Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic: Final preview

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are going to meet for the record 42nd time coming Sunday for the most prestigious clay court title. Nadal is leading 22-19 against the world no2. For Novak, it is going to be his maiden title while Nadal is looking for his record 9^th Roland Garros title. Winner will be ranked 1 coming Monday.

Djokovic had the last laugh in last 4 meetings between the two, including one clay court meeting in Rome Final. But Nadal won last 3 Grand Slam matches including epic 5 setter in 2013 French Open semifinal.

It has been easy ride to final for Rafael Nadal as he lost only 1 set to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in Quarter final. Also nobody could challenge Djokovic so far. Both haven’t played a 5 setter so far so we are expecting a great final, as one will be determined to become 8^th player in ATP history to have won all Grand Slam title at least once while other is looking for his record 9^th French Open title and to become first player to have won 5 title in same grand slam event and also to become first player in the history to win at least one Grand Slam title for 10 consecutive year. Victory for Rafael Nadal will equal his Grand Slam title tally with the great Pete Sampras.

Djokovic can trouble Nadal as he is now more determined and matured and have already beaten him in couple of clay matches, but it is not going to be easy either for Nadal or Djokovic. They will have to sweat it out in the middle to finally kiss the coveted trophy.

The only concern is that, the weather holds up in Paris as Nadal is not comfortable playing in cloudy condition. Hope we are going to have great Sunday evening!

In WTA, in less than 2 hours, Maria Sharapova will be taking on Simona Halep to clinch her second French Open title. Last year she was denied to win consecutive French Open title by Serena Williams, who had a rather shocking exit this time in second round against Gabrine Muguruza.

French Open day 5

It was a normal outing in Paris on day 5 as there were no major upset, except Garcia-Lopez, Leonardo Mayer (who plays Nadal in third round) and Fernando Verdasco that went to 4/5 sets.

Young Donald Young who never had won a game in French Open defeated Italian Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. Young Dominic Thiem played some incredible shots but that wasn’t enough to breach Nadal’s defense. Thiem did break Nadal and has occasional success against Rafa but it was too much to ask from the young man to trouble the clay court champion. Nadal eased to third round beating Theim 6-2 6-2 6-3 registering his 61^st victory on red clay. Nadal was high on praise on Thiem and said “He is future star, 100 percent”.

Last year finalist David Ferrer didn’t have much trouble beating Simon Bolelli, and British no1 Andy Murray got past Marinko Matosevic losing just 7 games. News is that Murray has found his new coach in Amélie Mauresmo though it hasn’t been officially declared yet. He has been playing without a coach after he parted ways with his former coach Ivan Llendl. Isn’t it interesting that a woman will be coaching a man? Though Mauresmo has coached Frenchman Michael Llodra before, who retired from singles event after he lost to Fernando Verdasco in first round.

In ladies side, Jelena Jankovic, Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Ana Ivanovic all advanced to third round. British no2 Heather Watson couldn’t get past Simona Halep. British no1 young Laura Robson did not participate in French Open and will miss Wimbledon as well due to wrist injury.

Indo Pak express Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Ul Haq Quershi could get past Erlich/Melo and lost in straight sets. There was some good news as Sania Mirza with her German partner Cara Black advanced to pre quarter final beating Hantuchova and peers.

There are some interesting matches tomorrow: Milos Raonic vs Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga vs Jerzy Janowicz, Radek Stepanek vs Ernest Gulbis, Tommy Robredo vs John Isner (should be a good 5 setter), Taylor Townsend vs Suarez Navvaro. 

French Open day 4.

Fourth day in Paris was very dramatic, as defending champion and world no 1 Serena Williams lost to Garbine Muguruza of Spain. This will surely give sigh of relief to Maria Sharapova who was denied his second consecutive Roland Garros title last year by Serena Williams. Before Serena, her elder sister Venus lost to Anna Schmiedlova in 3 sets. Had Both Venus and Serena won, we could have witnessed one more Williams affair in third round but that wasn’t to be.

In men’s side, there were not any upset so to say, but I am happy to see Radek Stepanek doing well. He defeated Mikhail Youzhny in four sets and advanced to round3. Djokovic, Federer, Milos Raonic, Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Tommy Robredo all sailed in straight sets.

