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It’s the late 1980′s and early 90′s when my interest in tennis is first aroused thanks to Doordarshan’s live coverage of Wimbledon. There is one person who arouses my imagination more than anyone else. A blonde German with a long nose, even longer legs and a lethal forehand – Steffi Graf. Over the years, my fascination with the sport grows at the same speed that Graf covers the court – fast!!
1991 -1996 – My obsession with the game multiplies – fuelled by satellite television which brings more tennis into my living room than ever before and the success of Graf, who inches closer to tennis immortality with every Slam victory. My free time is divided between playing on an actual court against friends and playing against the wall in my building, running my own fantasy tennis tour there.
June/ August 1999 – Even in this age of satellite television, no one is showing the final that would later be voted as one of the best matches of all-time. I am glued to the news channels for any update on the 1999 French Open final where Graf, after an injury-plagued 29 months, takes on the brash Martina Hingis. Graf wins a wild final. My joy knows no bounds. Graf reaches the final of Wimbledon two weeks later but loses to Lindsay Davenport. In August, she announces her retirement from the game. My world plunges into darkness. My passion for the game survives. But that stomach-knotting gut-wrenching feeling I experienced while watching Graf in a tense match died the same day she retired. My seating position on the couch and the timing of my bathroom breaks while watching tennis, so crucial to Graf’s success all these years, would never matter again.
January 2005 – I’d always hoped for an Indian to make it big on the international tennis circuit. Nirupama Vaidyanthan won one match at the Australian Open in 1998 before hitting the glass ceiling. Leander Paes reached the top 100 and beat Pete Sampras in 1998 before turning his attention on the doubles game. But in January 2005, an 18 year old – by the name of Sania Mirza – took the nation by storm as she reached the third round of the Australian Open and matched world no. 1 Serena Williams in a straight sets loss. Sania has a devastating forehand too. She reaches the top 30 in 2007 and has been a constant on the WTA Tour since. Sania is a new favourite – though nowhere close to Graf territory for me. I don’t know if I would have been a fan if Sania wasn’t from my country. Fortunately, we’ll never have to find out.
August 2010 – I fulfill a life-long dream and visit a Grand Slam for the first time – the US Open. It is everything I had imagined and more. I know I have to come back again. Around the same time, I also get a tennis related article published in a parenting magazine – AND GET PAID FOR IT – thanks to a friend who is also the editor of the magazine. Some extra pocket money, I think to myself. I look for more writing gigs. I get to freelance for a new monthly Indian magazine that is focused on tennis.
December 2010 – I get an opportunity to interview Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for the tennis magazine while they do some off-season training in Mumbai. I’m pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. Four months into my freelance writing stint, and I have already interviewed two of the biggest names in Indian tennis. I blog about my first interview. In that blog, I write about how I hope to interview Sania Mirza one day, and ultimately Steffi herself.
December 2011 – As luck would have it, 12 months later, Sania is doing her off-season training in Mumbai. Her physical trainer, who also trains Bhupathi and Bopanna and is the same guy who got those two to talk to me 12 months ago, agrees to let me come watch one of the training sessions and get Sania to talk to me. I’m really pinching myself hard. As the day comes closer, my excitement and nervousness are expounded. I haven’t told anyone just in case it falls through at the last moment. My Blackberry status reads “Wishes are horses… And I will ride!!” My family wants to know which wish of mine came true. I tell them I’ll let them know in time. They give me the third degree. I resist. My brother’s wife, eight months pregnant, tells me the baby, who I dream of coaching to tennis glory someday, wants to know. I melt and tell them. They’re happy for me too. I take the help of a friend who is the editor of a business news channel to frame my questions. He tells me to ask probing questions – make it more like a conversation rather than a checklist of questions. I tell him I don’t have the experience that he does yet but take several pointers from him.
10th December 2011 – The day arrives. After watching the training session, Sania asks me if we can talk once she has showered. I tell her, “Sure – whatever suits you best.” I had read in some sections of the press that she maybe difficult to talk to. I didn’t see any of that. She was happy to sign autographs for some excited young girls as well. When we finally sit down to talk, I’m nervous. I hope to ask the right questions… hope to get the right answers. I hope the voice recorder on my Blackberry won’t fail me on my big day. Sania answers each question enthusiastically – talking freely and in-depth. About 15 minutes later, I am through with my list of questions and thank her. I ask her if I could get a picture with her, tell her I’m a fan too and wish her all the best for 2012. She agrees. One dream accomplished. Time to work on the next one.
December 2012??? – Twelve months ago, I had no idea I would be sitting face-to-face with the biggest star in Indian tennis and interviewing her. Dreams do come true, I guess. You’d never know if you never dreamed. I have more dreams. In one of them, it’s twelve months from today and I’m in Las Vegas at the Agassi residence. Sitting across the table from me is a blonde German with a long nose and even longer legs. Our conversation is interrupted by her two kids, Jaden and Jaz, running into the living room. She apologizes and takes a break to talk to them. I watch her and try to take every moment in – perfection invades every part of her being – not just her tennis. She returns and finishes our conversation.
A part of me wants that interview to happen some day. Another part of me is not so sure. If I ever did interview Steffi, I’d have to think of some new dreams. I might be able to come up with some – but I don’t think anything could top that one!!
