Champion in the making?

In motorsport history, the name ‘Hill’ belongs to the upper echelons. The British father and son duo of Graham and Damon Hill were both Formula One world champions and, till date, the only pair to have achieved that. Following in their footsteps with the hope of becoming the first third generation world champion is Joshua Hill, the 22-year-old son of 1996 world champion Damon, who was in the city last weekend to take part in MRF Challenge 2012.

“It’s a great honour,” says Josh of his ‘Hill’ lineage. “My granddad and dad built a great legacy and I hope to continue that.”

Josh’s entry into the world of motorsport was at the age of 15 when he announced to his father his desire to compete in the go-karting circuits. “It was pretty late actually. I was not interested until then,” he says. “I don’t really remember seeing my father race too. Maybe it was very natural for me since I was born into it.”

After manoeuvring all the rubble on the karting tracks for a year or two, Josh’s first year of car racing was at the Genetta Junior Championship and it was here that he tasted his first success. He finished third overall with ten podiums. “That was when I got to know I was a pretty good driver,” he says. “I went on to win the winter series and then moved up to Formula Ford Championships.”

The Championships, which has been on the motor racing calendar since 1972, to this day remains his favourite. 2009 Formula One World Champion and McLaren driver Jenson Button and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber tasted success here way back in 1998 and 1996 respectively, while seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was seen in 1988.

“It’s an awesome championship,” he says. “The cars are brilliant, the format is great, and teaches a lot about car control. It was a very important step in my career and without that I wouldn’t be the driver that I am today.”

After seasons in the British Genetta, Formula Four, and Formula Renault, Josh will now switch focus to the Euro Formula Three series. “It’s going to be my first year in F3. There are people who have been doing it for two or three years. I need to prove myself here,” he says.

As is the case with any aspiring young driver, his ultimate aim is to be in Formula One. “I need to set my sights on F1 and nothing else really. I need to keep pushing and get the necessary backing as well,” he says and according to him his career progression towards living that dream has till now been steady. “Some shoot up and most hit the brick wall. So it’s important to have the necessary talent, financial backing and luck.”

To a question on idols, Josh answered in the negative. “I find it difficult, more so when I have my granddad and dad. I’d like to be my own driver and not try to copy them.” However, the young lad from Surrey does ape them in one thing and, in fact, feels proud to do so — wearing the trademark blue helmet with white tabs, a symbol of the ‘Hill’ heritage representing the colours of the London Rowing Club (LRC) for which his granddad rowed in the early 1950s.

“It’s a great legacy,” he says, even as he tries to carve a niche for himself, from under the shadows of his illustrious father and grandfather, by driving in “his own way.”

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/champion-in-the-making/article4411121.ece

A passion that takes him places

It’s a rainy afternoon at the IC-Gurunanak cricket ground, venue for Tamil Nadu’s last Ranji Trophy group stage match-up against Haryana. The downpour is heavy and the likelihood of any cricket taking place seems remote.

“Looks like there will be no cricket for now,” says a voice in utter disappointment. “Their (Tamil Nadu) first game was rain hit, and the last seems no different.” My eyes meet a well-built elderly man, wearing a cap and dressed in a red checked shirt and brown shorts. “You can catch up with the India versus Pakistan One Day International at the Chepauk tomorrow, if at all the game is on,” I reply.

Anybody else would have snapped up the idea. But, not him. “I am not a One Day man,” he says. “I am off to Kadapa (in Andhra Pradesh) to watch Kerala play Andhra. Hope there is no rain there,” he replies. So much love for a format which after four or five days of cricket doesn’t even guarantee a result.

But 70-year-old Peter Chismon, a retired army officer from Ipswich in England, is one among the dwindling number of fans who are passionate about cricket played in whites. “You never get bored of it,” he says. As evidence, he points out that he even enjoyed the Maharashtra versus Uttar Pradesh game early in the tournament that produced 1433 runs for the loss of just 13 wickets without a single innings being completed.

