A sports potpourri

A travesty of cricket

When a person stands with his feet close together and makes a full swing with a 9-iron and completely misses the ball, it is called a 'whiff' or an 'air-shot' in golf, and counts as 1 stroke. A similar situation, but on a baseball diamond, is counted as a 'strike'. Three strikes, and the batter is out.

On a cricket pitch, one can go on swinging and whiffing to one's heart's content - and other than making a complete fool of oneself, it doesn't count at all! Neither should the travesty of cricket - as recently witnessed during the 20-20 World Cup in England.

Pakistan won the tournament deservedly, beating Sri Lanka in the final. The country has become a pariah because of its political adventurism that has closed the door to any home engagements in international sports. This victory should be a moral booster for the sports loving public.

Sania vs. Saina

Two young girls from the same town in India. Both participants in different forms of racket-sports. Attractive personalities. Almost identical names. One's star is ascending, the other's descending.

Sania's slam-bang 20-20 version of tennis initially bewildered opponents and allowed her a modicum of success. But a hit-or-miss style used repeatedly without any planning or thinking does not produce results in the long run. No wonder her progress is limited to the 1st or 2nd round in Grand Slam events, and an occasional doubles victory in third rung tournaments.

Saina, an intelligent and thinking player, has shunned publicity, made steady progress up the badminton rankings and has been a top 10 player for a while. Her recent victory at the Indonesian Open against the World No 3, Ling Wang of China was highly commendable. This performance should move her into the top 5 in the world badminton rankings. Hail Saina!

Lucas Glover's US Open Golf victory

At the top echelons of world sports, the margin between defeat and victory is small - often decided by who makes the least errors and not so much by who has the better skills. This was exemplified at Bethpage Black by Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes. Barnes set the record for the lowest 36 holes total and the 2nd lowest 54 holes total and led by a shot over Glover after the 3rd round.

The final round scores? Glover shot a +3; Barnes a +6 to lose by two shots. It also confirmed my theory, that under Grand Slam final round pressure, the guy with the wonky swing will wilt! Kenny Perry's loopy swing collapsed against the smoother swing of Angel Cabrera at the Masters. Ricky Barnes' off-balance swing went haywire against the more classical swing of Glover.

Oh! The joy of scoring goals!

It was sheer joy to watch the first half of the FIFA Confederations Cup group match between Brazil and World Champions, Italy. It was fascinating, thrilling, exhilarating and exciting.

Italy was kicking the ball around in the mid-field, playing in the European style of possession and distribution. Precise passes, interchanging of positions, looking for a chink in the opposing defence.

Brazil was only interested in scoring. Everything else was only a means to that end. Once they got possession, a wave of yellow jerseys would lash upon the opposing penalty box in the blink of an eye. A feint here, a flick there and one of the players would suddenly be free and taking a shot at goal.

Twice, the woodwork came in the way. Several times, Buffon helped the World Champs avoid the blushes. But it was obvious that the question was when, not if. Two strikes by Fabiano late in the first half was followed by a desperate lunge by Dossena to save a certain third goal, only to guide the ball behind a diving Buffon. 3-0 at half-time. The World Champions were thoroughly outclassed.

Is Federer the greatest tennis player ever?

Roger Federer has won the French Open, finally. He beat an over-awed Robin Soderling, playing his first Grand Slam final. Roger had beaten Soderling on all the previous 9 occasions that they had played. So the result was a foregone conclusion. The monkey is finally off Roger's back. He can now play without a care in the world, and win a few more slams.

Federer has achieved parity with Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slams - but has the edge because Pete never won at Roland Garros. Neither did Ashe, Becker, Connors, Newcombe, Edberg. McEnroe never won the Australian Open or the French Open. Rosewall and Lendl never won Wimbledon. Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open. Nadal hasn't won the US Open - yet. Is Federer the greatest ever?

Let us have a quick look at his competition. Only 5 other players have won all 4 Grand Slams in their career: Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Fred Perry. Perry and Emerson can be ruled out because their wins came during the amateur era - when pros were not allowed to participate in Grand Slam events.

