The first one

Taking this opportunity to revive my blog by posting my comments on Ramanand's blog about the Roger-Rafa Wimbledon Final 2008. So, here goes... Got to see the match between the two rain beaks. So, I saw the best part of the match. After watching Nadal play in previous matches, I had predicted a comfortable Nadal win. Federer surprised me. Federer will never win French Open against Nadal . Its very difficult if he will win again here in Wimbledon against Nadal . Why? Because Federer doesn't practice enough. He doesn't bring his best game with him to every match. He just does what is required. This is very unlike Nadal who plays every point to the best of his ability. That is why he always has his best game to his beck and call. Federer doesn't. True, I rooted for Federer . But the true champion won. And so he shall remain. One final point. This not a decline of Federer . This is the same level at which he has played for years. Its just only now he is up against ...

I have been wading through an onslaught of soap after soaps since the time my parents descended. Must say, gets to you after a while. But I did like Indian Idol, better programming and contestants, I suppose. And of course, Anu Malik, a la Simon Cowell, is it? But I do find myself agreeing with him more often than not. On the movie front, found out a new site from which I can see most of the new movies (english) and make use of my broadband connection.

No wonder its Dieing Hard, at least in India. If you are the type who likes things blown to bits and hurtled to every conceivable edge of the screen, you are going to love Die Hard 4.0. Its more in the mold of True Lies than Matrix. And thank God for that :-)

1. Kill as much Time as possible because Time WILL kill you. Eventually. 2. Free your Marriage!! 3. I've had lot of IDEAS. But I haven't been able to RUN with them. 4. YOU have NO Idea. Pick any of the above that might suit you today. Random thoughts...

Roger Federer did it!! A very good quality match ensued with Rafa. Roger came out on top mainly because of his booming serve. Twenty odd aces to one is some testimony to how good he served his way out of trouble. Specially, considering the number of time he was in trouble facing break points and number of unforced errors he made. Rafa simply doesn't have that intimidating serve that has been the hallmark of all recent Wimbledon champions, most notably Sampras. But he WILL win Wimbledon in couple of years. He nearly did today. But all credit to Fedex for hanging in there. And he played some great points in the decider. Sure he was push to the limit. But he himself wasn't playing at the highest level. Now he is in the throwing distance of equaling Sampras's seven. He should be able to do that in the next few years. But Rafa is fast approaching there.

Serbs have risen and how! Not one but at least two serbs have featured in Semis of the last two Grand Slams, both in mens and womens. One seems a fun loving teen on rampage and the other seems to have swam out of an empty swimming pool to drench the world in her beauty and of course, her fierce cross court forehands. Of course, I am talking about Novak and Ana. It would be very interesting to the see how they develop in the years to come. But they have the potential to be best in the world. Novak specifically has that spark in him, that personality, that touch of Becker, Ivanisevic, Rafter, Agassi that is so devoid in the game today. Nobody seems to be enjoying these days. All are in one heck of a mission to win one match after the other. Djokovic, if he can sustain his current level, can bring that enjoyment of watching the game back. Ana Ivanovic, on the other hand, as talented and beautiful as they come. And she has loads of heart. Although, she lost in the semis in Wimbledon, she ...

I will be short and swift. Watching Venus and Serena Williams strutting their stuff at the Wimbledon makes one realize their obvious difference in approach towards matches. More specifically, Serena doesn't seem give any credit to the opponent. After losing to Justin Henin in the quarters, all she can come up with was that she was not fit or else she would have DEFINITELY won. She also seems to resort to playacting on court, making faces displaying pain, disgust and utter superiority. The lower ranked the player, the better. Venus on the other hand seems more controlled and rarely shows any emotion. She seems like a great athlete and runs down every single ball as possible. In the post match interviews as well, she is not shy of giving credit to the opponent, as she did to Ana Ivanovic after her semi final win, alongside reiterating her confidence in her abilities. Both are gifted women and have been definitely good for tennis, but Serena's attitude has not endeared her to anyo...