Peter, a member of the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London, has been touring the world watching cricket since 1994. His first trip abroad was to Australia and ever since he has gone to every Test playing nation, including Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

“I have been to 54 Test grounds,” he says. “There are only 107 Test grounds in the world and I am half way through,” he gleams triumphantly. His 55th and 56th grounds in all probability will be the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Hyderabad and Chepauk at Chennai where he says he will watch India’s final two Tests in its series against Australia in March.

For one who has been to so many venues, which one ranks the best? “The Driems cricket ground in Cuttack has the best out-field. It’s fabulous,” he says. World over, he terms the Wanderers at Johannesburg as the best stadium to watch cricket in, and Sri Lanka the best country to tour. The reason for the latter, as he says smilingly, being “You could go to around 15 grounds in a single bus ride.” However, with a penchant for good cricket — the India-South Africa series in the African nation in 2010-11 ranks among his best — he isn’t just interested in visiting new stadia. “I’d rather go for good matches than see Bangladesh play on a new ground,” he says in a lighter vein.

For now his focus is away from Internationals and firmly on the Ranji Trophy, the quarterfinals of which start on January 6. “Tell me where they are, you guys in the newspapers, will you? I need to book my tickets,” he says, as he parts company and gets ready for yet another round trip.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/a-passion-that-takes-him-places/article4265592.ece

What a splash !

As the 39th Junior National Aquatics Championships drew to a close at the Velachery pool in Chennai, a petite 13-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu emerged the cynosure of all eyes. With a glittering trophy in hand, amidst the bursting of crackers and flashing of cameras, she stood smiling from ear to ear.

The girl was A.V. Jayaveena, fresh from her resounding success at the Championships where she was adjudged the best swimmer in her age group, an award she shared with another swimmer from Maharashtra. She had made the three breast stroke events over the distances of 50m, 100m and 200m hers — all in record times. The icing on the cake came in the form of a gold medal in 100m freestyle which she confesses she had least expected to win.

“It feels great. Having missed out on the title at last year’s nationals by a slender margin, I am happy to have won it,” says a beaming Jayaveena, a day after the victory, with the feeling yet to sink in.

For her, the journey started when she was three. The baby steps she took towards becoming arguably the best breast stroke swimmer in her age group, were in the vicinity of a baby pool in Rangarajapuram.

“She was raising a hue and cry wanting to get into the water while her brother was swimming,” recollects her father, noted actor Thalaivasal Vijay. “Just to scare her off, I asked one of the trainers to let her into the water for a moment. But to everyone’s surprise, she felt at ease. That was when I thought she could be a swimmer.”

Jayaveena’s initial successes came when she won a handful of district medals. “She was a raw talent when she first arrived,” says B. Girish, the head coach at Turtles Swim Club. “The potential was there but she had to be moulded. Dedicated swimmer that she was, she worked hard on her technique, endurance and fitness. The results are there for everybody to see,” he notes.

At the 2011 National Games at Ranchi, she was the youngest swimmer in the country, at age 12, to win a medal with a performance that caught many an eye. In the latter half of the same year, she truly became a sensation when she won the 50m breaststroke at the senior nationals, also at Ranchi, in record-breaking time.

“Bettering Saba Sait’s time gave me great confidence,” she says. “It was a long-standing record and it made me really proud.” A typical day for Jayaveena involves six hours of rigorous training — three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. “My desire is to constantly improve. I always concentrate on bettering my previous performances,” she says, the quality of which was fully evident at the recently concluded junior nationals.

Next up is the senior nationals in October at Pune, which, she says, she is keenly looking forward to. But her eyes are clearly set on international waters. “My aim is to qualify for the Asian age group next year,” she says. If the ripples created by Jayaveena are anything to go by, there is promise of bigger things to come from this Class VIII student of Chettinad Vidyashram.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/what-a-splash/article3655521.ece

Serena, still the favourite

“I don’t feel like it’s bonus time,” Serena Williams said of her U.S. Open victory. “I feel like it’s time I deserve to have that I missed.” So true. This was also the time in which women’s tennis missed her in equal measure.

