The Australian Open Tennis Tournament is here!!! Imagine my delight. I'm an ardent fan of watching tennis - mind my words. I watch, I don't play. haha.. This is one strange thing about myself. I watch tennis, but I don't play. I love bread, but I don't bake. I've told myself umpteen times to get down to learning tennis and to try to at least bake, but to no avail. I really got to get down to doing these things!
Anyway, I started watching tennis since 1 year ago - influenced by some of my friends who are CRAZY over this game. And i don't see why they should not be - it is a game of literally outwit, outplay and outlast.
Why do I say so?
Outwit - Players have to trick their opponents into thinking they're hitting the ball left, when it is actually going to the right. They trick their opponents in thinking they're hitting a strong ball when it is actually a drop-shot.
Outplay - Tennis is also a game of mental strength. You can be the best player in the world, but if your mental fails you, your opponent can easily walk over you. One has to be absolutely concentrated on his game - only then will he claim victory. A great example is Leyton Hewitt. He is termed "comeback kid" as he is always trailing 2 games behind but ultimately emerge victorious due to his never-say-die attitude.
A player also has to outplay in terms of his skills. Lots of skills come into handy here - you have to excel in serving, changing direction of the ball, strong strokes of your backhand and forehand, minimising your unforced errors etc etc. It is hard to win a game without a good combination of all the skills.
Outlast - As of every sport, one has to outlast the other in terms of physical strength as well. If it is a best-of-5 game and they have to be on court for 3 hours slogging it out, the winner is the one who has outlasted both physically and mentally.
That said, other plus points of watching tennis are of course - to catch the male players in action. :) they always put smiles on my face. I'd be literally glued to the screens during this season of Australian Open. For beginners, you might get confused with their scoring system of 0-15-30-40. Get someone familar with the game to watch with you, and I bet you'd be hooked in no time too.
Here are some of my favourite players ( and i'm sure you can guess who )
Rafael Nadal - immense concentration, great strength
Roger Federer - absolute skillful, gorgeous precise shots
Lleyton Hewitt - never say die, great charisma
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