Roger Federer..The greatest player in the history of tennis!!

To be brutally honest..there are very few things that make me more happy than watching Roger Federer play tennis.

HE IS A TRUE GENIUS!!!

I have had arguments with many of my friends about his game and his greatness, about how much he has achieved over the last 6 years or so and about his domination of men's tennis. Not once have I felt otherwise about his game. People keep saying he hasn't been able to overcome the challenge Rafa poses and that Rafa has more wins over him. I would like to remind all the guys out there that Rafa beat Roger more often in clay courts. Most of them in finals. There is no question of doubt that Rafa is the greatest clay court player in the history of the game. But, Roger is second only to Rafa in clay courts. His game on other surfaces is unmatched. Not even by Rafa. Roger has had more success on any surface than any other player in the history of men's tennis. Bjorn Borg came close to matching Roger's feat.

Coming to Roger's game..He has the best forehand in men's tennis, best backhand, best backhand slice, an extremely good forehand topspin, one of the best serves in the circuit, one of the best defence (Rafa many be sometimes a notch above him), the ability to move from defence to offence at will, an exteremely good court coverage, a very potent drop shot and the icing on the cake...he has a court temperment that is unmatched. What else would a tennis player need. He is probably the only guy so far in men's tennis who does'nt have a weakness in his game. Even modern day legends like Smapras, Borg and McEnroe and very recently Rafa have agreed that Roger could well be the greatest player to wield a racquet. Roger once stated that he has a level that nobody in the current circuit has. If you go by comaparision, Rafa is a great player, Roger is a genius and arguably the greatest by acclamation. To sum it up..Jim Courier once asked Rafa what he would do to be sure that he wins..and Rafa replied.."I would play with Roger..not against..but in the same team and then I cannot loose". Agassi once spoke of him after loosing the 2005 US open final "Against Sampras you always had a chance..you kew you did..but against Federer there are no chances..he does'nt have any weakness in his game".

By numbers..
Roger has played in the last 19 of 24 grand slam finals!!!. A feat never before done. I think no one will be able to do it.
He has won 2 grand slams 5 consecutive times...another feat nobody can match.
In 2004 his win percentage was 94.25%!!!!
Has won 65 straight matches on grass.
Won the 2005 Wimbledon without dropping a set. The last man to do something like that was the great Bjorn Borg.
Has won 3 of 4 grand slams in a year 3 times..another feat no body has done before.
Won the most one sided grandslam final in the history of open era tennis..winning the 2004 US open 6-0,7-5,6-0 against Leyton Hewitt.
Won the Laurels world sportsperson of the year 4 times in a row. Again, something never done before.
Won 14 grand slams in just 40 slam appearances. Sampras took 52 to get to his 14th and last in his last match in professional tennis.
has dominated men's tennis for the last 6 years like no one has ever done before.
Once said "I have created a monster..have'nt I"..about his achievements in the sport.
Has reached a record 10!! consecutive Grand Slam finals between 2005 Wimbledon and 2007 US Open.

What else do you want me to say about the greatest player in the history of men's tennis. I just simply can't tell you how happy I was when he lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires. I have a strong feeling that all the pressure is off him now that he won. I very sincerely hope that he gets back to playing like he did about 2 years ago. I have to come to terms with the fact that he is almost 28 and that age is playing a great deal on his game, but, I have to say that
I AM HONOURED TO HAVE WATCHED ROGER CREATE HISTORY AND MORE THAN HONOURED TO HAVE WATCHED HIM PLAY.

I wish him all the very best with all his future endeavours. I hope he wins all the titles he comeptes for :).

Thank You Roger Federer...THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!

A million Cheers,
Brijesh

Elections..Campaigning..Voting

Similar Results..Almost always the same fate..