Spaniard are doing well in French Open and it evident that they love playing in clay. Except Almagro, there are still good players from Spain are alive. It will be interesting to see how far Robredo, Bautista Agut and Garnollers Pujol go.

As I am writing this, Order of play of day 5 is not out yet, so it is still not certain whether Rafa gets to play in Chatrier or will he have to play in Lenglen again? He plays Dominic Theim of Austria in round2.

Let us hope we don’t see any major upsets tomorrow and Rafa is not troubled much against the he hasn’t played even once. 

A trip to Rishikesh – 24th and 25th May 2014

Five of us (college friends) planned a trip to Rishikesh. We started off from our place at 4 AM in the morning. We took our first halt at road side dhaba and had tandoor aloo parantha with dahi. I also got the chance to see sunrise which rarely happens. 

We then stopped at Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar, Baba Ramdev Ashram. I was astonished to see the facilities provided in ‘Ashram’. There were big buildings and in each room they had installed ACs. A thought came to my mind that if we compile the list of richest saints of the world, Baba Ramdev will be at the top.

We had previously done the booking so we reached at the camp site around 2 PM. The camp site ‘The river view’ is 37 KMs from Rishikesh (3 KMs from Byasi). There were other sites which were near to Rishikesh but these were flooded with people. So if you want to be in the crowded place, book the place near by Rishikesh only. The charge per head was 1450 including Lunch, Dinner and next morning breakfast with Kayaking, Rock climbing, Rafting and Cliff jumping.

After reaching at the site, we had our lunch. And after half an hour of rest, we kayaked down the river. None of us were able to balance the canoe even for a minute. Then we played Volleyball for an hour and were able to defeat the opposition team (People who were at the same camp site) just once and lost 1-2 to them.

Gradually the started to wear off. We went to the river shore with our canes. The water was very cold there. We put it for better use. We spent 2:30 hours there chatting and laughing. It was the memorable evening with friends. We had our legs immersed in cold water and cold breeze was making the atmosphere pleasurable.

As the night wore on, they lit the bonfire and people started to gather there. As I was very tired so went to bed (inside the tent) early and missed the dinner which was very delicious (Or may be my friends were saying this just to tease me). They had both veg and non-veg in dinner while they served only veg in Lunch. Everyone was asleep by 10:30.

We had to wake up early for rafting but then we love our sleep more than anything (It is good to have at least one enthusiastic guy in the group so time can be utilized effectively). We woke up at around 8:00 and got ready by 8:30. (There was queue to use bathroom but we were late so did not have to wait for it). In breakfast, they served poori sabji bread butter and boiled eggs.

We reached the site where rafting has to be started around 10:30. As it was weekend and there were more people and had less no of rafts so we had to wait till the last group had finished their rafting.

As in one raft they accommodate 9-10 people, and we were 5, so there 4 people from other group and because of that we couldn’t enjoy as much as we would have liked to. So it is better to go in a group of 9-10 or confirm first hand if you want the separate raft. It was a 16 KMs track with 3 major rapids in between. It was really enjoyable ride especially when we had to face the major rapid and when raft stood still for a couple of seconds vertically. We finished it in 1 and half hour. The guide wasn’t a good one as he wants to finish as early as possible because people were waiting for their turn. So it is better to go on weekdays than on weekends. The good time to go is between Starting of March to End of April as after April it becomes very hot. And there is nothing to do except to be in water in day time.

After rafting we had our lunch in Rishikesh, which was very delicious. I can not remember the name but they served awesome Lassi. There is famous restaurant named Chotiwala as well but we did not have to go there as we were already running late.

We started off from Rishikesh at around 2:45 PM. We stopped by at a dhaba near Muzzafarnagar for tea and were startled to see they had swimming pool there. If you drive from Delhi to Rishikesh it is 6 KMs before Muzzafarnagar, and the name of the dhaba is ‘Picnic Spot’. They charged 50 rs per head for one hour. After the tiring day we relaxed there for 45 minutes and then had Aaloo paranths. One thing was very surprising for me as I asked the lad (who happened to be the son of the dhaba owner) that they were Muslims and had named the Dhaba as ‘Punjabi Dhaba’. Don’t get me wrong but when it comes to business people care about running the business and making profit out it.

