She's a darling...she's a demon....

There's nothing that will make my Dad stay back after 10:30 pm and watch TV....except maybe when Australia is involved in some cricket match. But yesterday he stayed back and watched. There is very little that will prevent me from missing F.R.I.E.N.D.S in Zee MGM between 10 and 10:30 every night. But yesterday I gave it a skip. Ever since the Iceberg retired, my mom's dwindling interest in the sport has been limited to watching the odd match involving the Baadshah of Basel...But yesterday she was there, riveted to her seat for the whole match.

Yes, Sania Mirza has arrived. Atleast in our family and also in Dubai and if the rowdy, raucous crowd yesterday is any proof, then India has another woman sporting icon. (of course Numero Uno continues to be that sweet Anju George)

I know a lot of hue and cry was made when Sania did extremely well at The Australian Open but then one swallow doesn't make a summer. Her classy show at The Hyderabad Open was further proof of her blosomming potential but its been her showing at Dubai that has confirmed for me that she has what it takes to make it to the top. Of course, Indian women's tennis has had its share of promising starts - Nirupama Vaidyanathan, Arati Ponappa (drool) and Rushmi Chakravarthy - but what makes me believe that Sania is different from them is that she still has age on her side and her attitude on court is perfect.

As far as yesterday goes, you can't write much about her performance, can you ? But for her future, every tennis fan, I'm sure, has his own two cents worth of advice to give and here is mine
Chweeety,

- After Miss Graf, I haven't seen anyone in the ladies circuit with a forehand as huge as yours. Its your biggest weapon but you would do well to remember that it could also be your undoing. So keep working on your backhand.

- Your serve is very mediocre. Besides, you havta work on that correction in your service motion, the one when you snap your body and land after hitting the tossed ball. Maybe you could consult Goran, Pete or Tanner.

- You can surely hide behind excuses like exuberance of youth or whatever but there is a simple rule that if you play percentage tennis, you end up winning more matches than you lose. Just put the ball back in play. Make your opponent play more shots - after all, not every point needs to be got over with in just 3 shots.

- Yes, sport is all about passion but there are times when you need to play with your head rather than your heart. Use the crowd to your advantage but please do not play to please them. Play to win even if it means playing ugly...Think Conchita Martinez..Yeah, she did not set the tennis scene on fire with her dazzling strokes nor was she a serve and volley wonder but w-t-h, she won Wimbledon...

- which also brings us to the fact that you definitely need a good coach now. Someone like cricket's John Buchanan or football's Jose Mourinho.. No great shakes in their player days but wonderful tacticians and man-managers...May I suggest Brad Gilbert for a start ?

- and yes, its not your fault that God made you pretty...nah...very pretty...nah...very very pretty... forget it.. you got the idea...so use it to your advantage...behave well on court, become a darling with audiences world over...play smart...opponents are gonna resent the support you get and self destruct.. its a very potent weapon, this beauty... USE IT...

- and yeah, you look awesome in colored oufits be it the canary yellow, the light blue or the mind blowing crimson you wore yesterday...You need someone with some reallly good taste in clothes to continue to assist you in the dress-to-kill part of your armoury. May I ? :-)))



I know this probably doesn't make much sense but the first thing I remember when I think of ya is this lovely song...

How do you solve a problem like Sania
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down
How do you find a word that means Sania
A flibbertigibbet, a will-o'-the-wisp, a clown

Many a thing you know you'd like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say...

She's as flighty as a feather
She's a darling
She's a demon
She's a lamb (ooooooooooooooooooooh)

She is gentle, she is wild
She's a riddle, she's a child
She's a headache
She's an angel
She's a girl (yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

- and lastly, gulpp..gulpp...grow old soon so that I can marry ya ;-) we'll think about our parents later coz I am sure I can borrow a leaf from Vivek here

Bye and take care,
Me