There is a very interesting fact about the game of tennis. Every time a game is about to begin , and the players get ready to serve , a call of love all is made. As a kid highly ignorant of a game , I often wondered what the statement indicated . I came to know later that it indicated a fresh game , where both parties start at the princely score of zero. I was rather disappointed at the explanation given – my highly imaginative mind had built stories around that statement and I was shocked to know that it just referred to the score.
Nevertheless , I started following the game , which was soon to become my second favorite sport – after Cricket , of which I am crazy about and of which I have better knowledge of – thanks to the cricket craze at home.Tennis is a rather intriguing game – it highly concentrates on an individual , his performance , strengths and weaknesses. It glorifies personal excellence , reiterating that while team work works , it is the strength of the individual which contributes towards the success of the team – which is very different from the basic principle of Cricket , where the team is important than the individual.
This is highly evident from the fan following in Tennis – people are fans of a Nadal , Federer , Djokovic , Navaratilova as opposed to cricket where Barmy Army supports the English team as a whole. Even when Navaratilova switched her national allegiances , her fan following didn’t dwindle much.It was much later that I came to know that national pride did matter in Tennis , so much so that two stalwarts , legends in their own right , swept aside their differences to earn the top honor for their country – The tournament was the prestigious Davis cup and the stalwarts in question were Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi , who contributed towards one of the most intense rivalries known on the tennis court, spilling over even when they played together in an exhibition match against Federer and Nadal.
As John McEnroe once said – they were never good friends and never could be . Yet these men were sportsmen enough that they could ignore their personal issues and concentrate on a common goal . Contrast this with India – a country not so rich in tennis stars , a country where people still talk about Ramanathan Krishnan , Amritaraj Brothers , a country which still relies on its aging stalwarts to fight for the country’s pride – two men who are best buddies turned foes – each well known for his exploits on the tennis court.
It all started with an innocent question and a sensible policy. The London Olympics was in question and the AITA wanted to ensure a medal by concentrating on quality rather than quantity. There were four players in contention – Somdev on the mend from an injury , Paes ,who had a direct ticket to the Olympics by virtue of his rank , Bhupathi and Bopanna.
Logically , Paes was allowed to choose his partner – yet he graciously deferred to AITA which made an announcement that , Bhupathi would be the lucky partner . This made sense as the pairing was a successful one and had played together as late as 2011. The decision meant that Bhupathi was also free to play the mixed doubles partnering Sania. All was hunky dory until Bhupathi issued a joint statement with Bopanna , stating that they had been playing together as a team since the last 8 months and deserved to be chosen ahead of Paes.
This was the start to what has become a mud slinging contest between all the parties involved and no one has come out unscathed yet. The players in question are busy sending messages to the print and TV media , furiously retweeting the statements of twitterati , supporting them – instead of sitting together and trashing it out.
Out of the three , Bopanna is the prize bull. He is the partner of choice for both Paes and Bhupathi – yet he has refused outright to pair with a man who has been his Davis cup captain. In a passionate letter to the media , Rohan describes the loss he had to undergo – the break-up of his partnership with Quereshi , in order to have a shot at the Olympic medal. He reckons that he cannot partner Leander , as the partnership with Mahesh was formed with the grand event in mind ; a partnership which has yet to yield any result.Bopanna’s words come across as a sincere opinion from a champion – but in my humble opinion it is fake. If a player wants so badly to win a medal for his country , he would have jumped when offered a chance to partner Leander , even though he had disagreements with him. His letter to the media reeks of moral up handedness and blatant partiality to another man.
Next comes Bhupathi , who stood to gain the most out of the deal. Had Leander partnered Bopanna, it’d have been Lee partnering Mirza in the mixed doubles , given the experience he had and his reputation as a formidable contestant in the format. Had Bhupathi accepted the AITA decision , he had a good chance at the men doubles medal and in addition , he would have been the preferred choice to partner Sania , given his partnership with her. As I read his letters to the media , I am confused as to why a player of his repute can’t see beyond personal differences. His airing of the dirty linen in the public has not won my favor too. His suggestion of leaving Leander out of an Olympic team , to send what in his words is the best team in doubles – rankles me. To me it appears that Bhupathi with Bopanna is conspiring to evict a man who has won his right to be there.
Lastly , there is Leander , a man who has behaved admirably in my opinion. While he has accepted that his preferred choice is Bopanna , he has been ready to team up with anyone the AITA suggests , as he wants the best for his country. Therefore I agree with him , when he says that pairing him up with young rookies like Yuki Bhambri and Vishnuvardhan is unfair. He is not speaking from a personal context here. He sincerely believes that having a player who is ranked at the top will help the country have a better shot at the medal and I tend to agree with him.
As we near the deadline for the Olympics nomination , which is on Thursday , things seemed to have reached a stalemate with no one ready to compromise.I am not sure what the solution would be , but I wish Leander would partner with the young Yuki – and try hard to win . If that happens , life would come a full circle for Lee , who started his tennis career as a 19 year old partnering the much senior Krishnan , for Davis cup rubbers. If the AITA does send two teams , with Bopanna – Bhupathi being one of them and Leander – Yuki/Vishnu the other, I would agree to the decision but would support only one of the teams and that would not be the Bhupathi – Bopanna duo.
As I write this message , I wonder if these guys have an inkling of how unsportsmanlike their behavior is. It is in this context that I wonder if ” Love all” has a greater implication than what is said – may be it is a constant message to the player , asking him to respect peers for their skill and expertise , asking him to shed rivalries off the field , asking him to sweep aside personal conflicts when it comes to greater causes. “Love All” to me seems to be the need of the hour now in the context of Indian Tennis – a warning for the men to regain their focus on the greater cause – Olympics.
