A Common Fan’s Sports Diary

Somdev Devvarman has brought us this far and he will have to carry us past South Africa

India take on South Africa in the Davis Cup World Group play-off from September 18-20. The tie will be played in the Ellis Park Indoor Arena on a hard greenest court, where the speed can be altered as required (I found this fascinating. The kind of things you can do these days)

Long overdue return to the World Group

For any Indian fan, this is the tennis event of the year, save for the grand slams. It’s a huge opportunity for India to get back to the World Group, where the big boys of world tennis play. We haven’t been there for 11 years now, and the wait has been so long that the pain of missing the action has almost numbed – the memories of past Davis Cup glory in the World group have almost started to feel like events from a past life now.

Davis Cup tennis was one of the major sporting attractions in the 80’s and early 90’s. It was easy to get hooked at a time when India’s presence in the World Group was a given and wins over higher ranked opponents a routine occurrence. But thanks to years of absentia, the competition seems to have lost some of its sheen for us. Therefore it’s imperative that we make the most of this opportunity to get back to the World Group – to refresh the old memories and create some more. There is so much riding on this tie.

So how do the teams stack up?

On paper the teams are well matched. India has the highest ranked player in the tie in Somdev Devvarman at 132. South Africa have Kevin Anderson at 156 and a trio of players in the 200’s. India’s next best singles player, Rohan Bopanna is only ranked 307. India’s doubles pairing of Leander and Bhupathi have to be considered the favourites, although South Africa have a fine doubles player in Wesley Moodie. South Africa are at home and have a very good record as hosts.

In terms of the playing surface, the two sides have very similar likes and dislikes so that shouldn’t be too much of a factor. But South Africa could gamble on a fast court which would suit the big serving game of the 6’8’’Anderson.

I am also counting on the Indian origin community in South Africa to turn up in large number to negate the massive crowd support that South Africa would have otherwise enjoyed.

The fate of the tie could come down to the clash between Somdev and Anderson and Rohan and South Africa’s second singles player. India need to win atleast one of these two matches to make the World Group.

And it is here that the absurd rule (an order from the Indian Government which bars non-natives from representing the country), which will probably keep Prakash Amritraj out of the tie, really rankles. The presence of the 159th ranked Prakash could have tilted the scales conclusively in India’s favour. But the team shouldn’t let his absence bother them. Somdev Devvarman has proven to be the true successor of Leander Paes; raising his game time and again to beat higher ranked opponents in the Davis Cup and we have full confidence that he will guide us back to the Promised Land.

The memories of 1974 of 1994

Any discussion involving India, South Africa and the Davis Cup cannot be complete without a mention of the 1974 final between these two nations which was won by the former Springboks after the Indians forfeited the tie in protest against apartheid. It was a righteous act but as a result South Africa are former Davis Cup champions and India are not. It was India’s best chance to win the Cup and save for the 1987 final, when we were blanked 5-0 by Sweden, we haven’t come that close again.

The Indian side would also seek to take revenge for the only other tie between the two sides, which was played in 1994 when the South Africans led by former top-ten player Wayne Ferreira won 3-2 in Jaipur. Leander Paes was a heart-broken member of that team and he would be itching to get some sort of revenge.

35 years on from the 1974 final that never happened, the two nations square up again with something substantial on offer – both teams trying to get back to the World group for the first time since 1998. And this round, the Indians cannot let anything come between them and victory.

Another step towards being the best in the world

Poll- Which Indian Sportsperson are you most excited about? (Choose upto 5)

Results - Saina Nehwal – Badminton (48.0%, 43 Votes)
Yuki Bhambri – Tennis (22.0%, 20 Votes)
Somdev Dev Varman – Tennis (21.0%, 19 Votes)
Jeev Milkha Singh – Golf (20.0%, 18 Votes)
Sunil Chhteri – Football (20.0%, 18 Votes)
Abhinav Bindra – Shooting (19.0%, 17 Votes)
Sania Mirza – Tennis (19.0%, 17 Votes)
Koneru Humpy – Chess (19.0%, 17 Votes)
Akhil Kumar – Boxing (19.0%, 17 Votes)

Disclaimer – This poll was limited to non-cricket sports only.

As I write this, Saina Nehwal has broken new ground yet again, winning the Super Series title in Indonesia. With this win she has finally managed to break through the ‘Great Wall of China’ at Super Series Events. The wall of top Chinese players had stopped her from progressing beyond the semi-finals till date, leaving behind a trail of closely contested three setters. Now that Saina has broken through the Chinese hoodoo at the Super Series, we can expect more wins and glory for her and more joy for us – the fans who have voted her as the future of Indian Sport by a landslide.

