Impact of Tennis Poetry

There are lots of sportspersons who have created some great impact on me. I have been a fan of The Undertaker when I was a child, and I used to be a big fan of Saurav Ganguly later. Well, I no longer use the word fan because I have never been that kind of a fan that hates everyone who doesn’t like his or her favourite celebrities. I have been a person who admired these people who have had great impact on me. But there has been one person whom I really needed to write about.

I am talking about that person who is considered to be the greatest tennis player of all-time, and I never had any doubt about that. As you might have guessed the name of that person by now, this blog post is about Roger Federer. If you look at the records, you will know there are so much of achievements which he got inside his pockets. He has broken many records and has created his own including that of the most Grand Slams won and the most time spent as the world number one.

Well, I believe that you know most of it, and so, this post is going to about the impact that he has made on me rather than the impact which he has made on the tennis world. Even though the impact in tennis can be considered bigger, it is not that much behind in my case either. I have always believed in Roger Federer, and whether he wins or not, he has been the one who made the most impact on me, a lot more than any other sportsperson, and I am extremely glad about that.

I have always compared Federer to a certain kind of tennis poetry, with the way in which he has been playing, not making those terrible sounds or trying so hard. He just moves around seemingly without any trouble, and there is no overdose of emotions like some other players who are rather too aggressive with showing off after each shot. The biggest impact that his style has had on me is to control the emotions. It has helped me to take a game, whether it is badminton, cricket or football as a game in its own spirit.

Another impact that he has had is on my way of playing badminton. Yes, badminton is not tennis and also vice versa. I have never played tennis, but I have played a lot of badminton. So, I have tried to use his style of play in badminton, and that backhand has worked for me as a surprise weapon; the tennis forehand also works! Well, I have been accused of playing badminton like tennis, but there is this impact that Roger Federer has made, and I could never try not to do that.

He has won awards for sportsmanship, and has been the fan favourite for so long, and there is no surprise about it. I have never really stopped believing in Federer; I have always known that he will be the impact-maker no matter how the world changes. He also founded the Roger Federer Foundation to help the children in need. He has been a person known for his philanthropy too, as he has also made an impact outside the court. If you ask me about tennis, there is Roger Federer and then there is everyone else.

In the last few years, I have realized that I only liked Federer better and his performance never really mattered. It was all about the way in which he played and how he has been on the court as well as outside the court that has made such a huge impact on me. I have always been interested in Federer for being the person that he has been. It is never going to change, no matter what comes around in the upcoming years. He had that impact on me and it is forever, without conditions; it is the impact of tennis poetry on court and a great human being outside it.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Page of Roger Federer.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

TeNy

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Where Everything Ends

The year end is here, and so is the ATP World Tour Finals. The best men of tennis from the year are back to compete for the one final prize, the trophy which will make this year and awesome one. With Roger Federer having won the title six times and Novak Djokovic four times, there is nobody else in the top ten who has won this one – well, there is nobody even in the top 200. So with eight top players ready, there were six trying to get their hands on the big prize for the first time.

The one person who really should win this title though, is Rafael Nadal. He came second twice here, and deserves to win this title to make his achievements even better. But he couldn’t go past the World Number in the knock-out stage, as Djokovic has been far ahead of the rest of the ATP throughout the year, except for Federer who could manage something against the Serbian juggernaut. Nadal could still top the group which didn’t have Federer and Djokovic who were to fight against each other early to a Swiss win.

Nadal still went past Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka without much trouble. Surprisingly, it was Wawrnika who joined Nadal in the other match of the semi-finals and not Murray. He came second by beating the last of the Big Four and David Ferrer who became the only man who could bring the fight to Nadal in that group; he will always be the greatest fighter of all time in men’s tennis. I have often wondered if he is the best player of this century never to have won a Grand Slam.

Meanwhile, in the other group, Tomáš Berdych and Kei Nishikori couldn’t go past the two men who won twenty seven Grand Slam titles and one hundred and fourty six singles titles between then; Djokovic lost only to Federer who made it perfect with cent percent wins, and the rest could only watch. With this tournament, Federer also has the most number of ATP World Tour Finals appearances, and he has played fourteen of these tournaments continuously until this one.

With Djokovic having an easy victory against Nadal who came nowhere close, Federer made it past Wawrinka in straight sets making the final once again a clash of the titans. Djokovic is the tree-time defending champion with this title, and last year had Federer not playing in the final due to health issues and Djokovic winning by a walkover. This final was to be a repeat of the last year’s ATP World Tour Finals match which never really happened, and so the fans were to be a lot excited.

