Thursday, April 23, 2020

T for Tennis - My favourite things to counter COVID-19 stress

(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. I am writing this month on activities that keep me refreshed during these depressing days. It's Day 20 today.)

Sports and games are exciting. Unrelenting perseverance to improve performance and the battle to get the better of the opponent kindle enthusiasm in both players as well as spectators.

They offer edge-of-the-seat excitement. Tennis is one of my favourite sports: a game that can be extremely taxing for the players. Think of a match going on for nearly five hours in the hot sun with not a moment when the players can let their concentration waver.

These days, I have been watching replays and highlights of Grand Slam matches. There are some amazing ones out there. Here are some of them with the YouTube link to the highlights:

2008 Wimbledon final - Rafel Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7. (My blog post)

2012 Australian Open final - Novak Djokovic beat Rafel Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5.

1984 French Open final - Ivan Lendl beat John McEnroe 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5

2018 US Open final - Naomi Osaka beat Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4. (My blog post)

2018 Australian Open final - Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. (My blog post)

There are some movies on tennis stars as well:

Borg vs McEnroe - Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play

Battle Of The Sexes - Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube Movies

Andy Murray: Resurfacing - Amazon Prime

Enjoy!

9 comments:

  1. Rafael Nadal is my favorite, he's always kind with others, and damn, what a player!

    T is for Taupe

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  2. Watching tennis matches whether it was Wimbledon or Australian open or the French open, I used to watch the matches live on Doordarshan. Watching Steffi Graff's graceful game winning over the macho game of Martina Navaratilova would give me the highs!
    Thanks for sharing the information that these matches are now available on Youtube. Will check that in free time.

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  3. Wimbledon. The year 1960. Semi Final Match. India’s Ramanathan Krishnan vs. Australia’s Neale Fraser. A shot from Fraser was called “out” in favor of Krishnan. Krishnan interceded and told the umpire that it was “in”. Krishnan, instead of gaining a point lost a point. Eventually that call was instrumental in Krishnan losing the match to Fraser and not reading the Final.

    Next week, a Tamil weekly, Kalki, put the picture of Krishnan on the cover and put a caption from Bhagvat Gita: "Paritranaya Sadhunaam vinashaya cha dushkritam Dharma sansthapnarthaya sambhavami yugay yugay" (Whenever there is downfall of Dharma (righteousness), I incarnate to re-establish the Dharma.)

    May be Krishnan would be investigated for match fixing in today’s world.

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  4. No sports fan, I can say that a favorite musician was once an avid tennis player. It's funny what trivia I know about certain artists. Heh... Be well!

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  5. Badminton is more my cup of tea:) And yoga and hikes, of course.

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  6. Hari OM
    I enjoy many sports, and tennis would be one of them. Cricket, of course, Rugby Union, Snooker, and the big multi events such as the Comm Games and the O's... sadly to be denied us this year. YAM xx

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  7. Ah, my OH loves snooker, but I’m not a sports fan myself, unless it is cricket highlights. i think I might watch those :)

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  8. My brother played tennis, so I was up on the players back when he played. (Just high school.)

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