Doomoo's Blog

While India began their T20 title defence under the spotlight with much fanfare, at the same time an ageless Indian performer won yet another title in one of the most competitive sports on earth.

Congratulations Leander Paes on your fifth Slam.

So darling! That’s what millions of Federer fans must be calling Robin ‘Mad Scientist’ Soderling as he knocked out Federer’s arch-nemesis and 4-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal in four sets. Just to put it in context, this is Nadal’s first defeat ever on the courts of Rolland Garros! FIRST DEFEAT EVER!

Not that it’s definite, but Roger Federer’s dream of winning at Paris and completing a career slam may finally come true because of a man called Robin Soderling.

On another note, I had just assumed that Nadal would dominate the scene once Federer was dethroned, but it seems that no one will dominate the scene again as Federer did in his time, not even Nadal.

The French Open title will be won by someone other than Nadal this year – who’d have believed that line at the beginning of this year?

And for Fedex fans like me, we hope that he does a repeat of the 2008 US Open, the only slam he won last year. Go Roger!

Rohit Sharma threatened to do it again for the Deccan Chargers with a last minute surge, but this time instead of Mortaza, he was facing Irfan Pathan, who outwitted Sharma and crashed the balls into the stumps in the last over, with just a handful of runs remaining. KXIP (or kick-sip as I like to pronounce that acronym) grabbed the opportunity to come back with both hands, and closed the match out in a hurry. Earlier, Yuvraj recorded his second hat-trick of the tournament – no mean achievement that! Now kick-sip is a genuine contender for the semis.

Munaf’s staccato performance with the ball in today’s game set the daredevils back initially but later propelled them to 150. The top team in the competition looks stronger and stronger despite their opening combination not firing. It’s scary to imagine what would happen if one of them was playing upto their potential. Rajasthan Royals were 19 for 2 after the end of 5 overs with 9 runs per over required. And when Yusuf Pathan later fell trying to flick one over the leg side, it was evident that no amount of passion was going to help them chase this target. Even Munaf Patel’s little cameo at the end with five boundaries didn’t help.

And heck, CSK was not yet through to the semis as I had said, but it s pretty much through now thanks to the Royals loss and a great net run rate. Sorry for the miscalculation in the previous posts!

However, the match of the day was Federer vs Nadal. A straight set victory by Roger against his nemesis on his favourite surface and that too in his home den! Way to go, Federer! We know something similar happened a couple of years ago at Hamburg, but your fans hope that you give Rafa a run for his money at the French Open! Much excitement awaits.

… is that you never know whom to cheer for! Both are so likeable and so brilliant; Federer, a match short of being joint number 1 in the all-time Grand Slam list and Nadal already at his best Australian Open performance.

Before we go there though, what a tiring semi-final that was to watch between Nadal and Verdasco: 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7 and 6-4! Even the last game was played with as much brute force and power as the first. I was cheering for the underdog Verdasco, screaming something incomprehensible in Spanish which I later found out means, “Fernando, do you know Spanish, Fernando!” The wife subtly raised an eyebrow in the hope that there was no repeat of the Wimbledon finals of 2008 where a neighbour came checking on us to see if we were having a medical emergency. Anyway, what a match! Almost as great as the Wimbledon final last year, but not quite. I loved how Alan Wilkins of Star Sports described it (although he gets a tad repetitive sometimes) – there was nothing semi about this match.

For my big bwadder’s sake who often confuses himself with the former World no 1, I hope that the five hour marathon has taken something out of Rafa, but for my wife’s strange friend who for some stranger reason calls Nadal ‘Chimpion’, I hope the king of clay does well. What this means, however, is that there will be no more loud Espanol from me on Sunday.

P.S: My prediction – Roger. Yours? Leave a comment.
Update: Wah!

From NY Times:

“More than anything Federer could express in words, his performance tonight refuted critics who earlier this year wondered aloud if his reign was coming to an end.”

It’s tragic to think that being a champion sportsman with a killer instinct isn’t enough to make someone ‘marketable’. I wonder if marketability is inversely proportional to longevity. In an age where wild Sreeesanth-ike aggression has come to be the norm, it is a joy to see champions like Nadal and Federer show us that you can be sporting and still be at the top.

Either way, Nadal’s performance at the Wimbledon final ensures that his class is stamped over the game of tennis. Take a bow, Rafa!

…and I'm rooting for the underdog. Make no mistake, Federer on this surface, against this opponent, at this tournament is the underdog.

Prediction though, is a Rafa victory. Any other predictions? (Make me happy now!)

She’s gone, she’s gone, Anna Chakvatadze’s gone! Oh what’s a man to do!.

*sob bawl*