A handy question

What do Roger Federer and Nicholas Almagro have in common? Lets add Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo to the club and make it two a piece for the Spanish and the Swiss. If you guessed it already, the next won't be a surprise but if you didn't, here is another trio, two former legends and  one in the making. Justine Henin, Pete Sampras and Grigor Dimitrov also make excellent additions to that list. For the befuddled, the aforementioned tennis professionals belong to the clique of one handed backhand exponents. If there is one thing that i find amiss on a tennis court, its the two handed backhand. Oh well, shrieks from a few fair maidens would top that but we shall not indulge ourselves in the dichotomy of screams and tennis. The flair of the single handed backhand has become increasingly difficult to appreciate in modern tennis. The endangered art though has made a smart come back after some of the names lined above have increased its visibility in the latter stages of major tourneys. What is it that two hands on a tennis racquet provide that one can't? Control is the first word that springs to mind and in a world that has a surfeit of baseline grinders, that is an invaluable arrow in the quiver. In an age where serve and volley ruled roost and power took a back seat to finesse and grace, there was little need to paint the lines with an accuracy we see today. With the advent of taut strings high on tension that rival guitars, an army of double handed backhands invaded the tennis scene in the new millennium and not without reason. Too many unforced errors and a pummeling on the weaker side led generation after generation of tennis comers to start using both upper limbs on the racquet. It was an obvious effort to stem the onslaught by owning the same weapon as the aggressor. What got lost in the transition was the thing of beauty that is a single handed backhand. If one were to draw an analogy, the former would be a hammer to the latter being the proverbial knife through the butter. A screaming back hand down the line from one hand is something that can be a source of pure ecstasy, not just to the one who executes the shot but to the one who watches the ball whistle past the net like a dream as well. Its a thing of joy as much as pure technique and confidence. And just the fact that the man who still owns the highest number of grand slam titles wields the racquet with just one hand is succor enough for souls who find guile and grace a better watch and a higher art than thumping ground strokes.

There is a new sensation on the swimming blocks. The Japanese youngster Kosuke Hagino bagged seven medals at the ongoing Asian games, four of which being gold. He won a stunning 200m freestyle and followed that up with the 200m individual medley, 4x200 freestyle relay and the 400m individual medley. At 20, he is one of the stars to look forward to post the Phelps era at the Rio and possibly the Tokyo Olympic games. His scraps with the Chinese star Sun in the 200m and 400m freestyle races won't be the last of a rivalry that should have a few more chapters written. An honorable mention for Sandeep Sejwal for landing a rare bronze in the 50m breaststroke. While the pool may have gone silent, the track and field events should continue to generate interest in the Asiad. Though there  may not be a Bolt or a Farah to light up the track, the marquee athletics events always throw up intriguing stories and glittering champions. There have been a few world records broken in the weightlifting arena and with the Chinese and the North Koreans doing bulk of the heavy lifting, the discipline should be a fruitful one for Asians at the world stage. The Indian performance has been tepid at best with most gold hopefuls in shooting settling for bronze or bowing out before the finals. A compound archery gold in addition to Jitu Rai's exploit are the only bright spots that the contingent can boast off till date. A top ten finish looks out of bounds at this point in time unless there are pleasant surprises in store.

Alpine Frost

Beyond banks, watches and milk, the Swiss flag had another reason to cheer last week. Back in 1992 when Switzerland first competed in the Davis cup finals, Marc Rosset and Jacob Hlasek could do precious little to make a dent in the firm of Sampras and Agassi. Though Rosset came through in a five setter against Jim Courier, the eventual result was never in doubt. Fast forward to 2014 and the two journey men have been replaced by a duo who have achieved stupendous success on the tennis courts. They have fought on opposite sides of the net but have also combined together to land laurels for the chocolate factory of the world. Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have led the Swiss guard into another Davis cup title tilt and for a change, they would be favorites against their alpine neighbors. Their yellow metal winning performance at the Beijing games may be a tad in the past but their performance remains as superlative. Up against the Italians, Roger sliced through both of his singles and Stan accounted for the dangerous Andreas Seppi to leave the last semi final rubber inconsequential. They will be up against France who along with Spain boast of the best pool of players in the men's ATP rankings. In Jo who throws all the punches, La Monf and Richard Gasquet, the Gallic have a strong team that made mincemeat of the powerhouse Czech Republic. Even Tomas Berdych and Nadal slayer Rusol could do little to stop the French juggernaut. As comeuppance, we now go to Lille where the French will host the Swiss to decide who raises the toast. If current form is used as the yardstick for prediction, the white cross should be seen flying high in the north of France. Can Tsonga, Gasquet and Monfils play spoil sport to land a tenth title for the French? Bon Appetit, mes amis.

