Djoko - gets it again ! What went wrong for FedEX

A long time indeed in getting a post on this blog !
And what a surprise my last post involved djoko !
Yesterday we had a match between djokovic and federer in the US open 2011 semi-finals. It definitely looked a pretty exciting match towards the end. Federer getting the first 2 sets and djokovic coming back to get the next two
A final set that looked like federer should have taken it. PAUSE. djokovic makes a joke out of it. Slaps a federer serve for a forehand cross-court winner !
Federer is surprised (a good mind reader might interpret various emotions there. anger, surprise, frustration and more. me not a great midn reader to get all the emotions right ;-)
Im not going to talk abt novak after this but only abt what went wrong for fedEx. Because novak did it all right. Didnt lose focus after that slapshot. Did not try any such slapshots after that. So federer needs to note that. not just the slapshot !! Coming back to the point, federer was having 2 match points when he served at 40-15. With that slap it gets to 40-30 and a forehand from roger hits fails to get him the win he wanted. Instead it hits the net and gets the game to a deuce ! What happens next is irrelevant to federer because he has lost straightaway !

What went wrong for fedEx. Many people tend to forget the shot that brought the game to deuce ! But i think the focus should be on that. Roger thinks as would any damn player in this world at that stage (having 2 matchpoints) that he has closed in ( & his post-match interview would also tell you that) !
But thats when things go wrong at such a big stage. Dont have hopes because you have 2 match points or any for that matter. Play till the last point till you finish off the game. To me, its desperation and frustration after that "djoko slap" that finished the road for one hit at a grandslam win for fedEx.
Now the world is only waiting for a grandslam final. Although a federer/rafa final would have raised the viewer ratings of the tournament like no-other.

Novak - No-one to stop him !

It wasn't a great australian open final. Novak did not get an opponent who could give him a fight. He got andy murray in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 and 6-3. He defeated federer enroute which has given everyone a feeling that this is truly a change of guard from the aging federer. Federer has vowed to come back like a true warrior. I would have loved to see andy murray win, but after this match i would rather say - Id love to see andy murray play a better "mental" game. He has got all the shots he needs to win a match but connecting the dots is what he is missing now. It will take a year or more for him to learn this. & Novak already seems to have realised how to do this. So great job Nole !

A year gone by ?!

The last time i recorded my thought here was a year back. Not that i have not been thinking throughout 2010 ;-)
Its the australian open finals tomorrow and my thoughts are with andy murray. If he can collect himself and be strong mentally and take one point at a time and focus only on getting that point, he should be comfortable in winning his first grand slam !! Not that im against djokovic, infact i would have favoured him if he played against nadal or federer at the minute. Purely because it helps the sport to have a mixture of winning players rather than have just 2 players taking away the medals all the time.
This is very trivial compared to state of indian politics. Good thing first is that we have a few ppl actively campaigning for good to prevail. The evil that the 2G scam has brought upon us should hopefully be removed. State elections first. Fingers crossed ! May sense prevail !!
Finished my first 5km race today in close to 30 minutes and my knees are sore already :(
How will i ever realize my dream of running the 27 km marathon :-p
& officially retiring from playing leatherball cricket. Just to save my shoulders and preserve it for atleast some tennis in 2011.
Cant wait to get to india for my sis's marriage. 2 more days to go !! jolly !
& late wishes but still a very happy new year 2011 to all !

Happy New Year To All !!

May this new year bring happiness and prosperity to everyone.

Cheran

I wanted to give a bigger title. But i felt so sorry for him after seeing the article in indiaglitz that my feelings overwhelmed and stopped me from writing anything more.
He is a genuine guy with a genuine passion for making sensible stories. But he has realised after 'Mayakannadi' and 'Pokkisham' that people have moved on since the time he made 'autograph'.
People want commercial stuff etc., and that is killing directors like him. Well, k.balachander couldn't convince audience with 'poi'. so there is no use in complaining. A 'sindhu bhairavi' is not going to run in today's market.
But I hope he is able to continue doing what he has been doing best with slight changes. Perhaps someone like K.S.Ravikumar can guide him. But its left to see what he is going to do now. All the best cheran. You may not have commercial following, but you have some fans left in ppl like myself. We will go back to watching movies like 'bharathi kannamma' and 'vetri kodi kattu' if you dont make any more movies like them :)

It was exactly 2 months back that i wrote my last blog. Its not a blog at all. Rather its turning out to be my diary :) only that I dont update it everyday !!
Perhaps when I look back at it after some years, I will understand what I have been through all these years. What my thoughts were etc., Keep going !!

Wimbledon Finals 2009

Andy Roddick, the man with the booming serve in tennis. Federer the man who does'nt have a weakness in the game of tennis. Both meet for the finals of Wimbledon 2009. Everyone expects federer to win 3-0. Did it happen ? No. From where did roddick get this game he played today ? It could be a part of the gameplan that he devised with his new coach.In terms of the services and aces, one cant really say that roddick had an advantage. Yes, he was serving well but a look at the number of aces reveal otherwise. Federer, with his slower yet consistent and accurate service has been better in the department. Both players struggled to break each other. Unbelievable !!
The second set should have been taken by Roddick when he had the tiebreaker to his advantage at 4-1. No wonder that roddick was so upset at the end of the game. The final set went to an incredible 16-14 game. The difference between the 2 players in the 5th set was - Roddick served well but federer was able to handle his services more often but roddick was able to finish his service games. However, interestingly, federer's services were more accurate and many of the games were love games. This itself was enough for anyone to predict by the time the score was close to 10-10 that it was federer who had the best chance to break roddick's serve.
Well, roddick deserved to win,but for someone who missed his best opportunities, the crown was not to be his. Federer's victory, if it were in straight sets, would not have been that sweet. But this tough game will serve 2 purposes. one that federer can be hailed as the greatest player of all time and the second that federer will remember that anybody on his best day can defeat any great player anytime !

Michael Jackson passes away 27/06/09

What happened to michael jackson is the question on everyone's lips at the moment. Drug overdose, personal cardiologist missing, nanny's suggestions etc., & above everything 'The Michael Jackson' story. Sure, michael jackson's passing away is enough fodder for the media for months.
The young african american who made 'Dangerous' was dead long long ago. Michael jackson changed a lot after that with the numerous plastic surgeries.
What could be the reason for michael's untimely passing away and what can the world take from this ?
Michael jackson had enough number of debts for him to clear with 50 concerts in London. This itself clears a lot of questions. Could a fragile M.J have possibly been able to handle 50 concerts ? What would have been the expectations of the world. I think this was the thought that must have been on MJ's mind from the time since he decided to do this concert thing.
Any amount of wealth, any amount of fame doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness as is evident from MJ's story. We spend most of our time thinking about the unwanted. Worrying about the unnecessary. Whenever we are pressurized, we have to take a break, relax and say to ourselves. Its not worth it. Look at MJ.
R.I.P michael !