I think we have already seen the final of French Open 2007. Well, 70% of it, at any rate. The Semifinal between Rafa and Djokovic was nothing short of spectacular for the first 2 sets and the second half of the third. That Nafal won was only testamont to his supreme fitness apart from the consistent classy level of tennis he plays. Djokovic, on the other hand was supremely spectacular as well, let down only by his fitness today. Here was finally a young man, not afraid. not nervous, confident and enjoying his game. And assuming that there was no pressure on him would not be true. He was playing his first Grand Slam Semifinal. The pressure would have been immense. But soaked it all an twice came back from behind. He seemed the only guy capable of giving Nadal a run for his money, literally. That he is just twenty bodes well for Men's circuit for the years to come. At the risk of sounding a bit too optimistic, I would say that we might have seen a rivalry in the making. At least, on ...

Will it be Roger? Or Rafa again? Depends on the day. Federers . Nadal can't be run down. Federer can be. And then he starts making mistakes. Have seen it again and again. His only chance on clay against Rafa is to keep rallies short and try to serve and volley. Sure he can churn out magical cross courters routinely but Rafas ability for the same has been largely overlooked. So, my bet is Rafa but I want Roger to win. At least give us a decent game. Moya game was a complete washout. Even Hewitt fought better. I thought, Hewitt just ran out of sets and probably started a bit too slowly. Else, we could have had a major upset already. Djokovic is a complete unknown quantity to me but I don't expect him to spring a surprise. Although, he did mention that he has beaten Rafa before on hard court. Davydenko , on the other hand might give Federer a tough time if he holds his game together. Very agile on court but has a fairly straight forward game. Anyways, lets hope we have a ...

Back on the blog after a long time ... Does John Terry look like Kevin Spacey? I certainly thought so after watching him celebrate after scoring off one bent it from Beckham. Taking a cue from quatrainman .... And what about Clint Eastwood in his prime and Hugh Jackman now?? Guess, who's who?

The recent comments made by Rahul Dravid about the report presented by Indian Cricket Team's manager for the tour of South Africa, Chetan Desai , did not come to me as a surprise. Not that I was expecting such a comment from him but its more a question of capability of doing such a thing or making such a comment, which might be considered silly by many. Talking about one person's credentials in the Indian Cricket History, who is doing a managerial job with the team, is at best laughable. Furthermore, since the comments made were more about general attitude of Sehwag's and not about batting or bowling technicality, they don't seem unfair either. No cricketing knowledge is needed to gauge general attitude. And I think, Mr. Dravid erred in criticising a person while batting for his player. Defending your player is one thing and questioning managers credibility is quite another. So, why am I not surprised given Dravid is a nice guy and all that? Simply because he has...

Finally, England have their first win against Australia during the ongoing travesty called the "Commonwealth Bank Series " after their miserably botched Ashes campaign where the only thing that they won was the toss a couple of times. And by travesty, I meant for the English. They have been generally deriding one day cricket during their build up to the Ashes. How very stupid of them.. I mean, I can understand Australians deriding one day, tests or whatever form of cricket. Hell, the guys win most of the games, any form of it and win every single one that matters. What I don't understand is how can England, so miserable in anything which says limited overs or any cricket in general these days, have such a complacent attitude . Specially, with the World Cup barely few months away. Till the Ashes were comfortably snatched, every other English player seemed to be in Ashes dreamland. Anyways, Ashes have gone to dust now and the English need wins like the other day to boost/ s...

I have good amount of optimism about India 's chances in World Cup 2007. I believe the pieces of the puzzle are slowly falling into place. So, here is my eleven for the World Cup given present form and fitness. I will give the reasons for my optimism later on in the post. 1. Sourav Ganguly 2. R. Uthappa 3. R. Dravid 4. S. Tendulkar 5. Yuvraj Singh 6. MS. Dhoni (wk) 7. V. Sehwag 8. Irfan Pathan 9. AB. Agarkar 10. Harbhajan Singh 11. Zaheer Khan The rest to make up the 15 are as follows: 12. Dinesh Kartik (wk/middle order bat) 13. S. Sreesanth 14. Ramesh Powar 15. VVS . Laxman Let me give you my opinions about each one case by case: 1. Ganguly has done enough till now to be included in the squad as the first choice opener. He has scored runs regularly since his return in all conditions home and abroad. Also, the fellows unquestionable thirst for the bigger stage will hold India in good stead. If I were the coach, I will tell him not to throw away his wicket and build his ...

