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THE TIMES OF INDIA, BANGALORE

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014

TIMES SPORTAL

OUR SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT OF SPORT EXCESS, TOP STORIES, CUTTING-EDGE ANGLES; TRENDS, TACTICS AND THE GUYS AND GALS THAT PLAY THE GAME
Design: Raja Choudhury; Pics: Getty Images/AFP/TOI

TITLE BREAKDOWN

FEDERER IN NUMBERS

81 17 64

TOTAL TITLES

GRAND SLAMS

OTHER ATP
TITLES

WON 20032012 20012012

2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
4
1
6
4
5
4
4
8
12
11
11
7
3
1

MOST
SINGLES
TITLES

109
JIMMY
CONNORS

(1972
-1996)

94 81* 77
IVAN
LENDL

(1978
-1994)

ROGER
FEDERER

(1998PRESENT)

JOHN
MCENROE

(1978
-2006)

64

(2001-PRESENT)

I
R
C
E
TH

a i t !
Ro ger
Federer
c a u tioned
before picking up the Shanghai
Rolex Masters trophy and placing it on his hip, cradling it as
if it was a baby. Thats better,
he continued, as the interviewer got the camera rolling. It
shouldnt look like some second
round victory.
The 33-year-old Swiss, father
of four, winner of 17 Grand
Slam titles, knows a thing or
two about occasion.

His title triumph at the Qi

Zhong stadium late on Sunday
moved Federer past Rafael
Nadal to the No. 2 spot in the
ATP rankings, the first 33-yearold to hold that position since
American Andre Agassi more
than a decade ago.
Federer, with 8020 points, is
990 behind chart leader Serbian
Novak Djokovic, and is expected to make a push for the top
spot with three weeks of competition remaining.
I havent thought about it
(no.1 ranking), Federer said,
shrugging his shoulders. It all
comes down to what my goals
are, what my energy level is like
and what my priorities are in
terms of tournaments.
Nevertheless, he said,
Im going to be playing and
hopefully playing well again.

Excerpts:
Novak Djokovic said you make
age irrelevant, do you feel 33?
Age can be just a number, but it
can be relevant too. For some
reason I really felt it when I
turned 33 in August. I was like
noooooo! Not 33! I was perfectly fine with 30, 31, 32, actually
enjoyed it, didnt feel anything
at all, but this one I was like,
I dont feel 33. My kids were
super excited that there was a
birthday party and all that, but
for the first time, I didnt really
feel like celebrating my
birthday, as in the part about
getting older. A friend was also
telling me that he felt the same
when he turned 33, which was
about the same time as I did. I
dont know if the feeling is
specific to 33.

Federer won two

ATP Masters

1000

title in a season
for the first
time since 2012
(Indian Wells,
Madrid and
Cincinnati).

Still Im very happy with

what Ive managed, that
I can still play the
way I want to,
stay relevant.
Im pleased
that the hard
work I put in
last year is
p ay in g o f f.
Im feeling
good. Im enjoying myself
on the tennis
court. This year
everything is going really well. I
have still so many
highlights to look forward
to for the end of the season.

Usually everything slows down

at the end of the season. Not
for me, this time.
You played a lot of chip and
charge this week. Are you
consciously trying to keep
the points shorter?
Ive always played aggressive,
but Ive found some confidence
this year moving forward. You
have to be really aggressive and
agile moving forward. If you
look back at the tournaments
Ive played this year, many of
them have been on faster
courts. It wasnt on purpose.
Quick courts are encouraging
for the all-around game that I
would like to see more players
playing actually.

A gem from retired Chinese star Li Na,

when asked about suggestions for
any changes at the US Open

BARE NECESSITIES

RAFAEL NADAL

F
G
O
N
T
I
R
K
U
N
CO
O
S
M
Prajwal.Hegde@timesgroup.com

Take off the french fries. I can

always smell french fries
everywhere at the US Open. It is
sometimes good, but sometimes
if you are hungry, it's very tough to
focus at the tournament

The last time

Federer was
ranked number
two was

MAY
6, 2013

MONEY CANT BUY YOU LOVE

aley Cuoco, star of hit American sitcom

The Big Bang Theory, is not letting negative
reports about her tennis player husband Ryan
Sweetings diminishing career affect their
marriage. The blonde bombshell, who now
earns $1 million per episode, came to her
hubbys rescue after he was lampooned online
for living off her expenses. Sweeting, a former
junior champion who defeated Kei Nishikori to
win the 2011 ATP World Tour singles title in
Houston, has reportedly made less than $200 in
prize money so far this year, sparking the
ridicule online. But the TV star took to her
Instagram page to post snaps of her cuddling a
smiling Sweeting with a quote:
Love is a condition in which
the happiness of the other
person is essential to your
own. Cuoco and
Sweeting married
in December last
year after dating
for six months
and the actor has
refuted
rumours of a
split, instead
revealing that
the couple
are planning
to have kids.

