Fed ‘Ace’ wins Wimbledon

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4 hours and 15 mins for a final with over 70 aces and most number of games played for a Wimbledon final. These were a few facts that sum up this year’s men’s final at SW19. But the real story was hidden. Let’s face it. Even a modest tennis fan would admit that Roger Federer did not play at the peak of his powers. Yet he managed to win his record breaking 15^th grand slam final.

One must admit that Andy Roddick played out of his skin. I was really amazed to see Andy play volleys this way. Previously he had a booming serve & inconsistent game. But his improved first serve percentage and much better volleys will no doubt shoot him up the table. Wimbledon 2009 was his 2^nd chance and will come a long way in erasing his reputation as a one slam wonder.

Over 70 aces for a championship final show how much of a power game it was. There weren’t many long volleys unlike a Federer vs. Nadal final. The quality of winners, however, was good.

On the flip side, Roddick wasn’t moving around the court so much and Federer had trouble in returning Roddick’s bullet serves.

The speed on Federer’s first serve was equal to Roddick’s second serve. Still Federer managed at least 15 aces more than Roddick. That’s an amazing quality but overall the Swiss master just did not bring his A Game. That he broke Andy’s serve only once in the entire match shows not just Andy’s rise as well as Fedy’s decline. With this kind of below par performance, Rafa would have steamrolled Fed Ex.

With the great Pete Sampras watching from the royal box, one would think Roger Federer would weave his magic around the center court. He had his moments, but this was just not his show.

Still 15 grand slams is no mean achievement. That he did it with a few good years left will argue well for him, for he wasn’t a burden for fans to see him complete it. As I see it, I honestly think it will take quite a long time to break his record.

Holy Memories - A look back at my School Days

School days are everybody’s first love. No many would forget their first day at school, crying at the sight of parents leaving. I’ve had an interesting 1^st day at school. All my school’s sisters gave is chocolates & off I go. I did return that day with 3 stitches dangerously close to my right eye, falling off a small wall. Majority of my schooling was at Holy Cross School where I studies from 1^st grade until higher secondary. 12 years in a school transforms into lots of memories. Our batch was widely regarded as the best & worst of the school’s history.

Most of my close friends are from School. Vivek tops the list with Anne, Raju & Ramya following suit not necessarily in that order. We had our share of controversies to be named the worst batch. The earliest I can remember was 4^th grade when yours truly was accused of writing a love letter to my best friend in her diary. Handwriting checks proved otherwise but imagine a 4^th grade love letter. We also became the only class to rebel against a Vice – Principal’s decision in boys vs. girls issue when the boys were unfairly punished. Boys stood together in a strike that lasted for 2 hours which ultimately ended in VP asking pardon for her incorrect decision.

Part of Holy Cross’ success is attributed to its teachers. My favorite was Thilak Mam. She thought Biology but she was best regarded as the best English teacher of the school. She was famous for pinching students in the ear. Murari might remember because his ear started bleeding after repeated pinching. Then there’s evergreen Mr. Munuswamy. He’s our Tamil teacher who apart from teaching well, also cracks frequent jokes & double meaning dialogues to make classes more interesting (Mayilum Illa.. Mayirum illa). And of course, very few will forget ‘Can u catch my point?’ Very few escaped from the stick of Kalaiselvi’s mam. A smart Mr. Kishore was girls’ favorite while Meenakshi mam was guys’ favorite.

Almost everyone took to extra coaching for higher secondary exams. Friends would remember me wearing an overcoat & riding a Hero Puch for the early morning math tuition. There were times when we used to lie to gather even on non tuition days at the early hours to play cricket.

Many of us experience 1^st love in school. There were quite a few love stories which I’ve known of in school but will refrain from writing. Mine though was a different one. It was my friends who wrote the story, screenplay, dialogue and directed a love story between me and a girl, which was immensely popular not just with students but teaching staffs too. But then, looking back it was quite a bit of fun.

When I look back, I must admit that my school life was as great as my college days. There was enough freedom for us to socialize but seldom crossed the limits. There were enough opportunities even for an average student like me to take part in career enriching activities. Friends would remember me taking part in various GK competitions. Sadly, Holy Cross School never really scaled greater heights after we left. Still, in my world it’s the best school (4^th best in the state in 2002), that thought me so many things within and outside the syllabus.