For the love of Grass

The title may be misleading and might give you a few thoughts totally irrelevant to the point of discussion, but it looked really apt for me. For those of who are still thinking in the same lines as before, please come out of the groove, we are talking about grass courts and yes; WIMBLEDON.

Wimbledon is every tennis fan's favorite slam and the dream of every aspiring tennis star. The Borgs and the McEnroe’s and the Becker’s and the Sampras’ have been the rulers of this arena from the 70’s till the early 2000’s; there was this wildcard who rocked the center court to take the slam for an year, then there was this man from down under who claimed it for an year and that was the end of it.

Emerged a champion from nowhere in 2001; this youngster from the Swiss defeated the reigning champion Pete Sampras in the round of 16. Under the horizon of a fading hero, rose a new star. He neither won the tournament nor reached the finals, but definitely won “one too many” hearts with his sterling performance all through that year. That’s Roger Federer for you!!!

Despite the elusion of Wimbledon for two more years, Federer grew in strength by adding a few ATP titles to his kitty and also climbing up the ladder in terms of the ATP World rankings. It is always said to be third-time lucky, and it was for Federer as well. Dropping just one set in the entire tournament the Swiss ace took the title for the first time in 2003 and then there was no stopping this soft spoken giant. 2004 was an eventful year for Federer, as he won three out of the four grand slams and slowly by surely he was proving his mettle on “Grass” to the world. In the same year he also won the “World sportsman of the Year” award thumping the likes of Schumi, Lance Armstrong (Tour de France Champ) and Valentino Rossi (Moto GP Champ). Accolades started pouring in for the young man and he became a rolling juggernaut.

He is an unstoppable force on grass, which he has proved time and again in the All England Lawn Tennis Club. He was adding new feathers to his cap with the World No.1 ranking, ATP Masters’ titles, Triple world sportsman of the year, but for the French open title that eluded him for 2 years in succession. He effectively erased the bad memories of the French open loss with yet another Wimbledon. Man! He is getting better year after year on his favorite surface.

And then came the day of reckoning when he had to equal the record for the successive Wimbledon titles in the open era with none other than the Swedish legend Bjorn Borg. He had not lost on grass for 5 consecutive years and for almost 40 matches, and he came into the final by dropping just one set on his road to the finals. His finals opponent dint make it a usual day at the office for Federer. He was made to sweat; he played a 5 set match on center court (after that turning point match with Sampras way back in 2001) but always kept a cool head. Nadal on the other hand was determined not to let him ride on pleasant seas; he was only able to delay the inevitable and was not able to terminate Federer’s stunning run on grass.

The man started crying after his victory and his speech after receiving the trophy was top-class. Modesty was written all over his words, not taking away any credit from hi opponent. “Nadal played exceptional tennis; someone had to win and today was my lucky day”.

My previous boss used to tell “Modesty is what keeps great performers at the pedestal for a long time”. Sachin and A.R. Rahman are the usual examples he quotes. Now I have a new name to add to the list. Roger “Grass King” Federer”

Along Came Lewis

I am a 26 year old trying to achieve something really great in life, so that the people, who knew me, will remember for their lifetime. But there is this kid who is hardly 23 years old and he has achieved manifold for his age. I am referring to none of other than Lewis Carl Hamilton, the Brit who stole the Formula 1 circuit by his sheer talent and determination.

Born on the 7th of January 1985 (all those who share this DoB with Lewis, you guys have to be proud), Lewis took to racing Karts (famously referred as Go-Karting) at the tender age of eight. This was the age when I starting playing Chinese checkers, and look at this guy, he is racing Karts!!! Sure he is child prodigy!!!



The tenacity of the kid is audacious, that at the age of nine, he met Ron Dennis, the McLaren F1 team boss, and told him he would drive for McLaren one day; and just as he augured, four years later, he was signed to the McLaren driver development program. So, the hard part was over, to break into a big brand name that could carry his dreams as theirs. It was left to Lewis to impress his team & his fans, and guess what, that’s what he did; he won the European Karting Championship in 2000 with maximum points and followed it up with the Formula Renault, Formula 3 and GP2 titles.

It was just a matter a time for him to break into the Formula 1 scene which happened in 2007. He was appointed as a Formula 1 driver for McLaren in 2007. He was considered as a second choice driver in the team, as the McLaren team had roped in Fernando (Alonso), the current & double Formula 1 title holder from Renault. He was just a rookie and all the Formula 1 enthusiasts and McLaren fans, who knew very less about the prowess of Lewis, wondered why in the first place a rookie was given a chance to race for McLaren. Every start in the making has similar problems and this kid answered all his critics with a podium finish. He finished 3rd on the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

A Proud Father and Son

The critics, they never keep quiet, and they started dubbing this finish by Lewis as sheer luck. Know what Lewis did to shut their mouth, bettered this 3rd place, by a 2nd place finish at the next Malaysian Grand Prix. The media world started noticing the competence of the new man in the circuit and all the focus and attention was turned on Lewis. Imagine, at the age of 22, when the whole world of Formula 1 is looking at you, the stress is at exorbitant levels and you are compelled to perform better and better after every race. HE JUST DID THAT!!!

After 5 races on the calendar and becoming the youngest driver to have 5 consecutive podium finishes and also the youngest driver & a rookie to lead a Formula 1 season, all eyes were on Lewis and with the expectation of his first race win. It was Montreal in Canada, when his dream came true; Lewis effectively led from pole to the chequered flag to take his first race win at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit on 10th June 2007. It was a cherishable day for the young man from Hertfordshire in England to have become the first Brit after Damon Hill in the last 10 years to have won a race starting from pole position.

Lewis followed the Canadian Grand Prix win with the U.S. Grand Prix a week later, followed by a couple of 3rd place finishes in Monte-Carlo and Silverstone (in front of his home crowd). I still remember the face-off between teammates Fernando and Lewis in the 35th Lap of the U.S. Grand Prix, when Fernando tried an overtaking maneuver with Lewis, such an awesome defensive driving by Lewis, the two-time champ was not able to get past him not just in that lap, but for the next 38 laps.

Sure he is a celebrity in the genesis and the coming days will prove he is one. For those of who missed Michael Schumacher’s sunny days, here’s another chance to relive those moments with Lewis Hamilton.

Why this page???

A latest CIA fact says there are 20 new births in a year for every 1000 people in the world, and for someone to do something great during his/her lifetime and become a legend for the generations to come is definitely a remarkable achievement.

I was just wondering as to:

How many such legends do I know in that long but unfinished list?

How can I pay tribute to these stalwarts?

How can spread the "good word" about these prodigies to others?

Then came the idea of dedicating this blog page to those superstars and also a few individuals who have shown a good promise towards such an achievement and taken the world by storm through their stellar performances and innovations in their fields of expertise.

Sounds like a good action plan, does n't it? Chip in with your comments...