Net

An important conversation happened tonight. A sort of initiation towards a change which should take a couple of months to happen. It shall be tough, but it's time. The interesting thing about the conversation was the large gap between what lay on the surface and what lay beneath. By no means am I a fan of such talk, but there are times these are unavoidable.

In other news, the Australian open ended over the weekend. S and I both love watching tennis, but sometimes the nail-biting finishes overwhelm her a bit too much. We had kept a track of this year's tournament primarily through the news but wouldn't miss the finals. In the ladies singles, I observed that it is quite difficult to really support Serena Williams. She is far larger, much more muscular and intimidating than almost all her opponents, creating a bit of a David-and-Goliath-like situation. And crowds generally have sympathies for the Davids.

What makes Serena Williams harder to support is that she is unable to take a clear stand. John McEnroe for example was unapologetic, passionate, fought shamelessly with referees and linesmen and always stayed faithful to who he was. There was no ambiguity about him. Williams' coy responses in interviews are completely incongruent with her grunts when she falls behind in a match. So are her heavily bandaged legs with the agility she displays on court. There were several instances where the crowd booed her after she lost silly challenges and the like. Her fiery celebration at certain occasions are clear attempts not only to belittle her opponent, but to defy the crowd. Her outburst at the U.S Open last year was a clear give-away, but it was hardly a surprise, only an expression of what lay underneath. In these finals, one could tell who won the point just by hearing the applause. Even the commentators, who are generally very fair, grudgingly concede that Williams is indeed an excellent tennis player.

Despite his arrogance, I would empathize with the way the character of Achilles is portrayed in the movie Troy. He was honest about who he was. Similar would be the case with Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly. I am sure there would be innumerable such examples among sportsmen all over the world. All Serena Williams needs to do is take a stand and be unapologetic about the way she is. I'm sure it will be quite a spectacle watching her play then. In her failure to do so, the crowds' booing will get louder and surely drive the the wedge of ambiguity in her façade deeper, perhaps even beyond repair.

I thought the men's final was good. Despite Murray's slow start, the tie-breaker at the climax was excellent. It was great to see Federer stretched physically, as he was determined to wrap it up without delay. Men's tennis has the potential to be fiercely competitive in the next few years and I shall look forward to it.