Novak Djokovic wins his 9th Grand Slam title. Most of the people I knew were rooting for Roger Federer to claim his 8th Championship title. It’s a human tendency to cheer for someone who is doing something different. After all, how many players you know have won Grand Slam titles in their 30s?
It wasn’t to be for Roger. Despite an epic first 2 sets, Novak showed us why he is the No.1 player in the world and deserves the Gentleman’s Singles Title for 2015.
Even the die-hard fans of Roger applauded Novak for his win at the end. And so would have Nole Fans, if the results would have been any different. And that’s the beauty of tennis. It has produced such gems that their individuality has touched many a chords.
If we had a fierce competitor in Rafael Nadal, whose looks could kill, we also saw the calm and cool face of Roger Federer on the other side. Seriously, how many times have you seen a player, playing a Wimbledon Finals, at the Center Court (considered the Mecca of Tennis) and not losing his cool even once? Novak is the young kid on the block, who loves to have fun, make faces, eat grass and just be him-at all times. Wasn’t it wonderful to see him taking the phones from his fans and help them click selfies with him?
Then there was Andre Agassi, a complete maverick, someone who was thought to be a mis-fit in Tennis. He became an instant hit with his long hair, unorthodox apparel, pierced ear and brash attitude. Even those who always raised eye brows at him became his ardent fans by the time he retired.
Agassi’s most fierce battles were with Pete Sampras. Pete who comes across the nona-bachcha (Punjabi term for a good behaved kid) from the moment you see him. He would have never abused, never hit his racquet or never argued with the umpires- he is truly one of the most behaved persons you would have seen in these fiercely competed sports. Agassi, in his autobiography, Open, said he found Pete “robotic”. And that kind of sums how well conducted Pete was!
Another of the most iconic fights of this game was between Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. They both stood as coaches for the finalists at yesterday’s Wimbledon’s Finals. Boris was known to be someone with a bad temper. He would often swear at himself while in a game, and would keep smashing his racket. People loved him for his emotional outbursts and were usually shocked at the extent of his aggressive behavior.
On the other hand, Edberg didn’t have the slightest of brutality in his play. The determination on his face & the sincerity of his play made him one a real tough competitor.
John McEnroe was dubbed as “Super Brat” by the media of that time. He was before my time and hence I haven’t grown up watching him play but he needs to be mentioned here, since I have heard so much about his temper. “You can’t be serious” was a famous line of his, which he would shout at umpires after a call he disagreed with. But boy, how the world loved his play!
So, you see, this game has thrown up all sorts of personalities at us, and we have loved all of them. Even while cheering for our favorite player, we have all hoped and prayed for the opponent to win the next set, so that we get a super awesome 5-setter match. It is truly a gentleman’s game which keeps throwing idols at us, year after year; and we have soaked them all up in our love and prayers.
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