As soon so we got in the car, it started to rain heavily and we opened the car’s window. The rain drop hitting on the face made the ride really enjoyable.

That was my first rafting experience, and I really enjoyed it.

French Open day 2 and 3.

French Open has started and so has Rafael Nadal started his bid for 9^th Rolland Garros title.  He had no troubles in beating his first round opponent Robby Ginepri of USA. Nadal bageled Ginepri twice in his 6-0 6-3 6-0 win over Ginepri hitting 27 winners in just 21 games. I would have loved to see more winners but was happy seeing him racing around the court.

While Wawrinka, Nishikori and Almagro are ousted in first round, we can not say it is going to be easy ride for Nadal for his 5^th consecutive title in Paris. If he does so, he will be the first man to win 5 consecutive titles in the same grand slam event and will also be the first player to win at least one Grand Slam each year for 10 consecutive years starting from 2005. By doing so he will also equal Pete Sampras record and the gap will reduce to 3 with Roger Federer.

It was just 3^rd day and we have already seen few upsets. Australian Open champions Stan Wawrinka, Chinese sensation and former French Open winner Li Na are already shown the exit doors. There are few potential young stars that could not make a mark this time. Grigor lost to Ivo Karlovic in straight sets while Bernard Tomic lost to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

I am also disappointed that this time there is no significant representation from India. While Rohan Bopanna is playing with Asiam Ul Haq Quereshi and Sania Mirza is playing with Cara Black, there is no Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi this time. Somdev Devvarman could not win the qualifier with Purav Raja and lost to Aleksandr Nedovyesov in first round in the main draw.

So, Rafael Nadal plays young Dominic Thiem in round 2 who defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets. Both haven’t played each other so far so it will be interesting to see how Rafa tackles this young lad from Austria.

Hope to see Grand Slam title no 14 in 2014!

Rafael Nadal vs Stanislas Wawrinka..

On Super Sunday, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka will meet for the 13^th time at the Australian Open final. Nadal is enjoying a 12-0 head to head in his favor. But does this mean Nadal will have the last laugh tomorrow? Head to head does not give you the proper understanding if you have not seen the matches. In their last 12 meetings, Stan hasn’t troubled Rafa much, he is yet to win a set of Nadal. But if you compare the same with Djokovic, it tells different story. Though Stan had 2-17 head to head to till Quarter final but he still came victorious. The reason is that he has been troubling Novak off late and just having problem in crossing that finish line. In their last two meeting at Slams, both matches have gone to 5 sets and anybody could have won them but I guess Stan was lacking just that extra bit of experience or self belief.

So Head to head does not give the clear picture until you have actually not seen the matches.

Now coming back to tomorrow’s match, it is going to be a real tough match for both. Rafa has to find a way to tackle Stan’s powerful backhand returns while Stan will have to show much more energy to run down to the court. Rafa has to find a way to hit winners and Stan will have to hold the nerve to kiss this coveted trophy for the very first time. Fitness level of both is going to be tested tomorrow. I would love to see the game going to 5 sets and then off course to see Rafael Nadal to lift his grand slams title no 14 which will reduce the gap between him and Federer in no of slams title.If Nadal wins tomorrow, he will equal Pete Sampras record as well will become the first player in the ATP circuit in open era to win each grand slam at least twice but if Stan wins he will be the third Swiss to lift the Grand Slam trophy after Roger Federer and Martina Hingis.

I am eagerly waiting for tomorrow. Match starts at 2 PM Indian Standard Time.

Cricket commentators.

Best

Ian Chappel – He is by far the most knowledgeable. He is never afraid of to voice his opinion which concerns the game. He always calls spade a spade.

Tony Grieg – Ahh I will always miss this man’s voice. Sharjah – Tendulkar – Tony Grieg best combination. He was sometimes critical of Indian and Indian cricket but always did with good spirit. “Whadda player, lovely elegant drive all the way to the boundary! “ . Sachin hits McGrath for a six and Tony in the comm. Box ‘The little man has hit big fella for a six’

Tom Moody – Some may not agree with me to  have him in the best but I really like him because of his shrewd knowledge about the game. His voice is also very sound unlike other.

