It’s been a busy few days. Sunday was a good day, with one little glitch.
First the good part. Rafael Nadal won Wimbledon, ending Roger Federer’s dream run. What seemed to be heading for a three-straight-sets Nadal victory was taken to a five-setter, with Roger’s tenacity and elegant play helping him win set numbers 3 and 4 to make it two-all. But there was really nothing further he could do, as there is no tie-breaker in the last set, and that’s when Rafa comes into his own.
Federer is a great player, a delight to watch, and effortless in his victories. But against the sheer athleticism of Nadal, nothing works. There were so many shots that would have been winners against anyone else. And I mean anyone. But Nadal retrieved, and when he didn’t retrieve and belt down a winner of his own, he retrieved something that forced Federer to come up with another winner. And then yet another. Even a player as brilliant and great as Federer could not come up with winner after winner on every point. And with no tie-breaker in the final set, Roger’s stupendous service was partially taken out of the equation.
To be honest, I feel for Federer. Watching him play is special, and you know you are watching an all-time great, perhaps the all-time great. He should have won this sixth title. But this is sport. And Rafa was just too good. As a Nadal fan, I am impressed with the improvement in Nadal’s game, and am glad he won. To be truly unbeatable though, his service needs to get still better.
Now for the not-so-good-part. What was the little glitch I spoke of? The Silverstone race was on the same weekend, and that little phallic appendage won. Well, the tifosi are going to bounce back! Go Ferrari!
The Quirky Indian 
July 9, 2008 at 9:27 am
I loved that match! Federer fought well, but coudn’t match up to Rafa!
And “phallic appendage”..??? Hahaha!! 😀
July 9, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I am not a tennis fan. Nothing against it – it’s fine as a sport, but it just doesn’t interest me. That said, I do enjoy sporting competition … and I was surprised to find myself checking the telly and the net (no pun intended!) to get updates on the Federer-Nadal final. It was exciting!
As for F1, I like Young Lewis. No, he’s not perfect, but to see a young, fresh, non-white British face challenging for the title is exciting. (I am new to following F1, which I do rather casually, so I am not sure if there has ever been a successful non-white driver.) I love it when a new and different rookie takes a sport by storm. It shakes up the status quo.
July 10, 2008 at 8:33 am
@Nikhil – yes, it was an awesome match, wasn’t it? As for the F! bit – if you’ve been following F1 for a couple of years, you’ll know what I mean!
@ Liam – a Federer-Nadal match is always a delight to watch, except when it’s on clay! As for Lewis, he’s undoubtedly a great driver, but he’s also a whiner, a moaner and a very smooth PR guy. And he is also very popular. (In the British Isles!)Just not with me. One of those things. There are plenty of other equally talented but less privileged drivers to shake up the status quo. Kubica, Kovalinen and the lot.
July 10, 2008 at 11:04 am
QI:
Calling drivers who have been in F1 before Hamilton “less privileged drivers” is a strange one. It is one thing to want to win something; it is quite another to actually have the ability and skill to achieve it. To be not white and manage to get there is more of an achievement than it may appear. Apart from Naomi Campbell hanging on Flavio Briatore’s arm, there were never too many non-white people on the F1 circuit before Hamilton.
FWIW, F1 is more interesting now and better for the diversity of talent to watch, that the result is not predictably Schumacher. The Hamilton, Massa, Raikonnen rivalry for the top spot is keeping the season interesting.
So call him what you will, but you definitely are not being objective or fair from a sports perspective 🙂
PS: No prizes for guessing I am glad Federer went back with 5 cardigan buttons. Rafa needed to break him once so from next year, even grass-court tennis will be more interesting. And crying when he wins and crying when he doesn’t? Come on. What is Federer – a 5 year old girl??
July 10, 2008 at 11:28 am
QI: Sorry my kettle (real not metaphorical) had boiled off so I clicked ‘submit’…
I think the opinion is likely to be divided amongst ‘fandom’ and ‘those who want value for money and/ or time invested in watching and therefore just want a good game not specific sportspeople winning’.
You are clearly watching as a ‘fan’ of specific people; I watch like the latter although there is probably no difference in keenness of pursuit.
July 10, 2008 at 11:47 am
Lewis is indeed a smooth PR man – probably too smooth as you suggest. I do like Kubica as well. It’s fun to see him progressing up the points table.
July 11, 2008 at 6:32 am
Yes, that was one terrific match – the best tennis match that I have ever seen. I am a huge tennis fan and haven’t missed watching a Wimbledon final since 1985 and this year’s final is undoubtedly the best. You are right- Nadal’s serve is the only part of his game that still can be improved. That was the difference between Fed and him in the 3rd and 4th sets. That Nadal could come back and win the 5th set, after loosing the 4th set tiebrack (especially after blowing the 5-2 lead), is a testament to his mental strength. Any other player in that situation would have just folded and handed Federer the match. And Federer was classy as always during and after the match. These two guys have together raised the level of mens tennis to another level.
July 13, 2008 at 3:47 pm
@all – apologies for the late revert. Was travelling.
@Shefaly – when I say Lewis is a privileged driver, I do so because as far as F1 goes, he is one. Unlike others who have started their F1 careers at the bottom of the grid, with teams that fight for the bottom three spots. Unlike others who have to prove their mettle driving inferior cars for teams with shoestring budgets, before being given the privilege of driving for Ferrari or McLaren or BMW. Lewis has been Ron Dennis’s protege for years now. He has been groomed to be McLaren’s No. 1 driver. He started his F1 career in the best car on the grid. If that isn’t privileged, I don’t know what else is in F1.
