Let the express chug on

The King of Grand Slams, Wimbledon breathed in the first whiff of fresh air. Federer is back on the surface he loves most, for it was here numerous intimidated opponents were ruthlessly decimated by the Swiss on rampage.

A Federer bastion of sorts, this grasscourt exponent will be under a lot of pressure to prove he is yet to wither.

If Federer wins Wimbledon, the disturbing images of the battered World No. 1, eking out a diffident fight against his clay court nemesis Nadal will be a vision saved for future French Opens. On the other hand , if Federer fails to make it on the grass, the tongues that started their petulant flapping since the Australian Open, will be on a non-stop mission further unnerving the undisputed champion.

Hey, so what if Federer lost the Australian Open? So what if he still has not won the French Open? We are talking about a person who has won three Australian Open (2004, 2006, 2007) reached the final of three French Open (2006, 2007, 2008) won five Wimbledon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) and also won four US Open (2004, 2005, 2005, 2007).

Every sports person is bound to go through a lean period. You don't expect Sachin Tendulkar to score a century in every innings that he plays, nor do you expect the likes of Ronaldo, Lampard to strike in every match.

Sampras undoubtedly the best the game has produced failed to make an impact on clay. Forget winning, he couldn’t even reach the final stage. But Sampras with his rich haul of 12 grand slams was and will always be fondly remembered for infusing the game with facile grace, coupled with placid power.

Then why is this undue onus on Federer to prove himself in every tournament?
To some extent Federer himself created this so called "aura of invincibility". In the last five years, Federer hardly lost any match, and particularly his Grand Slam record sparing the one in Paris, was impeccable. Besides, something to be noted is Federer has always been at his ravaging best in the latter half of the year.

So, there is still time for quite rumination before the verdict on Federer is spilled. And it is sincerely hoped the verdict is positively disposed to the liking of the Swiss master.

For the sake of one of the greatest in the game, for the sake of one of the greatest grass-courters, for the sake of one of the greatest to excel on all types of surface, (mind you, Nadal may be the king of clay, but Federer is next in line) lets hope the Swiss is able to etch his way towards sixth Wimbledon, (that would make it 13 grand slams) inching his way closer to Sampras’ record.

New queen for the hearts

After the exit of Justin Henin, it does look as if the women's event has lost the grind. None of the matches could be deemed compelling or had the ability to confound the senses of an appreciable spectator, trying to sneak in some hair-raising, heart-thumping moments.
Gone are the fast-paced serve and volleys and the powerful groundstrokes hallmark of an exhilarating, adrenalin pumping round of play.
What exactly is a thrilling match?
A three-setter, peppered with service-breaks, assorted with court stabbing aces and iced with incisive winners. Unfortunately the tournament glaringly missed any of these intrinsic ingredients essential to juice up the game.
It was a tired-looking but spirited Safina, taking on a relatively fresh, Ana Ivanovic, who had an easy run enroute to her final stint on the red dirt.
The picture at Roland Garros was akin to mud on fire. The scorecard reading 6-4, 6-3 was indicative of a smug win over a waning spurt of spirit, notwithstanding the seventh successive women’s final divested off those gurgling moments of climactic exhilaration.
The game did look to be precariously treading the path of a one-sided washout, if it weren't for some remnants of those flashes of rallying brilliance that egged Safina to win her previous two matches.
Visions of those earlier matches did forge the hope that she might just about find her bearings sooner than later. But it was too much to ask.With Henin abdicating the French Open throne, Roland Garros may have a prettier, more glamourous queen, and the sports promoters may be revelling at the prospect of shuttling between a blonde (Sharapova) and a brunette (Ivanovic). But what remains to be seen is whether quality in looks can be matched by quality in play.