Harsha Bhogle – No words to describe Harsha. If cricket is a gentlemen’s game he is a gentle voice. Because of him cricket viewing is much more interesting, he never let the dull moments come in when he is behind the mic, where it is about cricket or Indians in general or the life of a cricketer, he knows all. He always comes with new words and phrases which are refreshing to ear.

Sourav Ganguly – a lovely addition in commentary box. His pitch report and captaincy tactic are good to listen. He often sites past memory of him with past legends and really good anecdotes which make the atmosphere very lively.

Above average

Naser Hussain – He is good when he is talking about what is happening in the field, sometimes he over analysis which doesn’t go well with some listeners as we are interested in what is happening currently on the field. But none the less he is strong in his views and never hesitates to voice his opinion.

Shane Warne – Another good addition in the commentary box. Love listening to him as he brings different dimension to the game.

Rahul Dravid – Ahh can never get enough of Rahul Dravid. Whether he is in commentary box or anywhere, behind the mic he as cool as he is with the bat. Always sober and no nonsense.

David Llyod - Haven’t heard much of him but what I have heard is really refreshing

Pommi Mbangwa – Coming from a country which is struggling to have its mark on international cricket, he is always modest and his antics sometimes lighten up the atmosphere. He is someone who doesn’t come with any prejudice and wears his heart on his sleeve.

Average

Alan Wilkins – Having done commentary for Tennis and Golf, he doesn’t fit in cricket, though he had played cricket. He doesn’t analyze the cricket much but talks the condition the venue and the crowd most of the time. I love him though with Vijay Amritraj in tennis, best duos!

Wasim Akram – He is one who always keeps going to past. He always brings two legends Sachin and Imran Khan and tries to tell why Indians have good batter and Pak have good fast bowler.

Sanjay Manjrekar – He is someone who comes prepared I guess. He doesn’t respond to situation very well. He often makes mistakes in fielding position as well fielders but never tries to correct himself. He thinks it will get unnoticed but viewers want accurate analysis especially when you are on in video commentary.

Ravi Shastri – Lots of noise but no insights can summarize Ravi Shashtri in commentary box. He is good at times but over pitched. His lack of coining new words and depending upon same cliché makes it boring.

Sunnil Gavaskar – Being a great cricketer doesn’t mean you are a great commentator too. For him Sachin Tendulkar is everything. He is without a doubt best but why to bring him in everything. Sunny is biased towards any Mumbai Cricketer. If sachin takes a single he goes all gaga but if Kohli or MSD hits a good cracking shot he doesn’t say much on that. Though I love when he imitates Jamaican’s accent.

Ian Bishop – Really a humble West Indian, when Windies were loosing game after game against India he is someone who still retains his composer. He doesn’t go overboard and doesn’t shout like many others.

Navjot Singh Sidhu (English) – I put him in the category for his English commentary but we hardly see him in English Channel.

Danny Morrison – He is good only with IPL which matches his ability. He is much towards entertainment side than the cricket side.

Worst

Ramiz Raza – I am sure this will be the first name. He literally kills the game. He tries to use phrases but they always backfire him. One of the few ‘Misbah looks cool from exterior, don’t know about interior’

Kapil Dev – Without any disrespect to this legend, commentary doesn’t suit him well. He does speak what he wants to but not in the manner viewers want to listen.

Simon Doull – Again a very dull commentator.

Laxman Shivramkrishnan – Worst of the lost if I can say. He is not biased towards Indian cricket but towards a league. For him CSK is the best team. For him if CSK need 40 of last over, he will still be hopeful.

Navjot Singh Sidhu (Hindi) – I am often surprised why channels hire him to do the commentary. He rarely does cricket commentary but speaks everything except cricket. His jokes after every ball are too boring. It can offer a few laughs but then after 5 minutes or so you will see him repeating all over again.

Rafael Nadal, a year of glorious uncertainties!