So, Roger Federer wins another Grand Slam. 10th to be exact. 3rd Australian. At just 25 years. How many more he will win, is anyones guess. This Australian Open final was a majestic and elegant display of the repertoire that he possesses. Almost everything in his arsenal was on display. And poor Fernando Gonzalez just had to admit that he was in the presence of greatness, afterall. But he did not just hand it over. He fought for his place in the sun. And very gallantly too. The first set of the final was pure ecstacy. Both players played some great tennis, especially, Gonzalez. Breaking Federer, playing already at a high level, should not be considered mean. Gonzalez befuddled Federer with his heavy spinning, sliced returns, and also peppered him with strong forhand winners. Finally, he was serving for the set, and at 40-15, it sure looked sealed. But then the rise of the master was inevitable. Federer duly broke back and then easily held his serve. But the game of the match was to fol...

Alan Wilkins doesn't make too much of a lawn tennis commentator. Sleepy and irritatingly at loss of words. Of course, he doesn't seem to know the game well enough. V- ee -jay Amritraj is better. Or shall we put him in the cricket commentary box??

Watching the Australian Open final, some physical likenesses regarding the players come to mind: 1. Roger Federer -> Quentin Tarantino 2. Fernando Gonzalez -> Robbie Williams

After having a good night sleep, I am in the mood for making allowances. Or rather putting down these few more thoughts that occurred to me this morning. Firstly, speaking of songs, I do remember one, Tere Bina Besuadi - Besuadi .... Mildly aching and soulful, it was admittedly beautiful and well sung by Rehman . But as I have said before, this song too, is more of a reminder. Remember Swades ?? So, over all the music was routinely good but had a already-heard-before quality. Next, Madhwan and Vidya Balan didn't have much to do. But Mr. Madhvan should believe in his ability and should not look like he is acting. Bit harsh, yes, but after his opening RHTDM salvo, I have become a little circumspect of the guy. STOP COPYING , DUDE!! Vidya is easy on eyes though. Make up was also good. Abhishek looked rather convincing as the paunch flaunting, ageing industrialist. On the other hand, post Dhoom2, Ms. Rai seems to have shed the extra flab and was looking beautiful. These...

While the wife cooks me Sunday afternoon lunch, I am trying to pin down my thoughts on Guru. Pin down, yes... that's it, that's the reason. Guru doesn't leave you uncomfortable, neither here, nor there but comfortably in between. That should account for my lack of strong sense of either acceptance or rejection or invigoration or dejection or liking. Speaking of liking it, yes I did like the film. The experience was pleasant. That's what the film amounts to.. pleasant. And pleasant is gooood :-). The story of a lone crusader rising from the ashes to claim the top prize is not new. But the touch of reality makes it all too believable. And the references to the real person are not concealed either. (Ah... Writing after a long time does leave one searching for correct words..) :-/ Direction was good. I do not understand the need for song placements where they are not required. But amazing rain shots. As usual, in this directors case, I guess. Reminded me of Bombay. An...

Has anyone noticed how similar South African fast bowler, Andre Nel looks a acts the way the character Cramer (Michael Richards, I believe) behaves in Sienfeld??

Now that selectors have finally got rid of Ganguly, all I can feel is a bit sad about the whole thing. Although, I am not one of Ganguly's maniacal Kolkatan supporters, I am not one to disregard him as well. So, I think the selectors have been a bit hasty in chucking him out of the squad. He might have been given another go in the third test, if not as a number 6 then at least, as an opener. If Indian team management can send Irfan Pathan as an opener then why not have Ganguly open as an experimental move. Gautam Gambhir has looked a wee bit low on confidence in the recent inings. Also, I do not buy the selectors and some past players logic that as a senior player, he must be played. IMHO, he might be kept in the squad and the better person on the day might be taken in the playing eleven. And this might be made clear to Ganguly beforehand. Bad behaviuor, attitude and all, no one can question the guy's fighting qualities. So, probably, he should have been let to live one more da...