Don Budge belonged to the amateur era as well. But he won a Grand Slam in the same calendar year and still holds the record of 6 consecutive Grand Slam singles victories. According to another great, Jack Kramer, the greatest tennis player ever is a toss-up between Budge and Ellsworth Vines.

In the Open era, only Agassi, Federer and Laver have won all four Grand Slam events. Great player that he was, I feel Agassi doesn't quite belong in this league. His base-line only game and counter punching style was not suited to playing well on grass. The fact that he won Wimbledon in 1992 was because his opponent was a very nervous and inconsistent Goran Ivanisevic (who finally won Wimbledon as a complete outsider).

That leaves the last two men standing - Federer and Rod Laver. Did I mention that Laver has won the calendar Grand Slam twice? Once as an amateur in 1962 and once as a pro in 1969. In 40 years, no one has come close to touching that record. There are some other interesting tit-bits.

In 1963, after Laver turned pro, he became an instant whipping boy of the pro stalwarts. Lew Hoad was 8-0 and Ken Rosewall was 11-2 against Laver before he started adapting and asserting himself. He ended the year at No 2, behind Rosewall.

From 1965 to 1967, Laver was undoubtedly the No 1 player in the world. In 1967, he won the unofficial Pro Grand Slam of Wembley, French Pro, Wimbledon Pro and US Pro. In 1968, when the Open era began with only 8 open tournaments, Laver was runner-up to Rosewall at the French Open and won Wimbledon by beating Tony Roche in straight sets. That was followed by the calendar Grand Slam in 1969.

I'm not even including Laver's doubles wins and Davis Cup victories. He won 11 Grand Slam singles titles in all. Wonder how many more he would have won if he was allowed to participate during his 5 years in the pro circuit from 1963 to 1967.  But the two Grand Slams in a calendar year - one during the amateur era and once as a pro - should be more than enough evidence to decide who is the all-time great.

For those who have never had the privilege of watching the Rockhampton Rocket in action here is one final clinching piece of evidence. To be called the greatest ever, a player should have a better win-loss record against his best adversaries. Rod Laver beat every one in sight - whether it was his idol Lew Hoad, or an aging but supremely gifted Pancho Gonzales, or the evergreen Ken Rosewall with the greatest backhand ever. What about Roger Federer? His win-loss record against Rafa Nadal (current rank: No 1) and Andy Murray (current rank: No 3) is in the negative.

I looked up the definition of 'great' in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary. There are 11 definitions, out of which 'remarkably skilled' seems most appropriate for a tennis player. In terms of remarkable skills, there is little to choose between Laver and Federer. Laver was by far the better at serve-and-volley. In fluidity of motion, almost ballet-like in its beauty, Federer tops.

Shakespearean tragedy at the US Masters

The recently concluded US Masters at the Augusta National had all the ingredients of a Shakespearean tragedy. Since I'm a sports loving engineer morphed into a stock market investment analyst, readers may question my credentials about commenting on the fine arts.

So, I am following the advice of the late great Master himself (Falstaff: 'The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.'  Henry IV, Part One) - and quoting from this article:-

"A Shakespearean tragedy is a five act play ending in the death of most of the major characters...Let us consider several characteristics common to Shakespeare's four great tragedies. Each play is especially concerned with one central figure or tragic protagonist. Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth are the protagonists of their respective plays. It is significant that each is the story of a man because the paradox of tragedy in real life is experienced mostly by individual men. Thus as we identify ourselves with the protagonist the sense of tragedy is aroused in us...Each play contains an element of hope that is disappointed or ambition that is frustrated."

Let me introduce our central figure - the 'tragic protagonist'. A 48 year old journeyman pro, bearing the scars of many a battle, a few of which he had won, still not able to clinch that one Major victory. After 69 holes of this demanding 72 hole layout, he was two shots clear of his nearest rival.

Would he become the oldest pro ever to win a Major, or would this Masters become his last hurrah? For thousands of spectators on a gorgeous spring evening, and millions of TV viewers across the globe, the air was tingling with anticipation and excitement.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. There were other major characters in this 'play'. One by one, frustrated and disappointed, they fell by the wayside.

Phil Mickelson set the course alight with a birdie spree that equalled Augusta's front nine record score of 30 and brought him to within a shot off the lead. Of particular brilliance, among many shining stars, was the hooked approach from behind the trees to an elevated 6th green, the ball finishing a couple of feet from the hole.