It was 28^th June 2012, 4^th day of Wimbledon championship, Rafael Nadal to play his second round match against no 100 Lukas Rosol of Czech Republic. Nobody would have expected this result that the great Spaniard and 11 times Grand Slam winner will go down against a no 100.  But somethings are not under your control, he was limping in final and fifth set and may be Rosol took advantage of that but Nadal did not make an excuse and congratulated Rosol after the loss. Many joked around then that Nadal’s is only a clay courter and not good in grass or hard court?

Well that really was a shocker for many of us as he had never lost to a player of 100 or below rank in any grand slam events before. To get his mind right he took few days off from Tennis and went for holidays. He was still good enough that he was chosen the flag bearer of Spain for Summer Olympics in London but citing knee injury he withdrew from London Olympics. As the date drew closer for US Open he announced that he is withdrawing from the tournament as he hasn’t fully recovered. So 28^th June was the last time he played a match in 2012. Many of us believed that it will be hard for him to make a comeback and will be even harder to reach at the top as Andy Murray has also started winning slams but as you look back now it is nothing less than a miracle.

He started 2013 with ATP tournament in Vina del mar in Chile in his favorite surface after 222 days injury lay off since his defeat in Wimbledon. He participated both in singles and doubles event there, doubles with Argentinean Juan Monaco. He reached the final in both the events before losing to Horacio Zeballos in 3 sets in singles and to Lorenzi/ Starace in straight sets in doubles. He bounced back and won Sao Paulo, Acapulco, Indian wells (Hard court). Then he lost to Djokovic in Monte Carlo in clay and failed to claim his 9th Monte Carlo title. He then won Barcelona, Madrid and Rome and then came his first slam of the year and the favorite one in May. To get his 8^th French Open title and defend his title he has to get past top ranked Novak Djokovic in semifinal which wasn’t an easy one. But then nothing comes easy in life. He won the semifinal in style beating Djokovic in epic 5 sets where fifth sent stretched to 9-7. And after that beating David Ferrer wasn’t that difficult against whom he had 19-4 record in his favor and became first man to get 8 French Open titles.

Now Rafael Nadal was winning almost everything but then came Wimbledon. This time he lost in the very first round to 135 ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium. Before coming to Wimbledon he hasn’t played a single grass court match and may be he wasn’t prepared well enough and that led to his first round loss, worst than that of 2012. Tennis pundit started saying that Nadal’s 2013 season is over as there are no more clay court events. But that man never looked down. And he won Montreal and Cincinati (Both Hard court tournaments) and everybody started looking Rafael Nadal as hot favorite for US open which he missed in 2012. He won that in style dropping just one set in the entire tournament in the final against Novak Djokovic.

Just after winning his second US open title he flew to Spain to help his team in Davis Cup. Then in China he lost to Djokovic in final of China Open and Juan Martin Del Potro in semifinal in Shanghai Rolex Masters. Before losing to Djokovic in final  in China Open he defeated Fabio Fognini in 3 sets and if you have seen this match you will know how fierce fighter Nadal is. He came back once from 2-6 0-3[15-40] and then 2-6 1-4[30-40] when Italian was serving really well.

Before heading to the last tournament (World Tour final) of the season he lost to compatriot David Ferer in Semifinal in BNP Paribas Mastes in Paris but these results ensured that if Nadal wins two matches at year ending World Tour Finals he will be ranked 1 in the year end. Nadal defeated all 3 in his group ( David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Thomas Berdych) and then won the semi final against arch rival Roger Federer and he just dropped one set in all of these 4 matches before losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final. It would have been a fitting end of the glorious 2013 but then some things are not meant to be.  This single trophy is still left to be kissed by him and in a way is good to keep him motivated and hungry to do well in this event in the future.

When in the start of the year he himself wasn’t sure whether he will be able to make a comeback, he finished the year with 75-7 (91.46% winning percentage) with 10 titles including 2 Grand Slam titles. That says a lot about this man’s commitment and passion for the game.

2014 is going to be a good year as Roger Federer has shown some class at the end of the year and 2 times Grand Slam champion Andy Murray will be making his come back as well.

Waiting for Australian Open’14. Till then Vamos Rafa!

