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18 April 2010
– a comment on the events unfolding this weekend
Sport and certainty are like distant cousins for whom the twain shall never meet. Then again, there are times when they do, albeit very rare. This weekend is turning out events at the pace of light, raising the excitement of the average sports fan into the stratosphere. And what a glorious feeling it is to be riding the clouds as the theatre of sport grabs at you with a firm hand, sending you on a sail about in the skies. We are having a weekend when certainty is mixing it up with some unexpected results making for a grand spectacle.
Asian Badminton Championship
A qualifier is certainly going to win the ladies title at Asian Badminton Championship. Would you have bet money on the top two seeds losing in straight sets to teenaged qualifiers? One was happy to see Saina break down at the end of her abject surrender, it is always a good sign when the loss hurts this much. Saina started well as fans cheered her on, as the players split the first 14 points of the first game. The first ominous signs showed when the players went into the break, with Xuerui up 11-8. Saina came back rejuvenated, winning eight of the next twelve points conjuring images of a home celebration. The emotion turned out to be a short lived ray of hope, as Li Xuerui put out the lights closing the first game 21-17.
The young Chinese Taipei qualifier started to tease Saina in the second game, as she ran away a ten point lead. By the time Saina realized what hit her, it was too late. Saina aspires to be the best in the business – Gopichand and her, they have their work cut out. The journey has barely begun. And so it has too for the two qualifiers, who so ruthlessly put out the top two seeds in this event.
Shanghai Grand Prix – Formula 1
The twists and turns at Shanghai
In the fast lanes of Formula 1, the Red Bull team has taken wings leaving in their wake fancied teams such as McLaren and Ferrari clouded in the smog from their tailpipes. The circus is playing its weekend out in Shanghai, starting the race at the front of the grid will be Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. The quality of Alonso’s driving means he is constantly able to keep it close to the podium, despite an undercooked car.
The other emerging theme, is the ease with which Nico Rosberg is outpacing Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes. The great man’s comeback has been way too disappointing for his legion of fans, wonder if he could keep it all together for much longer. He must be living in a cloud of doubt at this time. One reckons he will hang in there to see if the team can get better as the tour moves into Europe. And even then, who is to tell if can get it past an ever improving Rosberg.
The new points system is working well thus far. There are barely nine points separating the top seven drivers, leaving us with a prospect of a tightly fought season. Massa is at the head of the table, but may find it difficult to keep it there if Vettel’s Renault can become a reliable friend.
The Football Fest
Who will it be?
Soccer fans never had it better, at least in recent memory. The three big leagues of Europe are all too tight to call, to borrow an election phrase from the media networks. There is a power shift too, with not a single English club in the last four of the Champions League. It is all building up nicely to the World Cup in Africa. It is just as well that Shakira is going to swing it a little in singing the anthem when the curtain opens on arguably the most watched sporting spectacle on the planet.
In England, the Spurs have done the league and the Red Devils a huge favour in beating Chelsea last evening. The Blues, it seemed, had the title all wrapped when United fell four behind after that tame away draw with the Rovers. The Manchester derby hasn’t always been pleasant for United, but a brilliant header by Scholes in the dying moments turned a draw into victory, sending the punters scampering for cover. There are just a few games left now, and one feels that the game with the Spurs for United and Chelsea v Liverpool the week after will possible determine the end result. It is all getting very interesting towards the business end.
In Spain, the Galacticos are down three over Barcelona but not ready to throw in the towel just yet. It will take just a slip from Barca for the title to be thrown open yet again. And they provided that slip, in drawing with their neighbours Espanyol, a goal less game that may begin to haunt them. Real has a home game against Valencia, and they can draw within a point of Barca by winning that game tonight.
The Serie A is interestingly poised too. AS Roma have been inching closer for weeks, chasing Inter with gusto and spirit. They are just two points behind, which means they can get it past Inter, with a game in hand. Roma travel to Lazio tonight, and a win there can make for a finale to remember as Mourinho looks to leave Italy with a league title under his ever growing managerial legend.
Things are not exactly tame in Germany either. The Bundesliga is all tight at the top, with Bayern and Schalke separated by two points. Bayern has served a form warning by thumping Hannover in an orgy of racy football, punctuated by seven goals.
The Return of the Beast
The Emperor of Red Dirt
The ATP tour is painting the tube Red, as the goliaths from Spain and South America swamp the courts with panache. As many as six players in the Quarter Finals of the Monte Carlo masters is a warning of the things to come in the next few weeks of clay stained tennis.
The eagerly awaited final between The Djoker and The Beast is not to be, with Fernando Verdasco spoiling the party by handing the Serbian a straight sets drubbing. The final though will be a different story, with the re-emergence of Rafael Nadal.
The Majorcan has been starved of a title for many a month and you can trust him to hand Verdasco a pain filled lesson in clay court tennis, come Sunday afternoon at the French principality. One just hopes Fernando has a friend or two, who can lend a boat and some wine to drown his sorrows in the aftermath. Rafa has been supreme all week, and if the manner in which he has dismissed Ferrero and Ferrer is any indication, we will have emperor stride through to Paris with majesty and pomp. After all he is the greatest clay court player to have ever walked on dirt.
Fasten up to the couch and drench yourselves in the action. A wonderful Sunday is begging your wavering attention, go grab that remote before someone tunes into a sitcom marathon. Sport is where the action is, check your local listings. It should all start this afternoon, with the Shanghai Grand Prix.
