Gilles Simon – he of the amazing resilience on court (nicknamed the GRINDER because of his ability to just dig his heels in and stay on in a match). Each of his strengths – incredible speed of covering the court and that ability to take on long rallies and in general to wear down his opponents – was on display in the match.
And wear down he did, with a 4-and-a-half hour match against Djoko in which Djoko made around a hundred unforced errors and unforgettable failed drop shots which he won’t forget in a hurry.
Of Glaring at VIPs and Winning Hearts
I remember Gilles Simon for his attitude of respecting the game the maximum – even to the point of revering it – at the French Open. When some VIPs walked in to the court in-between games (something that is frowned upon) Gilles became a hero to the crowd when – looking deadly handsome – he just stopped his serve and glared and glared and …(you get the picture) at the VIPs. He, in fact, refused to serve till they settled down. The crowd broke into spontaneous applause and sounds of ‘Allez, Allez’ rang through the air.
What a moment!
And here he was again making Novak stretch long and hard for the winners to find himself a berth in the next round of the Australian Open.
What a fantastic time it’s been for him as the crowd may have supported Fed but the game supported Djoko, all the way. The listless service, poor forehand and seeming lack of movement across the court just made Fed, Fedex in less than 2 hours in a 4 setter against Novak.
The first two sets seemed like a practice session for Djoko with his strong service, gravity defying returns from the baseline and just delicious tennis all the way. Fed may have won hearts, as he always does, but Djoko won the game.
Why I’m Sending Team India Oxygen Tanks
Perhaps Fed and the Indian cricket team can meet up – in Australia – and he can teach them a thing or two about training and sportsmanship. The team, I’m sure, has a lot of time on hand because on field their performance has been…NOTHING….
For all the fancy high fives, new uniforms and new moves, there seem to be no groove on the field. We lost the ODI series to Australia by a wide margin 1-4 and hey, we’re Indian cricketers so we needn’t introspect much – it’s all in a day’s work. I don’t see the coach coming forward and saying, “we need to train better and harder” or just a simple “we’ll try better next time”. No it’s more like, “We didn’t play so badly, our boys are getting there”.
No Mr Shastri, the last time I checked the score board, the Australians have caused our death in the death overs.
And I’m sending the oxygen tanks to revive them.
Till next time sportily, spicily and sassily yours.
(Vandana is a lawyer by education, an author by passion and a sports buff by reflex. You can read more about her on her website www.vandanashah.com)
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