For the glory of a Grand Slam

January has always been associated with the Australian Open for me. For years, I’ve been watching the tournament telecast live and enjoying the first-round matches. Maybe it is the feeling of being an underdog, but the first rounds, until the quarterfinals, give me a glimpse of the other contenders who are not written about as much as the famed musketeers Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic.

The timing of the telecast also matches my schedule! A 5:30 am start means one can watch a lot of matches before the daily routine begins and not lose too much sleep. Ah, the joy of a steaming cup of coffee with the fog and chill outside and a lesser-known Lehecka taking on Coria.And sometimes, like this year, we get to see some Andy Murray magic.

His match against Thanasi Kokkinakis was easily the best match I have ever watched. Murray is no doubt an inspiration to many, but his sheer perseverance is unparalleled. And with a metal hip! It is sad that all things must come to an end, and maybe we have seen the last of these titans like Murray and Nadal on a tennis court.

I have come to learn that tennis is an unforgiving game. The margins between fame and “also ran” are very thin. Players like Tiafoe, Monfils, Kyrgios, and a host of other talented players, who are technically far superior and showmen to boot, haven’t won the Slams! It requires a different kind of temperament to conquer the peak.

Our own Sania Mirza/Bopanna team too failed at the final hurdle, but at least they reached there! It is frustrating as a fan to see countries like Greece, Argentina, Serbia, Croatia, and even Turkey producing individual champions, but India, with all its 1.4 billion people, is still struggling to produce singles players who can win at least a challenger title on the tour.

The one or two players that we do throw up turn quickly to doubles, leaving not even a sliver of hope for a singles title. Remember how the Reliance World Cup changed cricket for us? It may require the Ambanis and Adanis of this country to bring a Grand Slam to India and change the way the sport is looked at here.

In the Hindi movie Jolly LLB, Saurabh Shukla, as the judge, says that he knows the truth about cases that come before him, but evidence is required in a court of law to prove the guilt. And he says he keeps waiting and hoping that the lawyers will produce that evidence so he can pronounce his judgement.

The flaw is systemic. We will have to resign ourselves to watching players from other countries and patiently keep hoping and waiting for that one Indian champion who can garner glory at the Grand Slams.