The year 2011 was one in which the women’s field didn’t have a measuring stick atop the rankings for other players to compare themselves with and compete against. Gone were the days of the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, and the Belgians, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, ruling at the top. There were no storied rivalries such as the ones on which the men’s game thrived.

Two of the three preceding years saw Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki, without a single Grand Slam title to their name, finishing as the No. 1 ranked player. Women’s tennis sold itself for a while in the name of parity and for having an open field, but mediocrity was exposed sooner rather than later.

So when Petra Kvitova in late 2011 and Victoria Azarenka in early 2012 made the cut, the seeds for women’s tennis to move away from being anybody’s game were sown. Kvitova’s triumph at Wimbledon and Azarenka’s at the Australian Open were no doubt their maiden titles — keeping in sync with the sort of ‘openness’ that saw first-time Grand Slam winners in Francesca Schiavone, Li Na and Samantha Stosur in 2010 and 2011 — but were infinitely more resounding than the others. Comebacks for Maria Sharapova and Serena, and it would nicely round off a possible top tier in women’s tennis.

The calls were answered to an extent when Sharapova, after advancing to the Australian Open final in early 2012, won her maiden French title, completing her career Grand Slam. But Serena was still on her comeback trail. After losing close to a year due to a foot injury and an emergency treatment for blood clots in her lungs, she was yet to be back to her dominant best. She lost in the first round at the French Open; her worst ever performance in a Grand Slam.

But, just a month later, she was proudly showing off her fifth Venus Rosewater Dish. Then came the two Olympic gold medals, the U.S. Open and the season ending WTA Championships. It was one of her finest seasons with a win-loss record of 58-6. She also became the first woman in the Open era to have won a Grand Slam singles title 13 years after winning her first. Women’s tennis finally got its measuring stick.

Both at the U.S. Open and the season ending Championships, the trio of Serena, Azarenka and Sharapova made it to the semifinals, something that augurs well for the ladies’ game. Kvitova faded away a bit, but with a game as powerful as hers and the added advantage of being a left-hander, she is expected to come good again.

So, going into the new season, we have a 31-year-old American, who, after settling the question as to who the greatest of her generation is, marches towards the ultimate title of being the best ever, a 25-year-old Russian who can rightfully claim hers to be the comeback of the year and a 23-year-old Belarusian who had a perfect breakthrough year.

However, like in the last two years, the start of this year too was plagued by problems related to rankings. As was the case in the two previous years, this year too, the year-end No. 1 was not the WTA Player of the Year. Most have termed it absurd, but Serena doesn’t seem to be complaining.

In the run-up to the Australian Open, Serena won the Brisbane International; a tournament from which Sharapova pulled out at the start and Azarenka in the semifinals to recover in time from injuries. After the victory, runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova told Serena at the trophy presentation: “I always feel like I don’t know how to play tennis when I play against you.” Ominous signs indeed.

If Serena captures her sixth Aussie crown, at 31, she will become the oldest World No. 1 in women’s tennis. A position atop the world that everybody, apart from the officials in charge of the rankings at the WTA, thinks is rightfully hers.

http://www.sportstaronnet.com/tss3603/stories/20130119501901000.htm

A pecking order well tuned

Often it’s the ringside view of things that lends a better perspective than the cursory overall bird’s-eye view. So for a superior understanding of the ‘Big Four’ in men’s tennis, who better to look at than the world’s fifth best player, David Ferrer?

Ferrer in 2012 had his finest year till date. He won a tour-high seven titles, including his first Masters tournament in Paris in November, and his win-loss record read 76-15. He reached the quarterfinals or better at each of the four Grand Slams. Yet, for all the achievements, he ended the year where he started — behind Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

For the first time since 2003, the top four in men’s tennis split the four Grand Slams amongst themselves. The world’s first, second, third and fourth ranked players at that particular time won the Australian, the French, Wimbledon and the United States’ (US) crowns — in that order.