When they went into the finals, the rivalry between the two players had Federer leading by 22–21 head to head; the Swiss Master being the only person in the big four and the current top players to have a positive head to head record against the World Number One even as it is such a small lead. Djokovic actually had a great year, and even though he was defeated by Federer in the group stages, he was the favourite considering how well and consistently he had played throughout the year.

Federer couldn’t win his last three Grand Slam finals against Djokovic. This one was opportunity for Djokovic to erase the negative head to head record with Federer too, and he did exactly that. He started the favourite in this tournament and he ends it as the winner. This ends an almost perfect year for him, with only the French Open somehow keeping away from him – that was rather a surprise. With three Grand Slam wins, a Slam final and a victory in the year end tournament, Djokovic seems to be ready to dominate men’s tennis for some more time.

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of the two players.

TeNy

A Return to Tennis

With the last Grand Slam of the year already over, I had thought that the best moments of tennis were over for this year. But it didn’t end with US Open, as ATP World Tour Finals was not the last big thing. There was Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza did managing to claim the doubles title at the WTA Finals with a 6-0, 6-3 win against the Spanish team of Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro. Having already won Wimbledon and the US Open, it has been an a very nice year for the Indo-Swiss team.

Sania was already the defending champion having won the title last year with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black who had her third title of WTA Finals doubles last year while Martina Hingis is having her third doubles to go with her two singles. It was quite an expected win there, with this team doing so good these days. But the surprises came in the WTA Finals singles and the Swiss Indoors at Basel. There were some interesting moments there, with ATP World Tour Finals still to come.

While Sania and Martina were on the top of their game, Agnieszka Radwańska wasn’t anywhere close to being declared to be among the favourites to win the singles division. She hasn’t been having that great a year, except for the Wimbledon. She still returned into the top five and claimed her spot, making the former World Number Two a fine contender especially in the absence of Serena Williams who was the three time defending champion absent due to injury.

Then too, the last year’s runner-up and the current number two who lead the seedings had to become the hot favourite, but Simona Halep had to take the early exit. Agnieszka herself had to qualify second from a group dominated by Maria Sharapova, even though she could take a set from Maria. Even in the semi-finals, she had to take on the second seed Garbiñe Muguruza who beat her in the Wimbledon. But she got through in three sets and also against Petro Kvitova the two-time Wimbledon winner who defeated Maria, once again in a nice contest.

It was nice to see the lady from Poland finally getting to the grand stage. She has been my long time favourite, even before the new ones were there, but I couldn’t see Agnieszka at her best winning those big ones until now. May be it is time to have newer names on the Grand Slams even though Serena will have other ideas. Agnieszka Radwańska and Simona Halep are two players who seriously need to win a Grand Slam or two in the next year; I wouldn’t be surprised if Garbiñe Muguruza does that too.

Then there was the biggest of them all, Swiss Indoors at Basel. It was going to have a big final after a long time; with Stanislas Wawrinka eliminated early thus getting rid of the possibilities of an all-Swiss clash, it came up to the two big names in the end, about two players who didn’t meet for a very long time because of one of them always exited when the other reached the final. The #Fedal final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was long awaited, with the former surely having a better year and the latter having a better head-to-head record.

Federer still had a better record in indoor hardcourt matches and was also in a better form, even though Nadal did put up the fight. It was a match which was so close to arrive, but never really came for us. It has been twenty one months. It was finally great to see the two men with thirty one Grand Slams in total battling each other, and Federer won another title, and it is his seventh title at another venue, after achieving the same for Wimbledon, Halle, Dubai and Cincinnati. Lets hope to see more matches between these two, and with ATP World Tour Finals there to be taken for another seventh title, with Federer ranked much higher, may be these two will be in the same group!

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of Agnieszka Radwańska and Roger Federer.

TeNy

Annabelle’s Own Choice

It is important to be well groomed and nicely shaven, no matter what opportunity we are looking for. It doesn’t mean that it a must, but it is surely a bonus, something that we can’t ignore. There is the advantage of looking better and tidy, and it is impossible to deny it. There might be that important day in your life, which comes to you all of a sudden, and it is the best to shave and be ready for it. Lets take the case of the following story, which includes the famous dolls/toys/action figures (Annabelle, Chucky, Snow Job, Outback and Sentinel Prime).