The best part is that Saina is just 19 years old and has already given us a lifetime of great moments. She continues to get better and move up the world rankings. She is unrelenting in her desire to be the best player in the world and unfazed by the challenges that lie in her path. The world is her oyster and if the poll results are anything to go by, a lot of Indian sports fans including yours truly, are already licking their chops at the prospect of all the sporting joy that Saina Nehwal is going to bring to their lives over the next 10 years.

The race to be the second most exciting sportsperson in India is a dead heat between 3 tennis players, a golfer, a boxer, a shooter, a chess player and a footballer, although technically speaking, Yuki Bhambhri is alone in second place. It augurs well for Indian sports that so many sportspersons from different sports are doing well and each of them has a decent number of followers who are looking forward to their every move.

Now there is more good news for these sports fans. They can watch the videos of their favourite Indian sportspersons on www.SportPass.tv. This is a new sports video website which aggregates the most locally relevant sports videos from all over the world.

Now you don’t need to bother about media apathy towards the achievements of these sportspersons. If they are not showing you the action, you can catch it on SportPass.tv

More glory to Indian Sports

A moment to cherish for Indian tennis

First my heartiest congratulations to Yuki Bhambri for becoming the fourth Indian to win the Boys title at a Grand Slam event. Congratulations are also in order for everyone who did his or her bit behind the scenes to make this happen – none more so than his parents who have supported the careers of three tennis playing children and all the costs that come with it, despite being stretched well beyond their means. India could do well with more like you.

Yuki’s triumph has heightened the expectations of Indian tennis fans and raised a number of questions. Let’s look at these questions and try answering them.

How good is winning a Junior Grand Slam title, as an indicator of future success on the men’s tour?

Fairly good.

Check out the complete list of Junior Grand Slam Champions. Some of the winners this decade have been Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marcos Baghdatis and Richard Gasquet. Others like Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cillic have also had pretty good careers so far.

All the previous Indians to win a junior title – Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan and Leander Paes – also had a fairly good run at the senior level.

Therefore, winning a junior Grand Slam is a fairly good indicator and there is a very good chance that Yuki will make a successful transition to the senior game.

How difficult is the transition from a successful junior to a player on the men’s tour?

Quite difficult.

Look at the list again. There are some names you wouldn’t recognize – so what happened to those guys. Well, obviously they couldn’t make the leap from successful junior to successful senior. Like in most sports, the ingredients for success change dramatically as you step up into the men’s world, with natural talent playing a lesser role and things like power, fitness and mental toughness becoming increasingly more important. Also as compared to team sports, where you can hide your flaws with the help of your teammates, in an individual sport like tennis, you are completely on your own and every chink in your armour can be mercilessly exploited by your opponent.

Look at the Indians in the list again. Their level of success on the men’s tour is directly proportional to how soon they made an appearance on it, with Ramesh falling short of his father’s standards and Leander failing to match the junior Krishnan’s efforts. The reason is simple – physical fitness and power has become more and more important as years have gone by and the skill-oriented Indians have continued to fall behind. Paes won an Olympic bronze but a lot more was expected of him on the ATP tour.

So what needs to be done to ensure Yuki doesn’t miss?

Yuki needs to be more like Somdev Dev Varman and less like Krishnan and Paes, which means he needs to add a lot of muscle and work on his fitness and conditioning.

He also needs to avoid the temptation of playing too much juniors tennis and start getting a taste of the big bad world of men’s tennis. There is not much to be gained by winning a gaggle of junior trophies and a lot to be learned by playing the men.

He also needs to focus on singles. Doubles helps you with your volleying and provides a little extra cash while you are struggling on the ATP Tour but it also whets your appetite and makes you less hungry for success in singles. Yuki’s a great talent and should maximize his singles potential.

And finally he needs all the guidance and support including financial help as he finds his way in the men’s world.

What is the current state of affairs on Yuki’s development?

Most of it is coming along really well although a lot still needs to be done especially on the money front.

Yuki already trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, thanks to IMG, and is in very safe hands. The coaches at the NBTA are doing everything to build up his strength and fitness, not to forget helping him become better as a tennis player. He already trains with the men and has decided to focus only on men’s events except for the junior grand slams – another sign of his high maturity – in addition to the mental acumen he displays on court.

Yuki is also part of the government scheme for preparing players for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The  govt takes care of all his grand slam expenses.

