The next level

The best sporting role models on the planet.

The last 3 matches of the Australian Open 2012 have been glorious to say the least. Starting with the Rafa-Roger 4 sets showdown to the 5 sets Nole-Andy thriller to today’s bewildering Rafa-Nole final spread across 6 hours and 5 sets. Moments such as these take sports to the next level. Tennis has become dangerous, pounding and definitely not for the weak hearted. A new sort of marathon where the entire body is involved and not just the lungs and the legs. There are of course hundreds of sub-standard players who put on an average show but, sport is all about the creamy layer and the past 3 matches have featured four of the best athletes currently on the planet.

Even normal 3 set matches are now taking more than 3 hours. The workout that these top players undergo during such a tight match is wholesome and the distance that they run on some points is close to 100m. The distance they cover over an entire match is sometimes more than 6kms as was the case with Nole today. Sprinters like Bolt and the various long distance runners from Africa, have a much easier workload.

The way Nole stretches and twists can give gymnasts a serious complexion. And for novices like me, who are arm chair critics, it is scary to say the least. Seeing their muscles in super slow motion makes the heart pound in tension. Such is the pain and the work ethics. Truely unimaginable. Won’t their ankles hurt as they skate along the hard courts? How much cushion will those shoes have? So many such silly questions come to mind.

And how can these guys cover the corners of the court and run back and get back into the rally with such ridiculous ease? I mean what sort of practice do they undergo for such work ethic and never ending routines. Rafa and Nole do this every other point. It’s relentless. The margin and frequency of errors is insanely low. 71 and 69 unforced errors respectively for a match that lasted 353 minutes. Crazy stats.

The way they accurately target their winners at 150 to 170 kmph exactly at the lines is an entirely different enigma. It would be fortunate to be an insect on the wall when these guys are practicing and sharpening their skills.

The way these guys behave, show respect for the rules and for each other is something which every aspiring sportsman would do well to imbibe. Rafa, in particular treats victory and defeat, exactly the same. On the other hand, kids can learn a thing or two about extravagant celebration without being offensive or vulgar, from the Serbian showman.

Every single sinew in the body is involved

Finally, the stamina and energy levels required to last close to 6hrs in sultry hot conditions like in Melbourne! Cricketers have drinks breaks every hour, lunch, tea, snacks what not. And that is a team sport as well. The work ethic is spread out and cricketers have so much rest period to recover on the field of play itself. The action there, is so lethargic and can never be compared to the frenetic 31 shot rallies that Nole and Rafa have consistently managed in a single match.

The drug abuse levels in this sport are very low and there are only rare cases of players taking drugs and tainting everyone concerned. It takes something extra-ordinary to be a top class tennis pro, plain and simple. Compared to other sports, this is the closest that one can get to a simple one-on-one boxing slug fest where no-one is physically hurt by body blows.

Primitive yet sophisticated. The NEW LEVEL being seen in tennis is taking sport, as a whole, to previously uncharted territory and to dizzying heights. Thanks to Rafa, Nole, Roger and Andy for making the past 4 days among the best sporting days in my short life…