Nevertheless , I started following the game , which was soon to become my second favorite sport – after Cricket , of which I am crazy about and of which I have better knowledge of – thanks to the cricket craze at home.Tennis is a rather intriguing game – it highly concentrates on an individual , his performance , strengths and weaknesses. It glorifies personal excellence , reiterating that while team work works , it is the strength of the individual which contributes towards the success of the team – which is very different from the basic principle of Cricket , where the team is important than the individual.
This is highly evident from the fan following in Tennis – people are fans of a Nadal , Federer , Djokovic , Navaratilova as opposed to cricket where Barmy Army supports the English team as a whole. Even when Navaratilova switched her national allegiances , her fan following didn’t dwindle much.It was much later that I came to know that national pride did matter in Tennis , so much so that two stalwarts , legends in their own right , swept aside their differences to earn the top honor for their country – The tournament was the prestigious Davis cup and the stalwarts in question were Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi , who contributed towards one of the most intense rivalries known on the tennis court, spilling over even when they played together in an exhibition match against Federer and Nadal.
As John McEnroe once said – they were never good friends and never could be . Yet these men were sportsmen enough that they could ignore their personal issues and concentrate on a common goal . Contrast this with India – a country not so rich in tennis stars , a country where people still talk about Ramanathan Krishnan , Amritaraj Brothers , a country which still relies on its aging stalwarts to fight for the country’s pride – two men who are best buddies turned foes – each well known for his exploits on the tennis court.
It all started with an innocent question and a sensible policy. The London Olympics was in question and the AITA wanted to ensure a medal by concentrating on quality rather than quantity. There were four players in contention – Somdev on the mend from an injury , Paes ,who had a direct ticket to the Olympics by virtue of his rank , Bhupathi and Bopanna.
Logically , Paes was allowed to choose his partner – yet he graciously deferred to AITA which made an announcement that , Bhupathi would be the lucky partner . This made sense as the pairing was a successful one and had played together as late as 2011. The decision meant that Bhupathi was also free to play the mixed doubles partnering Sania. All was hunky dory until Bhupathi issued a joint statement with Bopanna , stating that they had been playing together as a team since the last 8 months and deserved to be chosen ahead of Paes.
This was the start to what has become a mud slinging contest between all the parties involved and no one has come out unscathed yet. The players in question are busy sending messages to the print and TV media , furiously retweeting the statements of twitterati , supporting them – instead of sitting together and trashing it out.
Out of the three , Bopanna is the prize bull. He is the partner of choice for both Paes and Bhupathi – yet he has refused outright to pair with a man who has been his Davis cup captain. In a passionate letter to the media , Rohan describes the loss he had to undergo – the break-up of his partnership with Quereshi , in order to have a shot at the Olympic medal. He reckons that he cannot partner Leander , as the partnership with Mahesh was formed with the grand event in mind ; a partnership which has yet to yield any result.Bopanna’s words come across as a sincere opinion from a champion – but in my humble opinion it is fake. If a player wants so badly to win a medal for his country , he would have jumped when offered a chance to partner Leander , even though he had disagreements with him. His letter to the media reeks of moral up handedness and blatant partiality to another man.
Next comes Bhupathi , who stood to gain the most out of the deal. Had Leander partnered Bopanna, it’d have been Lee partnering Mirza in the mixed doubles , given the experience he had and his reputation as a formidable contestant in the format. Had Bhupathi accepted the AITA decision , he had a good chance at the men doubles medal and in addition , he would have been the preferred choice to partner Sania , given his partnership with her. As I read his letters to the media , I am confused as to why a player of his repute can’t see beyond personal differences. His airing of the dirty linen in the public has not won my favor too. His suggestion of leaving Leander out of an Olympic team , to send what in his words is the best team in doubles – rankles me. To me it appears that Bhupathi with Bopanna is conspiring to evict a man who has won his right to be there.
Lastly , there is Leander , a man who has behaved admirably in my opinion. While he has accepted that his preferred choice is Bopanna , he has been ready to team up with anyone the AITA suggests , as he wants the best for his country. Therefore I agree with him , when he says that pairing him up with young rookies like Yuki Bhambri and Vishnuvardhan is unfair. He is not speaking from a personal context here. He sincerely believes that having a player who is ranked at the top will help the country have a better shot at the medal and I tend to agree with him.
As we near the deadline for the Olympics nomination , which is on Thursday , things seemed to have reached a stalemate with no one ready to compromise.I am not sure what the solution would be , but I wish Leander would partner with the young Yuki – and try hard to win . If that happens , life would come a full circle for Lee , who started his tennis career as a 19 year old partnering the much senior Krishnan , for Davis cup rubbers. If the AITA does send two teams , with Bopanna – Bhupathi being one of them and Leander – Yuki/Vishnu the other, I would agree to the decision but would support only one of the teams and that would not be the Bhupathi – Bopanna duo.
As I write this message , I wonder if these guys have an inkling of how unsportsmanlike their behavior is. It is in this context that I wonder if ” Love all” has a greater implication than what is said – may be it is a constant message to the player , asking him to respect peers for their skill and expertise , asking him to shed rivalries off the field , asking him to sweep aside personal conflicts when it comes to greater causes. “Love All” to me seems to be the need of the hour now in the context of Indian Tennis – a warning for the men to regain their focus on the greater cause – Olympics.
Well articulated!!
ReplyDelete@Sreeram : Thanks for the comment !
ReplyDelete