Another victory for Hyde over Jekyll.

Here's the quote-unquote version from tennis.com: Mirza pulls out of Bangalore, citing the religious and national controversy that has plagued her for the last few months. "I am not playing in Bangalore Open. I have been advised by my manager not to play because a lot has been happening in the past few months," she said. "Every time I have played in India, there has been some kind of problem. So, we just thought it was better not to play this time."

The brightest ever Indian women's tennis talent barely 4 years into her career is fighting a losing battle against the Hyde side of the nation. She overcame the lack of resources, training, facilities and mentoring that is so glaringly typical of India for any sport bar cricket. She overcame the sexist hurdles and history itself . But eventually fell short in the face of religious hypocrisy and some devious paparazzi elements(who on earth came up with that "Indian flag insulting snap" angle anyway ?).

The ad shooting fiasco followed by the Indian flag controversy (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7188952.stm) not to mention a fatwa early in her career finally seems to be taking its toll on the 21 year old. A blossoming career that needs much nurturing is coming apart right before our very eyes. The Serena Williams and Maria Sharapovas of the world can never do as much damage as these religious fanatics and the apparently jobless (these folks have way too much free time to be holding a job) celebrity vultures of our country can.

What we must understand is that Sania's stature has put the entire country in the spotlight and needless to say this family feud will turn some heads. Sania's story is quickly turning national pride into global embarrassment. Sadly, instead of Sania, its the shortcut to fame seeking lawsuit huggers who are now representing our country. I totally second Sania's decision to pull out of Bangalore open. Unfortunately its the fans of the game who are being punished. I guess in order to kill Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll must die too.

Make it count.

4-6 6-0 6-4. Sania wont be forgetting that scoreline for a long time to come. Atleast not until she eclipses it with an even dramatic upset. I wait for the time when these scorelines wont be called "upsets" anymore. In a dramatic fight back of sorts, Sania avenged her Sunfeast open debacle and proceeded to the Quarters of the Korean Open. A humbled Hingis couldnt help but confess, "Her forehand is really amazing". In an earlier blog (see Even-Steven Friday), I had deemed this as a possibility if Sania kept her head about her and she did just that. In a post match conference she said, "I enjoy the pressure". This is a huge asset in todays throat slitting competition. John F. Murray in his Sports Psychology piece on tennis.com says, "Increase your competitiveness by learning to love the struggle more. Get comfortable with the worst possible situation and the rest is a breeze". Sania's statement seemed to mirror just that.

Now is the time to capitalize and not rest or gloat. Rewind to 1983 WorldCup Quarter finals; Kapil's blitzkreig 175* against Zimbabwe would not be as memorable if we hadnt gone on to build on that confidence and lift the cup. They Made it Count. Sania has to utilize this renewed confidence as a potent energy source and floor the pedal to go all the way. The Kuznetsova upset at Dubai was lost in the aftermath of some ordinary tennis, but she should not let that recurr. Nothing short of a victory in the finals will do justice to this result. A few years from now this match could be called one of two things: A spike in a fickle graph or the revival of a star. I'm pitching for the latter. I'm pitching that she'll make it count.

Why I despise Katarina Srebotnik

US Open 2006,Mixed doubles 1st round, Sania Mirza/Vizner vs Srebotnik/Zimonjic: Sania/Vizner lost 2-6 6-3 and 7-10 in the tie-break. This match was being played on one of the outer courts and I and a few dozen Indian fans were watching it from the sidelines. We evened the match by clinching the second set and sent it into a deciding 10 point tie-break. Sometime around 5-7 in the tie break, Sania let loose one of her blistering groundstrokes and hit Srebotnik bang in the ribs. This was a very important point and some fans cheered in joy. This cheer evidently, more out of winning the point than out of the insulting agony Srebotnik was experiencing, triggered Srebotnik to arrogantly respond to the crown screaming, "Fuck you, Whats wrong with you guys? I got hit and you are cheering?". The crowd was stunned into silence. I didnt hear the call of "shut up" from the crowd but Zimonjic did and the towering personality that he is, stormed towards us and demanded to know who said "Shut up". This was again met with silence. Next Ms Srebotnik, waving her hands at Sania, demanded to know what this behavior was all about. A very fazed Ms Mirza retorted saying, "I dont even know them". The game went on with Srebotnik/Zimonjic winning 10-7 in the tie break.

Clearly though, Srebotnik's character was the biggest loser on court. A sportsperson of that caliber is expected to not only withstand the pressures of the game but also some unruly crowd behavior. When no-name B.Becker ended Agassi's career in Arthur Ashe even his double faults were cheered. To his credit he had the character and focus to take it in his stride. No one enjoyed Srebotnik being hit, but fans did enjoy the fact that the crowd favorite had won the point. Wonder if she would have done the same if it was Andy Roddick who had hit her and the fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium had instinctively celebrated.

It was very human to react in anger at the fans and though still offensive its pardonable, however whats inexcusable is her actions towards another player, Sania, who if anything was apologetic of the groundstroke that Srebotnik was obviously unable to handle. Apparently the Chair umpire didnt consider it an offense of any kind and this issue fizzled out on that outside court at flushing meadows. But it left an indelible blemish on me and some other fans who were enjoying the game.

Ms Srebotnik,
Watching the game alongside those fans were children and some elderly fans to whom you set a bad example. Thank you for showing us the difference between a sportperson and a mere player.
definately not your fan,
Approach Shot.