Lefty's playing partner, and everyone's favourite to win, the great Tiger Woods was trying hard but achieving little. A superb second shot on the par 5 8th got the ball hole-high, about 30 feet to the left. To no one's surprise and everyone's delight, he drilled the putt home for an eagle 3 on a difficult undulating green. The Tiger was on the prowl.

Meanwhile, the leader seemed like he was playing to a plan. While Lefty was charging and Tiger's fans were roaring, Kenny Perry cut out the frills and quietly but steadily parred all the front nine holes.

Chad Campbell, the sole leader after the first round and joint leader with Perry after 36, was also playing unspectacular, grinding golf and staying in the hunt.

Perry's playing partner, a veteran pro from Argentina, Angel Cabrera was playing the worst golf among the leaders. Missing greens with approach shots, incorrect club selections and even a horrid shank, but a never-say-die attitude and a fantastic short game kept his chances alive. The stage was set for the finale.

Mickelson hit a fat 9 iron into the water on the short but very difficult par 3 12th, and completely lost momentum. Tiger kept hitting his approach shots far away from the difficult pin placements and never had reasonable chances to cut the deficit.

His poor luck was epitomised by what happened on the 18th. His tee shot went into the pines. The second shot ricocheted off a tree trunk. A wonderful approach over a tree to about 8 feet, followed by a missed putt for bogie. It was that kind of a day.

Chad Campbell had finished at -10 and had no option but to sit and watch the drama unfolding on TV. Flash back to where the 'play' had started - a little too early.

The 70th hole was the tough par 3 16th with the pin tucked left, close to the water. Like a would-be champion, Perry hit the ball a couple of feet below the hole for a 'gimme' birdie, to the delight of the huge crowd. Cabrera was about 10 feet above the hole and had a tricky, downhill left-to-right breaking putt.

This was a do-or-die moment. The Argentinian relied on the memories of his only victory on the US tour, the 107th US Open at Oakmont in 2007, and smoothly slid the ball into the cup to remain within two.

Tragedy struck on the 17th. Perry pulled his second shot and missed the green back and left. Cabrera also hit long to a green sloping up from front to back. Outwardly calm but obviously shaken, Perry jabbed at the chip, rolled it well past the hole, down the slope, all the way to the front of the green. The only sensible choice was a two-putt bogey. Cabrera deftly chipped to within a couple of feet, parred the hole and was 1 shot down with one to play.

The golf swing is one of the most complex motions in all of sports - perhaps because this is the only game where a stationary ball has to be propelled long distances. To get a repeating swing under the psychological pressure of championship golf, the club needs to go back and then forward along the same inclined plane.

Forget Woods. Look at the swings of other multiple Major winners. Els, Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Watson, Nicklaus, Player, Snead, Hogan. All with smooth, classic golf swings. No going back inside, making a loop and then coming through from the outside. (Like Furyk - one Major and Kenny Perry - none. Trevino and Palmer were notable exceptions - but they had extraordinary talent and will power.)

Anyway, cut to the chase. The final hole. Another pulled second shot to the left of the green by Perry. A chip 18 ft away and a putt that oh-so-heartbreakingly slid by the cup. Bogey. The Argentinian, nicknamed the 'Duck' - probably for his lackadaisical walk, looked like he deliberately played short and chipped and putted for a three-way tie with Chad Campbell and Perry.

Campbell showed his lack of experience by staying in front of the TV till Cabrera's putt dropped. He had little time to warm up or practice before the threesome headed back to the 18th tee for the first sudden-death hole. Tiger would have been hitting balls for half an hour if he was in Campbell's place. Whether he made the play-off or not. No wonder, Campbell made a bogey and dropped out of the race.

For the second sudden-death hole, Cabrera and Perry teed off from the par 4 10th. Under immense pressure came another jerky, loopy swing that sent Perry's ball way left into the trees. Cabrera was safely on in two. Barely able to take a proper swing, Perry chipped past the hole, missed the putt and lost the only realistic chance he ever had of winning a Major.

Cabrera two-putted for his second US tour victory. Another Major. But the main 'protagonist' had 'died'. End of 'play'.