With one look it would be easy to dismiss it as something of a stranglehold established by the top four and nothing outside it. However, there was more to it, enough to make the year an epic one in arguably the golden era of men’s tennis.

There were compelling storylines — most within the top four and a few outside — that emerged to make the game richer with each passing day. Of records being broken, history being made and dreams being fulfilled. Of fully formed rivalries continuing to intrigue without having to search for new meanings to define them — like those involving Federer and Nadal and Djokovic — and of a fledgling one taking shape — like the one between Djokovic and Murray.

If Djokovic had dominated the rivalry between himself and Nadal in 2011 — the year in which it really took off — the latter had managed to pull it back in 2012 by beating Djokovic in two of their three meetings before going on to win his record seventh French Open title by beating the Serb for the third time.

On his part, Djokovic won one Grand Slam by beating Nadal in the longest ever final, reached the final of two others and ended the year as World Number one — the year-ending ATP Championships being the icing on the cake. Federer, at 30, ended a two-year drought and won his seventh Wimbledon, clawed his way back to the number one spot in the world and broke Pete Sampras’s record of 286 weeks at the top.

In spite of all this, it was really Andy Murray who stole the show after a summer of disappointment and triumph. At the start of the year, there was a feeling that Ivan Lendl, his coach, had instilled in Murray what no other coach could. The resolve not to crack in situations where the Murray of yesteryear would have.

He went out in five sets to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal at Melbourne last year in a performance which one would have struggled to associate with him earlier. Next came the loss in the Wimbledon final against Federer, again a gutsy effort.

His improvement was rapid and he kept hitting the inner, but it took him until the US Open to hit the bull’s eye. After four hours and fifty-four minutes of mind-boggling tennis, Murray, battling the weather, overcoming physical strain and carrying a nation’s expectations, beat Djokovic for his first Grand Slam title. In between he also won the Olympic gold medal by thrashing Federer in straight sets. The Big Three now became the Big Four.

But Nadal’s absence for almost the whole of the second half of the year due to lingering knee problems since his shock loss at the Wimbledon to Lukas Rosol slightly tarnished what was truly a terrific year for world tennis. Yet he stayed on in the top four, due to the weight of his performances when he was on the court. But the other three played their parts in the spectacle and before the year-ending Championships, they had even head-to-head records against each other.

So going into 2013 what do we expect? Will there be more of the stuff that characterised 2012? Each of the ‘Big Four’ still has a logical chance to be the World number one. Federer is into his 32nd year, but his stupendous technique and unmatchable understanding of the game means that he is still a threat. Djokovic seems fresher than he was at the start of 2012 after a brilliant 2011 and Murray has just come of age and is yet to hit his peak.

However, one thing that is sure to happen, with his withdrawal from this year’s Australian Open, is Nadal’s dropping out of the top four for the first time since 2005. This means one among the tier-two players in men’s tennis — David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — will break into the top four. Will that player be able to withstand a challenge from Nadal as and when he returns?

For inspiration he need not look beyond Djokovic and Murray. When Federer and Nadal established a duopoly at the top of men’s tennis, these two were treated as minor irritants and were often swatted aside like flies. But 2011 and 2012 have shown what one can achieve if he has the drive and backs it up with sheer hard work. With Federer not expected to mount challenges for far too long and Nadal’s comeback looking ever so uncertain, these very players — Djokovic and Murray — will in all probability head the new order at the top of world tennis.

Almost a year back, Andy Bull, in his column in The Guardian wrote about his inability to understand Pakistani spinner Saeed Ajmal’s doosra: “life is richer if you leave room for a little magic here and there.” 2012 gave us such moments of magic with many things inexplicable. Will 2013 deliver the same? The answers will be revealed as the tour unfolds and the quest for the same will begin on January 14. Over to Melbourne.

http://www.sportstaronnet.com/tss3603/stories/20130119501500700.htm

A topsy-turvy year

Not since Michael Schumacher has any one driver thoroughly dominated Formula One. In the seven years after he won the last of his seven world championships in 2004, five different drivers have emerged triumphant. Four of those titles were decided in the last race of the season and one in the penultimate race. It was that close.

