A Special Night with A-Rod and Haas

What a night! The number 1 seed for the tournament pushed to the limit. The number 3 seed fighting for survival. Both faltering on occasions and then lifting their games to show why they are where they are in world tennis. They were games that deserved a semi-final status, but were actually just the beginning of what promises to be a roller-coaster of a tournament. I'm referring to the SAP Open Tennis tournament in San Jose and the seeds are none other than Andy Roddick and Tommy Hass respectively. My first tennis event live at court-side, ever, and what a memorable one it was. Thanks to a colleague who arranged for the tickets, I managed to get a glimpse at the raw power, amazing agility, superlative control, giant serves and some heart-throbbing moments from these amazing tennis stars.

We got the evening session tickets for the lower baseline seats, the ones right behind the players. A perfect spot if you really want to appreciate every movement, every angle and every shot that these guys manufacture at will. First up was A-Rod facing a young Aussie, Chris Guccione, ranked somewhere in the 80's. The first set began, as expected, with both players holding their serves for the first 4 games, A-Rod serving as powerfully as ever and Guccione showing some deft touches at the net. A-Rod broke through in the 5 game of the match, with Guccione making a series of unforced errors at the baseline. From there on wrapping up the first set was a mere formality for the American number 1 and the SAP Open defending champion. The second set began exactly as the first, with both players holding their serves, only on this occasion there were no breaks on offer from either players. The set showcased some relentless serve and volleys from the young Aussie and some brilliant down the line passes from A-Rod. The Aussie was determined to take the fight to A-Rod and, despite conceding a mini-break in the tie-breaker, managed to squeeze out the set 7-3. A-Rod was on top of his game though and kept his consistency going and took the final set to the tie-breaker as well. However this time he made sure he did not make the same mistakes as the previous set and sealed the game 7-5. Despite the defeat, Guccione seems to have a bright future ahead of him, if only he can improve his baseline game.

The most amazing part of the night was yet to come. After winning the game A-Rod signed a few balls and threw them into the crowed, and lucky enough one of them landed right into the hands on my colleague after taking a slight deflection off my hand. We gave the autographed ball to a 65 year old lady sitting right in front of us, who seemed to be completely smitten by A-Rod. The expression on her face said it all, we had made her day. Next up was the German, number 3 seed, Tommy Haas facing off with a little known American Robert Kendrick. The pace of this match was even faster than the earlier one. With both players preferring to stay back, we saw some exciting rallies. It was a see-saw battle between 2 immensely talented players. The first set went to Haas 6-3. The next one saw Kendrick get into top gear, serving with venom and hitting like there was no tomorrow. He won it 6 games to 4. The final set started with a break for Haas and from there on it was only a question of when and not if Haas would seal victory. He eventually won it 6-2.

The first game had started at 7pm and by the time the evening session got over it was 11.15pm. We finally rushed out of the court to catch the last light rail back to work, since we had left our cars there. I ended up reaching home at about 12.30am. But it was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had. Of course I'm not done yet, as I've arranged for another session on Saturday night and this time it is indeed the semi-finals of the tournament. If we get a show anywhere close to what it was last night, we're in for a treat. May the best man win.

Resolutions and Friends: 2008

Too late in writing this but I'm just penning down what I decided at the beginning of 2008. At the dawn of each new year people ask me " So , what's your resolution for the new year", and every time I come up with with something which I think would not matter if I was not able to achieve. Just to satisfy my ego I would put in an initial effort at following it, but would eventually give up within a month or two. I always wondered what was so special about resolutions but never really felt connected with any resolution I'd ever taken in my life. So here comes another one, and this time I sincerely hope I will be able to stick to it.

My resolution for 2008 is to catch up with friends, family members and even those who I once felt were my enemies. Making friends is not hard and nor is ending your friendship, but the hardest job is to maintain a cordial relationship in the face of all situations. I've made a lot of friends and ended a lot of relationships, and in each case I have done that just to satisfy my ego. Maintaining relationships is about understanding the other person's point of view. Whether its agreeable to you or not, one has to be a good listener. Difference in opinions are a part and parcel of every relationship and one mustn't stretch them to a point where even looking at each other gets irritable.

There is always a commonality between you and your friends, no matter how different your opinions, at times, may be. Thats the reason you were friends with him or her in the first place. I always categorize people into friends and acquaintances. Not every person you know at school or work or in your neighborhood is a friend. A person you study with at school need not be a friend nor is a person from work who visits you at home occasionally. There is a fine distinction between being a friend and an acquaintance. As the saying goes " A friend need not be the one who comes and bails you out for something wrong you did, but the one who is with you in doing it, surely is."

Anyways, getting back to my main point about mending broken relationships. I've had a few relationships that ended, at least in the past 2-3 years, be it colleagues at school or roommates or old friends. My aim for this year is to re-establish contact with those friends and apologize or forgive each one for the differences that came up in the past. Life is too short to let differences linger. Lets hope I go through with it this time. This is the one time I really want to fulfill my resolution and prove to myself that my ego is not the only thing I can fulfill.