 

Conspiring to be champions

Incheon is not a name that springs to mind when one thinks of global cities. The opening ceremony of the 17th Asian games however dazzled the onlookers and skeptics alike. The Asiad is the second largest gathering of athletes after the summer Olympic games and a medal here is coveted as one of the biggest prizes in sport. As always, for India, the shooting stars and the wrestlers will hold forte. Gone are the days when PT Usha would light up the athletics arena and the track and field events hold little hope for the Indian contingent. A certain Vikas Gowda may have something to say about that. At the time of writing this, the up and coming star of Indian shooting, Jitu Rai has already bagged a gold in the 50m pistol and if this is a harbinger of things to come, he is in line to double the number of individual Olympic gold winners for India. Rio can't wait. Badminton is another discipline that can add to the medals kitty. With Saina, Sindhu and Kashyap leading the charge, one can hope that the shuttle falls India's way against the traditional powerhouses of China, Korea and Japan. The pugilists would also want to turn around the ignominy being faced by the Indian Boxing administration. Can they beat the haul of 14 golds from 2010. Hope lives eternal.

End of an era

The last time it happened was in early 2005 at the Australian Open. A decade has gone by since a grand slam final will not feature at least one of Federer, Nadal, Novak or Murray. As staggering as that piece of stat is, it puts in perspective the dominance of the quartet that ushered in the golden era in men's tennis. As with all good things, the end of this hegemony seems near and the gong has been beaten. And how. Not many saw Maran  Cilic and Kei Nishikori upset the top two seeds in a day and the way Cilic blasted Roger off the court was a sight to behold. We will have four separate grand slam champions on the men's side this year and two of them would be outside the big four. The open era should truly be open very soon but the proponents of a rivalry that amazed us over the last few years can stand proud in what they have achieved. As for the prediction for the champion, Kei may have the legs but Maran should comfortably pull the rug from underneath those with serves that remind one of his coach's exploits.

When you part ways, you play your part better. Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki may have called it quits but it certainly aint showing in their games. Rory shot down the field to bag the Open Championships and is now widely considered to be the man to beat on a golf course. He is the numero uno in the standings and the front runner to top the birdie and eagle charts when it comes to the majors. His erstwhile fiancee, Caro the Dane did not live up to her billing while she was number one on the WTA rankings. Having not won a grand slam, she was always considered to be at the top by the design of her fellow players rather than her own doing. She will have a good chance to undo that blot today. She goes up against the indefatigable Serena Williams for the US Open crown and while she will be the underdog, reputations count for little on this grand stage as a couple of fighters showed on the men's side of the draw. Serena would try to blast her off with her serves but if the number 10 seed can get a reasonable number of returns back, we may have a game on our hands.

Louis van Gaal's initiation has been stiffer than expected. Many believed he would be the rainmaker for the struggling devils in the new season but has not been able to hit the ground running. With two losses and a draw in the first three games, a repeat of last season's horror show raises its ugly head in the minds of the Old Trafford faithful. He has roped in the charismatic Di Maria to inject some much needed boost at front but whether the Argentine can prove to be an "Angel" for the Dutchman is a question only time will answer. Chelsea and Liverpool have started well, the former buoyed with Diego Costa's form and the latter untroubled with the departure of Luis Suarez. Swansea have been the surprise table leaders with three wins out of three but with the season in its infancy, the listings will change quickly. Liverpool have drawn Real Madrid in the Champion's League group fixtures and while both will hope to qualify for next round, a hiccup for either side may mean early curtains at the European stage.