NUMBER GAME

13

record number
consecutive
ATP World
Tour Finals
that the Swiss
has qualified
for, including
the 2014
London
tournament

around,
not have
them rush
to me as I
walk through
the door. They
will be super excited to see me
when I get back now.
This time, because
I was playing the late
match, finishing really
late every day, by the time I
got back, which was mostly in
the early hours, I would just
sleep and then wake up and
have some breakfast and get to
the site. After my first match,
which finished so late (past
midnight local time), I took a
couple of days to recover, but I
started feeling much better as
the week got on, playing every
day. Im feeling good now.

What was behind your lastminute decision to play the

Shanghai Masters? How are
you feeling physically heading
into the indoor season?

Theres lot said about players'

fitness regimes, especially
with Djokovic, who is able to
finish every season so strong

Im very happy I decided to play

here, it was a last-minute decision. I was on vacation after the
US Open and the Davis Cup. I
was really tired. Then when you
are on vacation, you are enjoying it so much, that after a point
you wonder about getting back.
But I felt I had recovered, recharged. I was hitting the ball
well. I spoke to my wife (Mirka)
and my team and we decided
that I should play here.
This is one of the few weeks
when I dont travel with my
family because it is for a very
short time and its tough for the
kids (jet lag). It does feel strange
though when I get back after a
match, not go back to my kids
and my wife, not to have them

Everybody does a lot of fitness

and works incredibly hard. You
are a professional athlete and
thats what is expected of you.
I dont really follow an extreme
diet, but I work very hard, its
just that I dont like to talk
about it. I went from being a
talented player to someone who
could fight and win a match
which Im very proud about.
You need to be able to back
yourself. Doesn't matter how
long the match goes, how you
are playing, you got to be ready.
I havent had a cramp since 99.
That was my only time, in Davis Cup, when I was panicky. I
was young. Im very proud of
that, that I never pulled out,
never had cramps, never lost

23 90
number of
Masters
1000
tournaments
won by
Federer, four
behind
Spanish ace
Rafael
Nadal

ranking
points that
separate
world No. 2
Federer from
the numero
uno ranking,
held by
Novak
Djokovic

2012
FEDERER'S
FINISHING AT
THE NET
very
much
because of
fitness, especially later
on in my career.
Ive been fortunate
and clever as well
to understand how
I need to work, when
I need to work. Im
very happy to have
stayed injury-free
for so long.
In my dominant
years I didnt have to adjust so
much with opponents. Now-adays I have to adapt more to my
opponent. I think losing a bit
more has opened my vision, my
sight, of how I can manage
those situations better and how
I can stay calm under pressure.
I was great under pressure back
in the day, but I always felt I was
going to win somehow, whereas
that has changed. I have to fight
more now. Its almost more rewarding and a better feeling if
you do win, coming through
that way, having to change a bit.
You have a massive fan
following at almost every
tournament and venue that
you play at around the world.
Does this put greater pressure
on you, especially these last
couple of years?

VS
When I
walk out
on a tennis
court I am
very aware of
everything, I
notice everything. I know who
is cheering for me (which
section of the stands), for my
opponent. I notice when the
crowd goes quiet, when they get
excited. Like the fans here in
China, they really get into the
match. Like we saw in the semifinals (against Djokovic), they
need a lot of good, point-ending
shots. They dont like it when
people miss so much. They get
a bit uncomfortable. I feel the
energy they generate. Honestly
for me thats an honour and a
privilege. Pressure is part of
the package. When I was young,
starting out, that is what I wanted to do, play on all the centre
courts of the world. Of course
you dream of being No.1 and
winning Wimbledon, but you
also want to be on the main
courts at prime time. That is
every players dream. Every
match that I play now is on
prime time and on centre court
and I truly appreciate it.

SIMON

DJOKOVIC

SERVE & VOLLEY 1ST SERVES

84%

73%

(11/13)

(11/15)

SERVE & VOLLEY 2ND SERVES

100%
(2/2)

50%
(1/2)

RETURN APPROACH

50%

the last time Federer

held the world No.1
spot, before he was
replaced by Djokovic
in November.