We Indians are like Hobbits..Change comes.. if at all..very slowly. Many might not agree with me on this. But I am more than sure that they hail from an urban background..with most of them having little or no theory or evidence to back up their claims. We are so very contented with the slow change, even though we crave for more. We try to 'find' excuses for the socio-economic irregularities that are widely prevalent in our society. We are almost always never happy with the government, but almost always vote for the same political party. We only go by comparisons among ourselves whereas we ought to look outside the box. Never have we taken matters in our hands. Matters that are purely ours and ours alone. There is no doubt we want to be a truly powerful nation.Yet, we hide under the mask of helplessness to hide our selfishness and sometimes our gutless attitude. We turn away from our problems and remain hopeful that everything is set right. We are 99% of the times never proactive about our growth "as a nation". This is exactly what we Indians are. This is the core of our true personalities. We talk about governments' accountability. But, never have we questioned our own. We are so engrossed in throwing the blame on the other sections of society that we forget our own responsibilities as citizens. We have little knowledge about the schemes our government puts in action. We keep fretting about all its irregularities and how it affects our day to day lives.
And then come the elections...most people who vote for a particular party are long term loyalists. Most of the educated youth are not in the voters list. Even if they are many don't vote. This is the saddest part. We have tainted actors, cricketers and politicians term after term. But we still elect them. There is no proper reasoning to our actions and the choices that we make. We somehow fail to see the repercussions of our choices. I hail from Andhra Pradesh. Recently my state had the assembly elections. Mr.Chiranjeevi, the megastar of Telugu filmdom established the Praja Rajyam Party. His election campaign was very closely monitored. Almost all his fans wanted him to become the "next Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh"!!!!. Surprisingly, a majority of his educated fans also wanted him to be the next CM!!. I can't understand their logic behind backing him for the CM's post-the most important position in state politics. He never had any political experience of any sort, and I most certainly doubt his knowledge about the actual irregularities in the previous government's welfare schemes. Had he won the election, many of his cabinet ministers would have been inexperienced candidates. I am ashamed to say that the political scenario in the state is mostly caste based. The congress has the 'Reddys' in majority, TDP has the 'Kamma' community and PRP has given tickets largely to the BC and 'Kapu' communities. This is really shameful. 95% of the educated people also think in these terms. Seriously, caste system in India is hindering our growth as a nation. The other day I was reading an article about a certain Mr.D.P.Ojha DGP, Bihar. How he was suspended for bringing out some cases pending on a notorious RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin. He was fired by the Rabri government last December. He later submitted a 100-page report on Siwan Mohammad Shahabuddin revealing his links with Pakistan's ISI and other international criminal gangs. He stood as an independent contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Begusarai constituency in Bihar. He started the "Clean Up Bihar" platform. I don't know if he won (I hope he did), but if he did not, then it's a shame on the part of Biharis to elect an extremely corrupt government. There are only a handful men who dare to speak the truth and do the right thing, come what may. There are even fewer educated men who have come into active politics. This is something that we should be completely ashamed of.

There are so many things that we ought to do, but we don't. We, so very often, resign ourselves to our fate. Very rarely do we try to change the way our system works. We have only ourselves to blame for the situation we now are in. We are so very much like Hobbits. It's as if we despise change. But, there is bound to be change. I am one among the many hopefuls who would like to contribute a lot towards it, and I will. Someday, there will be a REVOLUTION!

Someday..'MERA BHARAT HOGA MAHAAN'!!..in every sense

26 Cheers
Brijesh

VERSION II

CHAPTER III

THE GRASS LOOKS GREENER ON THIS SIDE

On the flip side, there is something interesting going on. I will publish what's happening at a later stage. Until then, I have my fingers crossed!

Right now....my room is bustling with friends..that's something that I like unless it interferes with my privacy :)..everyday seems to be a weekend..yet, I'm waiting for weekends :)..(what a lousy bugger I am!!..always wanting a holiday..haha).

I'm mighty happy that the F1 season has started. I want Kimi to win somehow, however, getting ahead of that Brawn car will pose some challenge even to the likes of Kimi, Lewis and Massa. The diffuser is certainly the difference..and for experienced drivers like Jenson Button and Barrichelo..its like a magic wand they can use anytime. I'm also excited about the new rule changes...overtaking looks fun and with the new set of rules from the next season about the drivers' championship..things look verry interesting. :)

Roger lost another semifinal..and to Murray again. I HATE to see Roger lose. I just can't digest the fact that he's losing more matches of late..mostly because of the number of unforced errors! I know how frustrating it must be for Roger, but yes..he has to admit it..his domination over world tennis has faded. If he can come back (which will be bloody brilliant)..make less errors, get more first serves in and not panic on important points like he used to about 3 years back, then there is a very high certainty that he will win at least 2 of the next 3 grand slams this year.
Go Roger!!!

Coming to cricket..India is playing well..they are not particularly playing brilliantly..I mean with consistency. There is a lot of work to do if they have to beat the likes of SA and Australia. There is a lot of promise for the future, but there is lots to do. Sachin is enjoying his game and Dravid is back to form and I'm happy. Should India win this test in Auckland, it will be a very big achievement for the team. Next up is IPL. The atmosphere will certainly be different but SA are great hosts. I want Deccan Chargers to do well and Mumbai Indians to win. Then World T20 and the Champions Trophy..Phew!!!..lott of cricket to come over the next 6 months. Should India win any of these tournaments, boy... its gonna be great!!!!.

