PRG's Thoughts

I hate Roger Federer. He raises my blood pressure, causes stress, the occasional sleepless night and makes Sunday evenings horrible. I’m just recovering from the French Open and here comes Wimbledon. Just before the final at Roland Garros started I said, “I can’t hack a 5 set match. I hope it doesn’t go there.” I got berated by a friend, “What do you mean you can’t hack it? If you don’t want to watch it, don’t.” Then there were others who said, “I hope it’s a close one. Will be fun.” Will be fun ? Getting an ulcer is fun ? Heart skipping beats is fun ? There were those who before the tournament even started said another Roger-Rafa final “would be amazing.” I felt like knocking them on the head with a club. Sorry, I can’t take it anymore. The surgeon general needs to show a warning to Roger fans that watching his matches will cut a couple of months off your life expectancy. Roger is a tease and an emotional roller coaster that few can handle. He goes up 5-2 and then loses the set. He wi...

Wimbledon is just another tournament,” said a friend, as we debated the best sporting events of the year. Just another tournament? Really? The game at the Championships is not what it used to be, there’s no question about it; and the authorities at SW19 have made some dramatic changes in the past few years. In the late Eighties and Nineties, the Wimbledon game was dominated by serve and volley. Baseliners weren’t thought to have a shot at victory – barring the random win by Agassi in 1992. A big serve and a decent game were what you needed to be a contender. It was in complete contrast to the games on the clay courts of the French Open, which concludes just two weeks prior to Wimbledon. At the French, the sluggers from the baseline continued to win titles, then struggled in England a fortnight later. The complaints started in the late Nineties and early Noughties. There were very few rallies. Players like Ivaniševic would bang out 200 aces in the tournament, keeping average points on h...

Zaheer Khan’s turning point Congratulations on the World Cup win. For most Indians it was one of the best days of our lives. Have you recovered? It was the best day for us too. More than anything else it was the journey that was special. Playing in India there was the added pressure but at the same time we knew that it was going to be equally special if we were able to pull it off. The belief was always in the team, we always talked about gaining momentum at the right time and kept thinking that we can do it. Everyone wanted it badly and that kind of showed in the whole approach. You bowled in the World Cup final in 2003 and then suffered some setbacks with injuries. Then came the season at Worcestershire where you bowled incredibly. Was that the turning point of your career? Yeah, in many ways it was. It was really important for me to play at the highest level, and to get back in to the Indian side. I always knew I had the potential to perform but somehow I was not able to deliver. Th...