So who are US open favorites now?

So the debate has come alive once again after Rafael Nadal trumped local lad Milos Raonic yesterday in just 68 minutes. Well to be precise it was not the final but the semifinal that caught the eyes of every tennis pundit when Nadal defeated the best hard court player Novak Djokovic in epic semifinal. Nadal wasn’t the hot favorite for US open after his first round loss to Belgian Steve Darcis in Wimbledon but this Rogers Cup seems to have changed the equation completely.

I am not saying that Nadal is equally capable in hard court as he is in clay but after beating Novak, Janowicz (Montreal Master), Federer, Gulbis, Del Potro, Berdych (Indian Wells) he certainly is eyeing for the big year end trophy. And to those who keep saying that Nadal is clay courter, he is keeping 100% record in hard court, above clay court.

The talk of the town is certainly Rafael Nadal but before the US open, there is Cincinati as well and all big four (or big six I should say) are playing. Novak will be dying to clinch this one to become the first man to win all 9 ATP tour masters 1000. Roger Federer will be looking to get his second title of the year (which is really a poor record for the big). Rafael Nadal would like to carry on where he left in Montreal and Murray would ride high in confidence despite his third round loss to Ernest Gulbis. It does not end here. We have Del potro who would certainly love to repeat his 2009 heroics and you can never discount on David Ferrer. He can surprise you anytime.

So as 26^th August is drawing close, we are eager to see who shines at flushing meadow this time!

Beggars and begging in India..

Last month we planned a trip to Agra with this Dutch friend of ours and what I saw after we came out from Red fort was quite astounding. Bunch of guys were pleading to our Dutch friend to buy something from them even if he was not interested and none of them were  approaching us to sell their items. There were some beggars as well who just didn’t want to go away from the sight even after making them realize that he is with us. Finally our friend had to give in and bought a couple of items from one of them. But it does not stop here, as he buys memorabilia from the guy, fellow sellers barged into the car and started pretending that they are selling the items in much lowers prices than they usually sell to other ‘foreign’ travelers. Now one thing was quite amusing to me was their accent. They were speaking in rather much better accent and were directing to him only and none of them cared that we were also there. Now this tells that money can make you do anything, yeah anything. This is just a small example.

Now, that just got me thinking, how does a foreigner attracts more sellers than fellow Indians who understand the language better? May be he is a better customer, may be they can fool them? They start a 50 rs item in whopping price of roughly 1500 and then the buyer tries to half it thinking he is clever. But is he?  And doesn’t it tell you a thing or two about our culture.

Now coming to the begging part, what I think is, that foreigners accentuate the problem of begging in India, because for them giving a rupee or two or sometimes a ten rupee note is not a big thing (and this entails them to deride Indians by deducing that India is still a poor country and full of beggars) but what they don’t realize is that they are breeding an unpopular culture here. This problem can be abated if not eradicated if foreign travelers are advised at the airport itself not to give any money to beggars and if they are so interested in throwing largesse they should rather donate in some NGOs.

Few days back I saw a kid at metro at around 10:30 PM stymieing a lady, he was coming in her way when ever she tried to walk ahead putting her in an embarrassing situation. We rebuked the kid then only he left the lady and later we found out that he was drunk.

Begging has become a profession in some families who just want to continue their family business despite having resources to make their own life. May be this is easy or may be they don’t want to work hard.

Beggars operate in a very organized manner; they have a certain territories which they can not cross. And that is why you might have noticed that if you don’t give money they will accompany you to certain place and then will walk away and will find another victim.

If you didn’t know, begging is a crime in India but then isn’t drunk driving also a crime? But who cares the law as long as we can get away with it. We should wake up to reality sooner than later.

The offense of begging comes under prevention of begging act. It is a state law and differs from state to state. In Delhi The Bombay Prevention of Begging Act 1959 is applicable which deals with the penalty or detention of beggars for the offense of begging. Not just begging but if you are giving money to the beggar it is a crime too.

So from next time whenever you see a firang giving money to beggars just stop them there and then.

It really hurts seeing infants begging, teenagers working in hotels and innocents getting trafficked.

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Good Morning, Have a nice day!