Swayamvara, that age old practice of choosing one’s own husband from among a goup of suitors, was given to a girl of marriageable age, long ago in Ancient India. It might have disappeared from its own land, but it has managed to thrive in another world, just like Christianity and Buddhism manages to thrive far away from its birthplace, rather than at home. This world is not something that all of you might approve of, but its existence is a reality.

The tears that used to be Annabelle’s blood – romantic stuff 😛

It was Annabelle’s day. The doll had prepared for the big day, as she prepared for the big function, and the most important day of her life. A lot of dolls were to arrive at her place, and most of them were from far away lands, beyond the oceans, and even from beyond the dark woods and the valley of death. A big feast was arranged for the day, and Annabelle had decided that she would surely choose someone this time.

The dolls had arrived much earlier than they were supposed to, and Annabelle slowly made her way in the middle. She stopped for a second, looked to the right, and immediately put the garland on the neck on one doll without spending much time looking at anybody else’s faces. It was so quick that almost everyone was stunned. The music started and the swayamvara was declared finished. The selected person was Chucky!

Chucky and Annabelle: A match made in the spirit world 😀

“I knew she loved me. I knew she loved me” yelled a happy Chucky as he was throwing knives at statues.

“What the hell?” asked Outback, the G.I. Joe. “I am a real American Hero and a Joe. A soldier here, and she chooses the serial killer? What is wrong with her”?

“I am a Sergeant and even I am not chosen, damn it” said Snow Job, his friend and the other Joe who had arrived with lots of hope. “I understand that she is also possessed, but a serial killer is too low for anyone”.

“Even my robotic self was not chosen. I am evil too. Why was I not chosen? We could have taken over the world, my dear Annabelle. I had even made a plan with the Great Vampire Owl about the same. Three time winner of the best robotic beard and I still lose here” said a disappointed Sentinel Prime.

“I win, I win” screamed Chucky as he cut the head of two statues there.

“The Shining” Chucky – he knows what you are cooking 😀

“Seriously, this is the best groom you could get?” asked Outback.

“At least, tell us why” said Snow Job.

“Why not? See how well-groomed Chucky is. He is clean shaven and see how well his face looks. He is so cute right after the shave” explained Annabelle.

“Somebody get me a transformer razor” screamed Sentinel Prime as he ran outside.

Moral of the story: Always choose to shave, worry not about the rest.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette.

*All pictures used in this blog post are from the official Chucky and Annabelle pages on Facebook. I’m tagging some of my blogger friends for the same activity: Ananya, Shabab, Ranjini and Najm. Please don’t forget to mention that you were referred by me in your post.

Here are the themes for your blog post-
Topics for Men:
Opportunities – Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a ungroomed look.
Luck or Confidence? Will you leave your fate in the hands of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well- groomed face to be at your best everyday? #WillYouShave?
Topics for Ladies:
An instance when a stubble came in the way of a man’s chance to make a good impression.
An instance when a well groomed look ensured that they struck gold on an opportunity given to them.

TeNy

The Shaving Question

Some people might wonder why, but I remember that my first shave was when I was studying for plus one, and it was in the month of August or September, which I remember because it was just around the festival of Onam, during which the holidays had me going to the ancestral lands and the houses of relatives. One would wonder if it was another holiday, but no, I remember the pookkalam and those celebrities wishing Happy Onam on television during those days.

Why did I start shaving? I would say that it was mainly because I felt that I would look better that way. I haven’t been that much without confidence about most things, but it surely looked like a good idea at that time. It was also to be a confidence booster at that time, especially when there were things that I needed to overcome, and this was to make it better. This was something that I should do, and I made sure about it.

Until then, it was more like “let it grow” until I had chosen to say “let it go”, and there was the day on which I shaved, and then had the confidence to say no. I was forced to choosen the Commerce group for plus two, but that was not really working for me. I changed from Commerce-Mathematics to Commerce-Computer, and that didn’t do the trick. I had realized that the problem was with the school.

I had to get out of that place, but as usual my uncles didn’t want that and they were keeping on telling my father not to allow anything like that. On that day on which I had shaved, and that time I had the courage to say that I was not going to that place any more, not because it was a bad choice to make, but as it was a terrible choice for someone like me who never fit in there. I could tell him that I have another school in mind, even as classes had started there too.

Such mistakes kept happening in my life, but this decision that I made on that day on which I shaved was a big twist in my life. I could make more of such decisions, even as my timing has not always been correct and I have been prone to mistakes for a long time. There are many days that people remember, and I choose to bring this one day back to my mind – the day on which I shaved.