Not cricket!

Die-hard cricket lovers, getting bored by the lull between the Sri Lanka series and the forthcoming Australian one, may be disappointed with this post. Because there is not much in it about cricket.

There are several other sports in which Indians have been excelling of late - not just at home but across the world.

It started with Abhinav Bindra's shooting gold at the Beijing Olympics.  What followed on his arrival back to India exemplified the old phrase 'from the sublime to the ridiculous'. People who didn't have the foggiest about what particular event brought Abhinav his gold medal, started falling over each other trying to garland him and announce cash rewards!

Sania Nehwal had also performed well in the Beijing Olympics but had succumbed in the quarters. Her win at a badminton tournament in Taipei should come as a moral booster (her subsequent first round loss in Japan notwithstanding).

Young Pankaj Advani won the World Billiards championship at Bangalore with a victory over the formidable Geet Sethi in the quarters. Pankaj has also qualified to participate in the upcoming World Snooker Championship at Austria.

Then came the announcement of the Rest of India cricket team for the Irani trophy, and notable for their absence were Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly. While the media went to town announcing the end of the road for Sourav, a namesake - Saurav Ghoshal caused ripples in the squash world by winning a tournament in France after beating a higher ranked opponent in the final. The reason Saurav Ghoshal had entered the tournament was because he had never been to France before and wanted to see the country! Hope he continues to bring glory to India.

Last, but not the least, is the evergreen Leander Paes, who won the Mixed Doubles title with Cara Black at the US Open tennis - his 8th grand slam doubles title.

There is a common thread in all the five champions - they participate in non-contact sports. My theory about this is that Indian parents do not like to risk injuries for their children lest it interfere with academics.

Even though Vijay Kumar and Suresh Kumar got bronze medals at Beijing in boxing and wrestling, the track record of Indians in contact sports is dismal. A FIFA ranking of 151 in football and non-existent ranking in basketball are cases in point.

New stars on the tennis horizon

The fast hard courts at Flushing Meadows, NYC have produced some scintillating tennis matches that brought into spotlight upcoming stars and some veteran journeymen.

Marin Cilic from Croatia is one youngster to watch out for. What was evident was a very mature head on top of a still growing body. The explosive power of his serves and forehand were a treat for tennis lovers. He is arguably even better than his fellow countryman Mario Ancic  and provided a stern test for Djokovic before bowing out in 4 sets in 4 hours. If he puts in a little work on his net game, he should be a top 10 player very soon.

Sam Querrey is another very tall and very strong player with a great serve, a powerful forehand and a good net game. He gave Nadal a run for his money and should take away several positives from his 4 set defeat.

Juan Martin del Potro from Argentina won 4 tournaments in a row prior to the US Open and is another one from the young brigade who is very tall and very focused. He lost a tight 4 setter to Andy Murray but the match could have gone either way.

Andy Murray has put in a lot of hard work to improve his fitness and is already a star with two wins over Djokovic this year in the hard court series. His never-say-die attitude helped him to get through some remarkably close matches - particularly the 5 setter against the Austrian, Juergen Melzer.

Among the tour veterans, Mardy Fish had a great run with some excellent wins. His win over Blake and the complete outclassing of Gael Monfils speak volumes about his physical and mental skills. Nadal was just too good for him.

But my vote for the player of the tournament goes to south paw Gil Mueller of Luxembourg. This middle-of-the-road tour regular played some amazing serve-and-volley tennis that reminded me of Greg Rusedski in prime form. His win over Almagro of Spain (another star in the making) showcased some of the best clutch volleys at this Open. It is such a refreshing change to see some one playing an all-court game with great success.

The disappointment of the US Open was Jo Wilfried Tsonga, the Frenchman who had given such a hiding to Nadal at the Australian Open with his serve-and-volley skills before bowing to Djokovic in the final. He may not have fully recovered from his injuries yet and seemed short of match practice.

Amongst the oldies, Leander Paes of India displayed his fitness and strategy by reaching the finals of the Mixed doubles and the Men's doubles. Not bad for some one on the wrong side of 35.