But he needs more financial support to really make the most of his potential. As previously mentioned, his parents’ resources have already been stretched thin. He needs some serious sponsorship to take care of the cost of travel, training and providing for a full fledged support staff. Hopefully, the Australian Open success should attract a few corporates.

He also has the benefit of having a fair number of Indian players on the men’s tour to offer encouragement and support – Paes, Bhupathi, Dev Varman and Prakash Amritraj.

But there is still a lot of work to be done and we are hoping Yuki leaves no stone unturned.

What does this mean for the future of Indian Tennis?

This means that for the first time since the heydays of Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan, India could have two fine singles players, playing together at their peak. Somdev Dev Varman is already making rapid strides on the tour and Yuki could join him in a few years time. That will pave the way for a return to the elite World Group in the Davis Cup. Man, have I missed the excitement of the Davis Cup.

Finally a word of caution

We will have to be patient and not over burden the young champion with expectations. It will take a while before Yuki makes his mark on the men’s tour. A look at the list of the Junior Slam winners will show us, that, the Champions since 2006 are yet to establish themselves on the ATP Tour. Most of them are still playing the Futures and the Challengers and trying to find their feet. Yuki Bhambri will also have to go through the same growth curve before he becomes man enough for the ATP Tour.

Till then, let’s get back to cheering for Somdev Dev Varman. He is definitely ready for the expectations.

More glory for Indian Tennis!!!

Nostradamus

Nostradamus’ prediction on Indian men’s tennis

“At the height of the game’s glory in the land of the Aryans civilization, a great warrior will be born in a place known for its shrubs that produce a brew of unmatchable purity. The warrior will be named after the moon god. He will travel to the land of the game’s origins and train in the ancient learning grounds. He will conquer all and become the most accomplished fighter produced by the training grounds. He will return to the land of his birth and find it shorn of most of its past glory and eclipsed by other regional powers. His people have been consumed by internal strife and the last link to the magnificent past is also fading away. The warrior will answer the call of his long deprived people and bring back the glorious days.”

How the prediction has panned out

In the 1980’s (the best period for Indian men’s tennis with the combo of Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan) in India (land of the Aryans), a tennis player (warrior) will be born in the tea (brew) producing state of Assam (a place which produces the best tea). The player will be named SomDev (the moon god as per Hindu nomenclature). He will go to the US (place where tennis originated) and play in the US collegiate system (formerly a breeding ground for all US players). He will become the collegiate system’s most decorated player (most accomplished fighter). He will come home to find that India haven’t been to the World Group in ten years (lost past glory) and have no half decent singles player – Thailand, Japan and South Korea have far better singles players (eclipsed by other Asian powers). The team has been suffered from infighting (internal strife) and the last of our Davis cup heroes – Leander Paes (last link to glorious past) is close to retirement (fading away). Somdev will bring new hope for long suffering Indian tennis fans (long deprived people )and become India’s next great singles player. He will lead us back to the Davis Cup World Group and also bring back the days when Indian players were regular features in the main draw of grand slam events and other top tournaments (bring back the glory days).

Ok, fine, Nostradamus made no such prediction.

Mr Nostradamus couldn’t have done a better job with this prediction

But I am willing to put my head out and take ownership of this prediction. And you know what, this is the safest prediction that I have ever made, really. Somdev is that good.

Good enough to have won two NCAA singles titles breaking numerous records on the way

Good enough to have beaten a bagful of top-100 players even before he turned professional. One of them happens to be Sam Querry – the guy who gave Rafael Nadal a real scare in the US Open.

And we haven’t even come to the best parts yet.

Somdev's best is yet to come

Somdev’s stint in the US collegiate circuit has ensured that he is supremely fit and athletic and has an all-court game with no glaring weaknesses. This is a rare combination for an Indian player – we haven’t had another one who wasn’t lacking on at least one count.

Ramesh Krishnan had a serve which acted merely as way to start the point. He was taught by his father who in turn was taught by a father who was self taught. Vijay Amritraj’s lack of stamina was his undoing in countless encounters. Leander’s singles game was extremely one-dimensional – chip and charge at every opportunity. Sania Mirza has also suffered from a lack of a good serve and technical flaws which cause frequent injuries. Somdev on the other hand is well equipped to face the challenges of the modern game.

Additionally, he has a very mature head on his shoulders. He could have turned professional a year earlier after his first NCAA title. But he resisted the temptation to do so, preferring to stay on for another year to finish college and work on his game. Such maturity will hold him in good stead – he will not get carried away by the fame that has already been bestowed upon him and also not get disheartened by the growing pains of finding his way around in the tough world of men’s professional tennis.

Is there anybody who still doubts that chances of my prediction coming true?