But, when Sebastian Vettel scorched to his second successive victory last season in the manner he did — winning 11 of the 19 races and sealing the championship with four races remaining — it did, albeit in a small measure, bring back memories of the Schumacher days.

So, when seven different drivers split the first seven races of the current season among them — for the first time in the history of the sport — it came as a pleasant surprise. Where Red Bull was expected to further its dominance, it looked like a level playing field. There were maiden victories for Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado and German Nico Rosberg as well. What led to this churning at the top?

From the Red Bulls’ outlawed exhaust blown diffusers to their unreliable alternators, from the Ferraris’ lack of pace to the McLarens’ problems on and off the track, there were reasons aplenty. Add to this, tyre manufacturers Pirelli, who returned last year after a two-decade long hiatus, dishing out a new compound that nobody could come to grips with.

The teams found it extremely difficult to handle the Pirellis and it even led to claims from Schumacher that the tyres are like ‘driving on raw eggs’. The new tyres no doubt made for exciting races at the start.

Red Bull’s own problems meant that in the first 13 races, they won just three and more importantly Vettel just one. “It’s pretty much as we feared before the season started,” Adrian Newey, Red Bulls’ chief technical officer told Autosport. “Having explored exhaust blowing technology quite heavily for two seasons and then having that taken away hurt us quite a lot. Probably more than other people because we had been exploiting it for longer.”

While it took them till the Singapore Grand Prix in late September to find a way around, it was the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso that surged ahead at the start. He won three out of the first 10 races including a storm affected Malaysian Grand Prix and a perfect start-to-finish triumph in Germany.

But once Red Bull found the fix for the diffuser problem, there was no catching Vettel. He claimed the next four races and came roaring back into the title race. For Alonso, however, the qualifying performances started to drop and the Ferrari was always forced to play catch up to the much faster Red Bull.

All this, by no means, suggests that it was essentially a two-horse race. Kimi Raikkonen, returning after a two-year gap and driving a Lotus, raked up points in all but one race. With his victory in Abu Dhabi, when he became the eighth driver to register a race win this year, he ran the top two close till the last few races. Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren was remarkably quick. But his blow hot blow cold performance — four victories coupled with five retirements — meant that the man who was in with a genuine chance mid-way through the season faltered towards the end.

The Red Bull, in spite of being the quickest, had to grapple with reliability issues throughout. Vettel’s chances were wrecked twice by alternator failure — the fault which also ended Mark Webber’s race in the United States Grand Prix. On the other hand Alonso’s car was not so quick. But reliability was its forte as Alonso steered it in majestic fashion to ensure that Vettel didn’t go too far ahead.

Arguably the most topsy-turvy of all seasons had to end with a finish befitting it and so did it. The last three races again threw up three different winners and to add to the excitement, neither Alonso nor Vettel were among the victors.

In what can be described as a testimony to his incredible driving skills, Alonso, in spite of neither qualifying in the top three nor winning any in the last 10 races, was just 13 points behind Vettel going into Brazil. But, it just wasn’t enough. At the end of it all we had the youngest ever triple world champion in Sebastian Vettel.

http://www.tssonnet.com/tss3549/stories/20121208501501000.htm

Federer' Wimbledon homecoming

On the eve of the men’s singles final at this year’s Wimbledon championships, the British were hoping for a historic double. A certain Jonathan Marray was aspiring to become the first Brit to win the men’s doubles title since 1936. Yes, the same year in which Fred Perry — you know who — won the last of his and Britain’s three singles titles at Wimbledon, the burden of which Andy Murray was carrying into the men’s singles final.

Standing between Murray’s and Britain’s apparent date with destiny was 16-time Grand Slam and six-time Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer. This year’s final was more intriguing than the previous ones for the after effects the outcome would generate, than the match itself. Should Federer win, he would equal William Renshaw and Pete Sampras for the all-time record for men’s singles titles at Wimbledon. He would also tie Sampras’s record of 286 weeks at No. 1. Should Murray win, he would send the region into a sort of frenzy last witnessed after England won the 1966 football World Cup.