Still, even on these days, the shaved days prove to be better for me. There is nothing like having a groomed face. I have had my days without shaving and keeping my hair long, but those were the worst days of my life, and they are behind me. I would choose not to make the mistake of not shaving and not cutting hair again. That is not the best option, and I learnt it, but well.

Moral of the Story: The answer to the shaving question is a big yes. You don’t need to leave your future in the hands of fate or destiny, as one can take it forward with confidence – what you need is a Gillette razor. #WillYouShave? I suggest you choose to do that, because the world moves forward too fast, and you need confidence, and there is also the requirement to make an impression.

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette.

The images used in this blog post are from the official Facebook page of Gillette India. I’m tagging some of my blogger friends for the same activity: Shibu, Anoop, Tara and Kiran.
Please don’t forget to mention that you were referred by me in your post.

Here are the themes for your blog post-
Topics for Men:
Opportunities – Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a ungroomed look.
Luck or Confidence? Will you leave your fate in the hands of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well- groomed face to be at your best everyday? #WillYouShave?
Topics for Ladies:
An instance when a stubble came in the way of a man’s chance to make a good impression.
An instance when a well groomed look ensured that they struck gold on an opportunity given to them.
More details at: http://willyoushave.blogadda.com/

TeNy

IPTL: What it Brings

As you might have seen in the advertisements, International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) begins on 28th November, and with the Indian Aces team being part of it, there is the scope for improving the status of tennis in India, improving the number of fans as well as the media attention. But as far the quality of tennis in India is concerned, I have my doubts about it, as a league might not be something that works with this sport as much as it does with a team game. There is also no scope for young Indian players unlike in IPL or ISL.

Still there was the big twist about it, as Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Indian Aces citing injury, and Roger Federer replaced him, and it would surely mean a lot of more ticket sales. There is nothing like having Roger Federer playing in India for the first time. There is also Ana Ivanovic, and Pete Sampras who significantly boosts their respective categories. I would say that choosing Gael Monfils was also an interesting decision considering how much of a surprise he can keeping bringing up. It is our chance to cheer for India in tennis, and Micromax Indian Aces is a star team worth our applause.

As all good things begin and end with Roger Federer.

But the challenge seems evenly adjusted for the teams from four nations across Asia. We have four teams with players of different styles and most of them having not played each other much at all. The result cannot be predicted that easily with five divisions of matches to be played. The matches of the past champions will be very much unpredictable, as it gives us an opportunity to watch splendour on the court. Then about mixed doubles, it is going to bring us lots of suprises.

You can also choose to join the Genie Army 😀

We are introduced to some of the greatest names in tennis here; there are the current champions, the legends from the past, the surprise packages and the rising stars. Singapore Slammers got a strong women’s side with the power of Serena Williams, while UAE Royals is a balanced team with another strong women’s side – Eugenie Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki in the same team? That calls for support.

And there is always the Djoker looking for his opportunity.

I would consider Manila Mavericks as the weaker side there, but still having some power to surprise – having Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova guarantees that. This is not the usual tennis stuff that we might see here, and so our guess work might most probably won’t work at all. I would have loved to see Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska playing in the tournament, but unfortunately, that is not to be.

Happy days have been returning for Caroline Wozniacki.

The tournament happens for three days in each of these four nations. The points are won for the team by players winning matches – Men’s singles, Women’s singles, Men’s doubles, Mixed doubles and Past champions’ singles, and then by winning the tie, four points are added to the table. There is also the provision of two points or just one depending on the performace from the losing side. There will be tie-breakers at 5-5, and the action will be faster with less time taken between the points and sets.

Ana Ivanovic, another big name for the Micromax Indian Aces.

There is also a seven point men’s shootout to be played in case of a tied score too. There is sixty second coaches time-out, there will be power-points which will count as double, and there are lots of other things. Yes, it has me somewhat confused about how it works beyond the tennis match – I care less about that though. Here, entertainment is surely guaranteed, and this is more like a great collection of incredible exhibition matches. It will surely bring something to Indian tennis as far as the number of fans are concerned, and it might be quite small, in my opinion. *All images are from the Facebook pages of respective tennis players.

