Tennis Players Get Back To Business

Has Roger Federer forgotten how to lose? Or has he had a sinister operation done on him that gives him a ridiulously unbreakable spirit and enables him to find all those impossible angles and breathtaking shots even when he's down and out? I'm sorry, but his match against the unfortunate Radek Stepanek (whose engagement to the beautiful Martina Hingis, one would've thought, would've brought some luck into his life) in which he ground out an amazingly gruelling three-set victory has unnerved me a bit. Seriously, has he simply taken an Unbreakable Vow (Harry Potter fans would know what I'm talking aboutt) to never lose a match again? And this wasn't even an ATP match, for crying out loud. It was a lousy exhibition match that mattered for little more than a bit of media attention and the prestige of winning a trophy. Honestly, he's starting to scare tennis followers a little bit.

So the start of the tennis season this year hasn't been too happy for me so far. Nearly all of my favourite players have been losing like there's no tomorrow. Lleyton Hewitt has been besieged with a wide variety of problems ranging from injuries to bad form and to the embarrassing quitting of his coach. He pulled out from the Sydney International after a shock defeat to an unheralded player (I can't even remember his name) and is not looking too good for the Australian Open. Terrible, terrible. I wonder if he will ever be able to fulfil his dream of winning his home Grand Slam. I will be praying he does, of course. Martina Hingis has been continuing her habit of losing crunch matches, going out in the final of one tournament and in the first round of the next. Serena Williams's comeback was cut short, and now looks really unlikely to repeat her 2005 performance at the Open. Sharapova too has tasted defeat already this year, losing to Clijsters in the final at Hong Kong. So that makes four of my favourite players who haven't exactly been on smashing winning streaks this year. And to make matters more miserable, the players that I'm NOT too fond of have been enjoying themselves in the sun (quite literally - they say it gets really hot Down Under this time of the year). James Blake, Ivan Ljubicic, Jelena Jankovic - they've all been winning matches left, right and centre. Andy Murray and Sania Mirza doing well have been small consolation - neither won a tournament in spite of helping themselves to impressive giantkilling sprees.

Rafael Nadal lost in Chennai and is far from fully fit. In fact, he has had a start to the year pretty similar to that of Hewitt. Now if only Nadal's ill-fortune continues until the end of the French Open. Okay, I know I sounded like a disgusting sadist when I said that, but frankly, Nadal has no business thwarting Federer's ambitions of winning all the four Grand Slams, particularly since he doesn't play half as brilliantly as does Federer. It's pretty obvious that Federer is just taking a little more time than usual to sort Nadal out, not least because Nadal is a bleeding left-hander. The odds of Nadal's dominance over Federer continuing for any further stretch of time are probably as slim as those of Venus Williams ending the year ranked No. 1.

So another couple of days before the Australian Open begins. Federer is the runaway favourite in the men's event. Sometimes I actually think the other players on the tour shouldn't really bother to turn up at events that Federer plays. I suppose they just do it for the TV and the fans. The women's section is a lot more open, and with Henin-Hardenne pulling out Sharapova has emerged as the dubious favourite, based more on her high ranking than anything else. I say this because Kim Clijsters, in her last year on the tour (yeah, she's retiring from tennis at the age of 23) is looking lethal, and Amelie Maursesmo is always a major contender. Jankovic has been in the form of her life, and Hingis will be looking to add at least one big title to her impressive collection, most of which she achieved before her three-year hiatus. I, of course, will be praying fervently for Hewitt to come good, and I also hope Sania Mirza manages to make something more than a string of two or three wins out of her blistering forehand. I will NOT be praying for Federe to lose early, because that'd just be pathetic. But I do hope Hewitt doesn't run into him this year. Come on Federer, give him just one chance.