But alas, what could have been a double delight, turned out to be just a doubles delight. Jonny Marray won the doubles title while his more illustrious compatriot faltered. Andy Murray, who before the start of the final was thought to have found a way to land the coveted title, still seemed a work in progress at the end of it all.

Federer was coming into this tournament having not tasted success at a Grand Slam since 2010, when he beat Murray to win the Australian Open. He was written off with every single failure to win a Grand Slam though he always made it to the business end of the tournament. He was even reduced to a silent spectator to the great rivalry that was unfolding between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

But here he was, just a month short of his 31st birthday, back at the helm of world rankings, with 17 Grand Slam titles to his name and a seventh Wimbledon in his kitty.

Where will this put Federer in the pantheon of greats? Right at the top? Critics might hold his inability to beat Nadal on the red dirt at Roland Garros, even as Nadal has beaten him on his beloved grass, against him. But to win a Grand Slam at nearly 31 — the first since Arthur Ashe to win Wimbledon after 30 — when fitter and younger legs were testing and exploiting his endurance was no mean task.

The run-up to the tournament clearly belonged to Murray. But ultimately it was Federer who emerged on a high. Stats and trivia ranging from the absurd ‘The last Brit to win a singles title at Wimbledon was Virginia Wade in 1977, also a jubilee year and 2012 is also a jubilee year’ to a more relevant ‘Murray is only one of two active players to possess a better head to head against Federer’ were thrown in. But Murray hadn’t beaten him when it had mattered the most — finals of the 2008 U.S. Open and the 2010 Australian Open.

However, under the prevailing circumstances, it was more likely, that Murray’s start to the final would be passive. To hang in there and wait for the openings. But it was he who started on an aggressive note by breaking Federer in the very first game, displaying the same qualities that helped him work his way up through a tricky draw.

He hit hard and hit deep and hurried Federer into his shots. He forced Federer into committing way too many unforced errors and won the first set — his first success from 10 attempts at winning a set in a Grand Slam final.

However, the tide turned decisively in Federer’s favour in the latter half of the second set, when Murray missed a crucial break point. It would have given him a chance to serve for a two-set lead. In the most familiar of places, Federer would have found himself in the most unfamiliar of situations. But it was not to be. Federer held on, he broke and won the set.

Then came the rain. Ideally the delay should have helped Murray. To regroup and reassess. But once the match resumed under the roof, Federer thrived and after just the first few games, it seemed that he sensed victory.

He chipped, chopped, sliced, served and volleyed, though the last two hardly came as a combination. He went for the lines with the sort of confidence that had eluded him since the ignominy he suffered at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at last year’s Wimbledon when he lost after taking a two-set lead. The turnaround was complete and this was the Federer of old, the one that Djokovic encountered in the semifinal.

On the contrary, it wasn’t the Murray of old. Even as a belligerent Federer ran around Murray’s backhands and second serves to go on the offensive, the battered and bruised Brit clung on. He worked harder than ever and came closer than ever but still fell short, plunging the entire nation into a sea of despair.

So where does this leave Andy Murray? “I played better this time in the final and that's the main thing,” said Murray after the match. “It was my first time in a Wimbledon final, I’d never been there before. So I’m still improving, still playing better tennis, trying to improve, 

which is all I can do.”

Murray now has the Olympics ahead and then the U. S. Open. He would go into these knowing fully well that he is now closer to the top three than ever before. As for Federer, he will be back in Wimbledon, three weeks from now to win the elusive Olympic singles gold.

The Federer of 2012 will never be the player who won three slams each in three calendar years in 2004, 2006 and 2007. He won’t be his former invincible self either. The No. 1 ranking may still change hands a couple of more times before the end of the year. But at the end of this year’s Championships, he looks to have put an end to the long drawn debate. He might after all be the greatest of them all.

http://www.tssonnet.com/tss3529/stories/20120719501200400.htm