TeNy

When Nobody Knows

I am pretty sure that a lot of people have prayed a lot for the Indian cricket team to win the World Cup. But among the things I have wanted the most was for India to win the Davis Cup – yes, Indian football team qualifying for the FIFA World Cup was a necessity, but I had always hoped for a tennis achievement more. This love for tennis had kept me trying to play tennis shots in badminton even as that reinforced the fact that I will never play tennis in my life.

That brings back to the topic – who would I want to win the Davis Cup as it was kind of impossible for India considering the absence of a big tennis player in the ATP division. There might be just one win in the doubles, which would have been quite easy at a time when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were at full flow. But then, there is the other option, to watch Switzerland win the Davis Cup, something which happened yesterday at the same time as the ISL match between Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC was going on.

Federer and Wawrinka – redefining Swiss tennis (pic from ATP site)

I switched on the television and checked some of the so called big news channels starting with Indiavision. I waited till the sports news and kept staring at it, but it seemed that nobody knew there was such a tournament. For a tournament that happened at night, they don’t feel the need to show the news about it in the morning. It made me wonder where our journalism was heading. This is exactly why tennis doesn’t have that much of an impact in India.

Fed-rinka in action in France (pic from Reuters)

Czech Republic did win the Fed Cup earlier defeating Germany in the final, but it is clear nobody cared about it. I would say that most of the people don’t know that there is a woman’s equivalent of the Davis Cup. The media might also need some classes about the same, as they keep searching for cricket even in the ISL. The final didn’t end up being the close contest that I had expected it to, but I am an admirer of Lucie Safarova and is glad to see her team win, as I feel that she has under-achieved. I am surprised that Sabine Lisicki didn’t play a singles match though.

The Swiss Davis Cup team (pic from daviscup.com)

The total number of quality female players in Germany was surely high, but the two players, Lucie Safarova and Petra Kvitova ended up being too good. These two were far ahead of the rest of the players from Czech Republic as out of the top twenty rankings, the next available players was under rank 150 while Germany had a better team in totality. The same is the case of Switzerland and France in the Davis Cup. Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrnika being way ahead of the others who are ranked below 200, and their opponents having all their five players in the top thirty.

The Swiss players with the Davis Cup trophy (pic from ndtv)

This is a great win for Switzerland, and a wonderful addition to the list of great achievement of Roger Federer who had been fighting a lone battle for a long time before Wawrinka came into the picture – what an year for him too, beginning it with the Australian Open title and ending it with the Davis Cup trophy. The way in which they have managed to get rid of the rift between the two and come together to play for their nation, and how Federer managed to be fit for his country – all these are worth the appreciation.

But do our media know any of this? I have always considered Davis Cup with a great level of esteem. It is more equivalent to the World Cup than anything else, and it is the duty of the media to broadcast it and provide enough information about the same. The same is the case of Fed Cup which is more like a mystery around here. I wouldn’t be surprised though, considering the cold way in which they report Wimbledon. I hope that the senior Malayalam news channels and newspapers take tennis more seriously (a corner in the sports page is not enough for big tournaments), and it can only help the growth of tennis here.

TeNy

Return of the Emperor

Roger Federer still remains the one big reason why I watch tennis, and even at this age, what he is still managing to achieve remains pretty much awesome – despite the blind fans of many other tennis stars still not willing to see the same and those who don’t know tennis failing to look at it doesn’t make it any lesser. With the most grandslams in men’s tennis and the most number of weeks as the world number as well as the most consecutive weeks holding the same, plus so many other records, Federer has got not much to prove.

Yes, this is another one of those years in which he hasn’t won a grand slam, and has reached only one final of the same, that too of his favourite slam. He was without slams in 2011 and 2013 too and compared to last year, this one is a big improvement. He was number six last year, the lowest for him in ten years, and also with the lowest win percent and having no grand slam finals – the worst year since his rise to the top.

Federer with the ballboys and girls after winning the trophy 🙂

Consider this year though, as he is back to the world number two, gaining four spots from last year. He also has the best win percent since 2007, and could throw the miserable 2013 behind him. With only Novak Djokovic in front of him, he has also beaten the current world number one multiple times. With Rafael Nadal struggling to find form and time without injury, it is brilliant how Federer can manage it at this age.

Imagine Federer at one of our malls in front of his photo 😀

This year, he won Dubai Tennis Championships beating Tomas Berdych in the final, and followed it with the titles Halle Open, Cincinnati Masters, Shanghai Masters and Swiss Indoors, plus almost winning Wimbledon in a comeback which was almost not there for him. He was also close to winning Monte-Carlo Masters and Indian Wells Masters. Time to retire? I wouldn’t think so, and neither should anyone else. See how he is still evolving his game and adapting – there is more to see from him.

