THIS WEEK – Novak Djokovic has thrown down the gauntlet to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the crown of men’s tennis. In an awesome, virtuoso performance at the Rod Laver Arena, Nole (as he is called) first outplayed Federer and then in a flawless performance, completely outclassed his childhood rival and friend Andy Murray.
Djokovic has been a transformed player ever since he led Serbia to the Davis Cup win against France. He has also worked hard to iron out any weaknesses in his game. He has improved what used to be a dodgy serve to the extent that even Federer could not attack it. His movement is as good as anybody’s and he leaves everything on the court as far as effort is concerned. Allied to his engaging personality, it is clear now that Novak Djokovic has finally fulfilled his potential and will be the man to beat in 2011.
Murray and Djokovic have been together since they were ten, training on the red clay courts of Barcelona. Prior to the Australian Open final, Murray had defeated Djokovic in straight sets in their two meetings. But Murray lacks the ability to raise his game for the big occasion. He just continues to play his steady counter attacking game. In the later stages of a major tournament, he invariably runs into a player who has won six matches and is playing in the zone. Murray finds it impossible to raise his game and comes up on the losing end.
In the final, Djokovic was taking the ball earlier than Murray. He was playing closer to the baseline and was dictating all the rallies. When Murray tried to attack, he played some inch perfect lobs. It was no contest. Kim Clijsters continued her climb to the top of the women’s game with a hard fought victory over China’s Li Na. This was a great performance from the Chinese girl, who reached the final by beating the top seed Caroline Wozniacki, surviving a match point in the process.
With the Williams sisters playing fewer and fewer events and with age starting to catch up with them, it will be the three above mentioned girls plus a few very strong German and Russian girls, who will vie for the top spot. Wozniacki has a problem similar to Murray’s. She does not have the big shots that will get her over the top against the power hitters. Even though she is number one, she has not won any event of note.
Pakistan’s juniors did themselves proud in Myanmar at the ITF qualifiers. This was PTF president Kaleem Imam’s first team to represent Pakistan. For Pakistan, Zahid Mujahid of Khanewal achieved eighth position out of 64 players, Hamza bin Asif of Kamra got 13th position while Mudassar Murtaza of Jahanian attained 21st position. In the girls Eman Qureshi reached fifth position out of 32 and lost in the quarterfinal. In the boys’ doubles, Mudassar and Zahid reached the quarterfinals. In the girls doubles the Pakistan girl reached the semifinal. In the recent past, no Pakistan team was sent for the under 14s.
What was notable was that this PTF did not indulge in nepotism, unlike Dilawar Abbas. They searched high and low for talent as is evident that the selected boys were from small out-of-the-way towns. In the past, players attending PTF camps were given a small amount of food money. They would then have to walk two miles each way to Aabpara, three times a day for their meals. The lavish expenditure was saved for the PTF office bearers. This time the meals were served by five star hotels, for both the Juniors and the Fed Cup girls. What a refreshing change in attitude and in the resulting performances.
The question of who will captain Pakistan in the cricket World Cup sparked an epidemic of statements and public opinion polls. The majority seemed to be favouring Shahid Afridi over Misbah ul Haq. Afridi is a natural cricketer who plays best when he does not have to worry about tactics or the run rate. When he is allowed to bat and bowl instinctively, he can win a match in a few minutes of precocity.
Misbah is cool, calm and collected. He also revels in playing under pressure. He is a calming influence on what is otherwise a group of nervous, edgy individuals. In this column’s opinion, the decision was obvious, but Afridi got the nod of the PCB chairman. The positive aspect in all this was that both candidates for the post displayed mature attitude towards what had become a national issue.
Changing captains at a late date was not a major issue. Pakistan was known for playing musical chairs with its captains. Misbah was already the Test captain and should not have had any trouble adapting to the shorter format. The important thing though is that the issue is now behind us and that Pakistan is playing well.
The New Zealand series was just what the doctor ordered. The batsmen were among the runs, with Misbah leading the way. Save the final game, the bowling was tight and the spinners were running through the middle overs without getting blasted. Everything seemed to be coming together at the right time.
Whether we will do well in the World Cup depends on whether we take the chances that come our way. The competition is tough. There are at least four teams which are as good as ours and it will all depend on who plays well on the day and who adapts better to the playing conditions.