This is not about colour. That is reducing things to a very simplistic level. Just because he is non-white doesn’t automatically make him “underprivileged” as far as F1/sport goes. On the contrary, he was spoon-fed.
As for Federer, I think he tries to keep himself so calm on court that at the end of the match, the waterworks begin….win or lose, the taps run! 🙂
July 13, 2008 at 3:54 pm
@Liam, RK – sorry for the late revert. Was travelling.
@Liam – Yes, wouldn’t it be great for Kubica to break into the top 3!
@RK – Thanks for stopping by. That was a brilliant match, and I completely agree that when Fedex and Rafa play, it is a completely different level. Looking forward to Flushing Meadows…though Rafa doesn’t have a great record there.
July 14, 2008 at 12:43 pm
QI:
The reason why Hamilton is Ron Dennis’s protege is because as a child, he went to Ron Dennis as a child and said he will drive for him one day. Ron Dennis was not sure what he meant but he did not laugh him off totally.
Further Hamilton has more than paid his dues. He was a karting champion, then an F3 and GP2 driver for years and a very bright one too. Not that he has been crap in F1 either! He was not spoon-fed unless you call his father’s unreserved attention to him a ‘privilege’.
Whether race could have disadvantaged him is something about which you need to ask people who work in F1. A few of my acquaintances have the good/ bad fortune of being involved in F1 at various levels – engineering, truckies and PR. They are struck by Hamilton’s achievement mainly because they know the environment in which he is working/ racing. It is misogynistic at several levels and the only race related exceptions have been made for very famous or very talented people. Open racism in Spanish F1 made many headlines in Hamilton’s first season.
So I do not know, mate, if it is reductionism, when this is how the game is structured and the boy is still doing good. 🙂
July 14, 2008 at 1:52 pm
@Shefaly – I think you’re missing my point. He is a good driver. He has done well before F1. But he is privileged, because unlike someone like a Timo Glock, or a Sebastien Bourdais (who have also “paid their dues”) – or, in his time, a Schumacher, or an Alonso – he got straight into the cockpit of the best car of 2007. Since you follow F1, you will understand that driver and machine are both critical to success. There are other good drivers who are not privileged to have McLaren (or Ferrari) pedigree. Given that opportunity, they might have been even better. But they’re fighting their way up. Lewis has never had that problem. I don’t know where his father came into this discussion, but yes, Lewis is privileged as far as F1 goes, and there are some other equally talented drivers who are not. So seeing this in terms of black versus white is reductionism. And he has the unreserved and complete backing of his team, so his race was never an issue at McLaren. In fact, it was Alonso who said on more than one occasion that he felt that being a Spaniard in an English team wasn’t smooth sailing.
Cheers!
July 14, 2008 at 4:58 pm
QI: Thanks for your note.
I see what you are saying and my point is simply this – if someone is good and on the basis of merit, is picked by an elite organisation or team, the criticism, that it was privilege, is valid if he/ she subsequently does not appear to have been worthy. That is not the case with Hamilton.
Yes he perhaps did have more opportunities than others you mention, but they were mostly of his own making – due to his own and his father’s dedication and his consistent good performance. (Which is where the father comes in; I do not know how involved other race drivers’ families were. I know many British drivers’ families do not even enter the paddock. Hamilton’s dad, brother and of late, his mother are always in.). That Ron Dennis bet on a smart horse is just his good fortune and business sense.
As you say, race does not come into the picture at McLaren – which makes one wonder why Alonso was allegedly ill-treated and makes me wonder about his big mouth and short temper – but it is a big issue in the wider F1 world, which is why perhaps only McLaren, and no other team, would have Hamilton, merit notwithstanding. Is that still to be called privilege? I do not know. He may not even have had a chance in the other teams. So it may appear reductionist but it is not; in F1, it is intertwined with the game’s character.
PS: No more comments from me on this, I promise. I love discussions, esp where people do not agree but are still civilised. You will be amazed how few discussions of Rafa/ Federer that I had recently could stay away from mentioning Hamilton in the last few days 🙂
July 15, 2008 at 10:28 am
@Shefaly – the issue at hand was whether Hamilton is privileged or not, not whether blacks have it tough in the wider world. And since Hamilton has had the good fortune of being groomed to be the McLaren number 1 for years, and since he came into the team when he was as good or bad or untested as anyone else, there really is no basis for comparing merit – call it Ron’s business acumen or foresight, if you will – therefore the answer is yes, he is privileged in comparison to the other (incidentally non-black) rookies, who have also paid their motor-sport and karting dues, but have had to prove themselves worthy every step of the way before they can even make a test driver in the top 4 teams. Unlike our friend, who jumped straight into the best racing car of 2007. He is undoubtedly a good driver – no question about that – and merit only now comes into the picture – but again only partially. Because, as I have stressed earlier, success in F1 is not only a factor of the driver’s skill, but the machine you drive is equally important. And that is where Lewis – only because of McLaren – is miles ahead of people like Glock, Bourdais and Kubica, even Alonso in a Renault. If Glock or Bourdais or Kubica make it to a Ferrari or McLaren in a couple of years, it will only be on the basis of their merit and performance – not on the basis of being a team principal’s protégé. And if then Hamilton is still ahead of them, that is merit.
July 15, 2008 at 11:03 am
[…] Shefaly @ 5:32 am Tags: culture, F1, misogyny, political correctness, racism, society, sport In a post over at Quirky Indian’s blog, he mentioned that he was no fan of Lewis Hamilton, who won British Grand Prix this year. In […]