The Roger Federer Foundation – beautiful stuff 🙂

The ATP World Tour Finals is yet to come with four hundred points to defend for Federer, and an year end number one is quite far away with Djokovic in nice form. But being the world number two itself is an achievement. Whether some miracle strikes and makes him the year end number one again or not, this year has been big for Roger Federer, and it is not based on slams or the number of finals he has won, it is based on how well he has played among his younger opponents.

Players with Wilson racquets – theres Simona too 😀

There is also the Davis Cup World Group Final coming up, with France vs Switzerland as Federer’s home country look forward to their first title, and France looking for another title to add to their long list. As Federer teams up with Stanislas Wawrinka (finally a worthy partner from home) to who he had lost his Swiss number one spot which he has now regained, it is certain that there will be a lot to cheer for as far as the fans are concerned – this is going to be good.

Meanwhile, IPTL (Indian Premier Tennis League) is coming up, and Roger Federer is coming to India. He will play for Indian Aces teaming up with Pete Sampras, Ana Ivanovic, Gael Mofils, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro, and sparks are going to fly for sure. It is known that the tickets for Federer’s matches in Delhi were sold in twenty minutes, and that is the beauty of having the maestro here, and that was despite the ticket prices being so high. Federer is not done yet, know that! *All the photos are from Roger Federer’s official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Federer).

TeNy

Of a Romanian Beauty

I have been watching tennis for quite some time now, and I have watched and admired many players, but none so much as Roger Federer, who redefined my days of watching that game which I have never played and might never play. I have spent hours just watching the maestro play, and have watched almost all the grand slams he has won, mostly as live action and sometimes in the form of highlights.

I have also admired Novak Djokovic with his game on a lot of occasions, and has considered him a worthy successor to the number one title which he is holding now. When coming to the women’s tennis, it has never had a clear favourite player in my list, as there used to be Maria Sharapova, replaced by Caroline Wozniacki who still remains one my big favourites, Agnieszka Radwańska who is there forever, and Eugenie Bouchard whom I occasionally root for as part of another army – Genie Army.

Roger Federer and Simona Halep, my choices for every Grand Slam 😀

Then there is Simona Halep, whom I have been supporting for months now as the latest addition to that list. Along with supporting Roger Federer, I have been wishing that she had one the women’s division too. I might still name my cat Agnieszka who have been the fan favourite player for the last consecutive years (and mine too), but the admiration for Simona has been something that has been growing like a vampire’s fangs. She is not screaming and doing all those strange actions on the court like some of the other players who overdo the same.

It is a feel-good moment when she wins those points 🙂

Ever since reading Dracula, I have always wanted to visit Romania, and support the nation in something, and Simona is the answer to my prayers to find something for the same cause. Yes, another reason to love Romania here, and I was actually surprised at how much she has come up in the rankings all of a sudden and how well she has improved her game. Well, it is still safe to say that not many people from this part of the world knows her yet, and that is rather a disgrace to all kinds of sports.

Always looking good whether on the court or off-court!

The twenty three year old from Romania has jumped in rankings and has arrived and settled inside the top ten of WTA Rankings, and now sitting steadily at number three below veterans Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. She looks small, but has such an intelligent game to take on the stronger opponents. This was achieved after being a rather less heard name in Women’s tennis, which with frequent serve breaks, has been such an unpredictable side compared to the men’s tennis which has had the big four of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

Hope she wins the next grand slam and more 🙂

She came so close to winning the Roland Garros this year too, but there is a thing about the French Open, as it is too elusive for the best players and those who play beautiful tennis. After having not that much of a good record in the grand slams, she could rise to the occasions this year reaching the final of the French Open and the semi-final of the Wimbledon in an year which saw her rise which also lead to the demolition of Serena Williams in the WTA Championships even as she lost in the final to the same opponent.

Not difficult to find Simona here 🙂 (Pic from Simona wiki page)

Among the players who are doing so well in the WTA, I would vote for Simona Halep this time, and the player who recently turned twenty three and at 5 feet 6 inches among the shorter top players, seems to be the rising star for the future of women’s tennis. Lets hope that she continues to play the wonderful tennis that she is producing and keeps us admiring her talent. *All the photos in this post except one are from the official Facebook page of Simona Halep (https://www.facebook.com/simonahalep)

TeNy