In the meanwhile..the selectors should be looking at a good spinner. Somebody who can endure all that international cricket has to offer. A leg spinner who can do at least half what Kumble has done, will be a great find. Piyush Chawla is promising, but is very young and needs loads of guidance.

So many things to keep me busy...so much to follow. I'm finding an excuse in all these activities and neglecting things that give me real pleasure...Sketching, data mining, photography, blogging, workouts, badminton..It's almost as if I have given up sketching (bloody hell!!)..

I have to get back to being active..come what may..and most importantly, I have to do something that will define my future..the only thing that is presently most important to me :).

Speaking of all these..life's not that bad after all...there is always a greener side..it's only for you to find it and make it look really good and promising, and believe me when I tell you..you always have the chance to control your life. So do I and so I will!!!

26 Cheers
Brijesh

Disturbia!!

CHAPTER I

PROBLEM

I don't know what's happening to me of late..I have left reason and logic has abandoned me as a sort of retaliation. It's hurting me from the inside..I have never been in this mental state before..for I know what to do in order to get out of this situation..but strangely enough, I'm waiting for chance to turn my fate into something better. It's a huge risk, in that my life and my career depends on the decisions I make now. I have some pretty promising things happening for me, things that are in my control, but control is something I don't have over myself. It's been a pretty long time since I had a peaceful sleep. I fear getting turned into someone who does not know himself. This is actually bad ..because, it's like I am sitting right in front of the control button with the power to do what I want to do and get to where I want to be, but I'm not doing anything about it. It seems as though my mind is paralyzed. There are things that I want to do, but I am avoiding them for no reason as such. This is annoying!!

CHAPTER II

ANALYSIS

Third week of Jan '07...(can't remember the exact date)..but this was the first indication of things to come. Something happened which I am too shameful to disclose. That triggered the snowballing laziness.

And it gets even worse in that I know the solution to my problem..and I am only shying away from it..for reasons I can't explain..not even to myself..and I am ashamed to say that.

I need to act fast..or else I am sure I WILL LOSE MYSELF..and I cannot let that happen...I cannot live with that guilt.

26 Cheers
Brijesh

At last..after all the procrastination

PHEW!!!...

I really have an extremely bad habit of delaying things...for no reason as such..so, here I am again..writing after what seemed ages...and believe me a lot has happened over these 3 months...most important to me among them being these three--

Firstly, I've graduated..yay!!!...a joyous moment..but also a very apprehensive one as I admit I don't know what's in store for me in the future. I have planned..but I am ashamed to say I am now unsure..though I can take refuge in the fact that there are job cuts because of the recession..I'll have to stoop to a level where I'll be hurting my intelligence to do that..and it hurts my ego very badly to admit that I might be in this jobless situation owing to the fact that I have not planned and executed accordingly...but then again..that's something I'll have to deal with more carefully and with even more dexterity the next time..or rather from now onwards..

Secondly, Roger lost in another extremely well played final..these guys seem to raise the bar for the quality of tennis in every grand slam final..It would be an understatement to say that I was devastated..and to see Roger in tears only reiterated the fact that he knew pretty well he should have won this one..but then again..one can't help but just watch future unfold itself with an overwhelming sense of helplessness...that's probably one of the most beautiful aspects of life..all said and done..Rafael is the most gifted defensive player I have ever seen in all these 18 years..and he deserved to win..so congratulations!!

Thirdly, A.R.Rahman won 2 Oscars!!!!!!!!!!!!!....
this is amazing, bloody brilliant..I'm very happy that a true genius has finally got world wide recognition. I became a huge fan of Rahman when he said " I didn't want to lose our market to the west..India has the potential..I want to get all the people to listen to our music again..for which the music has to be fresh"..isn't this stirring??..inspiring??...look at the simplicity in his thought..and his pure and healthy ambition..and then what did he do...he gave some mind-blowing and brilliant music. To sum it up..others scored music people like and people liked the music Rahman scored. It was like he was showing a new dimension every time...like leading a path less traveled..hats off to this man!!..being called Mozart from Madras is no ordinary compliment..and that too by music legends all over the world..it's such a great accomplishment..all I can do is just admire this man's pure genius..

26 Cheers
Brijesh