The 'other' Singh

For the first time in the long history of Major championships, an Indian golfer led the field after the first round of the PGA Championship. He held the lead jointly over the best of the best (minus one!).

After a second round 74 - the worst by any player in the top 20 of the leaderboard - Chiranjeev 'Milkha' Singh was still tied seventh with the likes of Sergio Garcia and Angel Cabrera (who won the US Open last year). Only two former major winners are ahead on the leaderboard - Ben Curtis and David Toms. Only 4 shots separate the top 20 players - so this PGA is wide open.

All eyes are of course on China and the Olympics opening ceremony was truly magnificient in concept and execution. But for golf enthusiasts, the last major of the year at Oakland Hills, Michigan - which was dubbed "The Monster" by the great Ben Hogan when he won the US Open at the same venue back in 1951 - will provide a lot of thrills and entertainment.

To appreciate how competitive and tough the field of professional golf is, here are some of the former Major winners that missed the cut : Rich Beem, Fred Couples, John Daly, Todd Hamilton, Zach Johnson, Bob Tway, Mark Brooks, Trevor Immelman, Davis Love III, and the 'real' Singh - Vijay.  Other former Major winners like Jim Furyk, Mike Weir, Corey Pavin and Paul Azinger barely made the cut at +8.

'Jeev' played in the Masters this year, made the cut and made some money. He missed the cut in the US Open and made zilch. He narrowly failed to qualify for the British Open. He has made the cut in the PGA and is in the top 10 of the leader board even though he is playing with a bum right ankle.

In between, he has been criss-crossing the world playing on the Asian, the Japanese and the European tours - making his own travel arrangements, adjusting to different time zones, eating unfamiliar food and making no money any time he misses the cut. In spite of such challenges, with his unorthodox swing and exquisite short game, he has already won a tournament each on the Japanese and European tours.

So say a little prayer for 'Jeev'. If he manages to win the PGA with one of his typical come-from-behind 5 under final rounds, he will get some thing like a 10 year exemption on the US PGA tour - the best and biggest pro-golf tour in the world. And his days of cross-continent travelling and living out of suitcases may come to an end.

The beginning of the end for Sania Mirza

Back in 2005, a teenaged Sania Mirza was creating waves on the Women’s tennis tour. She was notching up important victories over better and higher ranked players like Marion Bartoli and Nadia Petrova. She reached the 4^th round of the US Open where she lost to Sharapova and won her first (and so far only) tournament at the Hyderabad Open.

As she climbed up the rankings ladder, she started to generate a new fan following – particularly among Americans, who just loved her all-or-nothing attitude on court and the stream of hard-hit winners from both flanks from impossible positions.

With fame came fortune, and as the huge amounts started pouring in from endorsements and advertisements, Sania became a style icon among the youth of India – sporting nose rings and tee shirts with messages (provocative by Indian standards!).

Controversies followed, with tennis purists aghast at the time she was spending off court when she should have been working on improving her pathetic serves and lack of fitness and mobility. Her short skirts and ‘daring’ show of skin shocked conservative protectors of Islam. (Ashley Harkleroad may wonder what the fuss was all about!)

Gradually, the high expectations of a billion Indians, off court engagements, assorted controversies and injuries due to lack of fitness and her hit-or-miss style of play began to take their inevitable toll. The problems were compounded by her inability to overcome her obvious technical shortcomings.

Sania did try to improve her serves and worked on her fitness and on court mobility. But her fearsome forehand no longer scared the opposition. Smarter and fitter players were ready to chase down her shots and keep the ball in play with the conviction that Sania would soon lose patience and bang the ball long or into the net.

Cut to the present. A string of first and second round losses in Tier 3 & 4 tournaments. She has not beaten a single player of note recently and has lost to players ranked far below her. From the low 30s, her rank has slipped to the 50s. Before the year is out – she may drop out of the top 100.

For Asian fans of women’s tennis, the new icon is now Zheng Jie who put up such a fabulous show at Wimbledon, knocking off one seed after another, only to be annihilated by Serena in the semis. This is the same Zheng Jie that Sania had beaten in the 2^nd round on her way to her only tournament victory back in 2005.

Sania may have little choice now but to follow in the footsteps of Anna Kournikova and try to become a model/movie star.