Daniil Medvedev had overpowered Novak Djokovic in the US Open final barely two months back. A dejected Djoker had proceeded on a long break to rejuvenate, and had returned with renewed resolve to finish the Year End as the Number One for a record Seventh time. This target was achieved after a hard-fought semi-final win…

“Never plead for love, demand it.” Clark Gable is reported to have replied when asked for tips on romance. If you have to beseech for love, what you end up receiving is termed sympathy. This is not quite astrophysics. Besides, the name is not Novice, but Novak Djokovic. The Serb who survived NATO bombings on…

Haroon Rahim was the son of a Pakistani civil servant, who loved tennis so much that he wanted his offsprings to make name in the sport, and himself to die on a tennis court. BY the time, Mir Abdul Rahim, Chief Engineer, Pakistan Western Railways, passed away in 1968 while playing doubles with his friends…

Pistol Pete took the carburettor out of the Lendl Automobile in the quarters, thus denying Ivan the Machine ‘its’ ninth straight USO final run. The Czech had won three back-to-back titles in 1985-87, and lost five finals in 1982-84 and 1988-89. In 1990, the 30-year old warhorse had run into Pete Sampras, who had just…

When Novak Djokovic forced himself onto the Serbian mixed doubles campaign on the evening of 26th July, he was well aware of the stuffy and sapping conditions prevailing in Tokyo. He had already won his Round 1 and 2 Singles matches, and had spoken regarding the gruelling conditions. Add the pressure of being in the…

That Nick Kyrgios can beat any player on his day, and most players on his bad days is not mere empty rhetoric. Novak Djokovic and Kyrgios squared up against each other twice in a fortnight in 2017. They ended up playing four sets at Acapulco and Indiana Wells, yet the Serbian could not take even…

As the night curfew loomed in Paris, the two arch rivals stood at a set apiece. Djokovic had broken first in the third set, but Nadal had broken back to make it 5-5 and had subsequently saved his own serve. Now while serving to remain in the set (at 5-6), the Serb seemed perturbed with…

Novak Djokovic might have improved his head to head  against Rafa to 30-28 overall,  2-7 at the Roland Garros, 8-19 on clay and 7-10 in Grand Slams. Rafa might have been denied another free run at the Roland Garros where his 14th title would have allowed him to steer free of Federer’s count of 20…

After the cold, damp French Open of the previous year, the sunny edition of 2021 is quite a welcome change. Sun is out in its full glory, terre battue are well-baked and harder (and faster than Rome and Madrid) and balls are lighter. Low bounce and fast pace plays almost like hard courts. These factors…

Guillermo became one of the most popular names in Latin America following the grand success of Vilas on the Tennis Tour. Guillermo Coria and Canas were both named after him. Bjorn Borg could never correctly pronounce his first name. That did not stop them from becoming good friends. They used to eat out and practice…

The duo kept hitting top spin lobs from behind the baseline. They seemed content to keep the ball above the net and inside the court. Not much running was involved. It was as if they were feeding each other balls for practice, forehand to backhand, back to forehand, testing the rival’s patience, while making some…

Novak Djokovic has a lot to avenge, and many records to set right, when he takes on the GOAT Rafael Nadal on the Foro Italico in the final of the Italian Open today. Amid all the talks of Grand Slams, Masters, head-to-head records and weeks as Number One, one ignominious data point is often overlooked-…