TWEET NOTHINGS
Pay my respect to @
rogerfederer, he played great
match but @DjokerNole will be
back ...
@TheBorisBecker | Boris Becker,
champion coach of Novak Djokovic
I'm getting my nails done in Paris and some
Americans walk in They ask me
"are you studying here at the
college?" Best compliment ever!
#33yearsyoung #ADayInMyLife
@serenawilliams | Serena
Williams, world No. 1 tennis player
The moment you leave for the
airport and realize that you
forgot 2 rackets at the stringer
and the shop is closed
#earlymorningproblems
@CaroWozniacki I Caroline
Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
Can't wait to b playing @iptl soon,
so proud to b part of such a great
team!!
@dhantuchova I Daniela
Hantuchova, Slovakian tennis
player

38%

(3/6)

(3/8)

RALLY APPROACH

65%

57%

(15/23)

70%

(31/44)

(13/23)
TOTAL

58%

(28/48)

TRENDING NOW
A DIFFERENT BALL GAME
Maria Sharapova is not only about her vociferous
grunts and smashes. Check out the Russian diva
in soccer tennis an in-house mish-mash of
tennis and football
VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ahYqNKbRl5k

A family thats making all the right moves

Asian Champion Shraddha And Her Chess-Obsessed Kin Have Kept Their Love For The Game Alive Over Three Generations
Shrivathsa.Sridhar
@timesgroup.com

ts not sur prising when

young Shraddha Somanath
picks the all-powerful queen
as her favourite piece on the
chess board.
The five-year-old prodigy
makes no bones about the fact
that she wants to be one someday, even as she displays numerous trophies. Many of them are
tokens of encouragement.
She then flashes a couple of
medals that are not to be taken
lightly silvers in classical
and blitz categories of the Under-5 Asian Schools Chess
Championship held in
Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka in 2013.
I was so happy with those
prizes, admits Shraddha, who
idolizes Viswanathan Anand.
I want to improve and then
meet him one day. I will challenge him to a game and beat
him, adds the sharp Grade I
student of Greenwood High
International School.
S h r a d d h a i s t h e l at e s t
youngster in her family to

CHECKMATES: Shraddha Somanath and her family play a game of chess at their residence in Mysore

show an interest in the game

that has virtually been an heirloom. Representing the third
generation of talented chess
players, the wide-eyed wonder
is not afraid to compete with

players twice or thrice her age

and hopes to make her grandmother, parents, uncles, aunts
and cousins all hooked to the
sport proud of her achievements.

We a r e k n o w n a s t h e
c h e s s f a m i ly o f M y s o re,
says Shraddas father K Somanath, recollecting the efforts of his late father MN
Krishnarao in promoting

chess among youngsters as a

vice-president of the Mysore
District Chess Association.
Im not sure how he got involved in building interest in the
game but he made sure everyone
in the family as well as kids in
the neighbourhood of Mysores
Jayanagar knew to play, says
Somanath. His mother Lalithamma too was bitten by the
chess bug and the 73-year-old
still teaches youngsters in Mysore to this day.
I vividly remember the training sessions that were held in our
house, recalls Somanath. A
number of champion players including International Masters
MS Thej Kumar and Girish
Kaushik apart from K Vijay
Keerthi and N Sanjay have had
some sort of training, practice or
preparation there. There would
be a lot of animated discussions
about the game, he adds.
Somanath has followed in his
fathers footsteps and is now a
specialist coach for students at
his daughters school where the
game is part of the curriculum.
His wife Lakshmi soon joined

him, choosing to work with much

younger batches of students.
Two of my elder brothers,
Ramesh and Upendra, were national-level players while the
eldest, Prabhakar, was the best
among us. He once played and
drew a game with Dutch grandmaster Hans Ree, who had visited Mysore many years ago,
says Somanath, whose sister
Vatsala too is a keen follower of
the game. I feel really happy
that my family contributed to
getting so many people involved
in playing chess. Even today, a
lot of people remember us when
they are visiting Mysore,
he adds.
Somanath feels that while
young people must take up the
game, winning should not be the
only goal. I got Shraddha involved in the game when she
was two by making her aware of
the names of various pieces.
Like any other parent, I want
her to develop good concentration and decision-making
skills, says Somanath. Still, his
big dream is to help his daughter
realize hers.

REPORTERS DIARY
SHELL STRICTLY KEEP DANCING

013 Wimbledon champion Andy

Murrays mother Judy has laughed off
the volley of criticism she received after
her wooden performance on BBC dance
show Strictly Come Dancing. The 55-yearold, who some joked had mistaken the
show for Strictly Come Walking with her
rigid dance moves, and partner Anton Du
Beke are the lowest-scoring couples on the
show. One of the judges, Craig RevelHorwood said: "That was one of the worst
things I've ever seen. Your
posture is appalling. In
fact, I thought you had
rigor mortis." But Judy
was unfazed, tweeting,
Thank you to everyone
who voted for me +
the amazing @
TheAntonDuBeke.
Another week to
work on my rigor
mortis.

Compiled by: Maxin Mathew