My adolescent years were wasted romancing the four major racquet games. There was a time when I could,with only little difficulty,execute the top-spin drive in table-tennis,the drop from the third line in badminton,and my favourite,the wall-hugging forehand in squash.
But the one stroke that always eluded me was the single-handed backhand on the tennis court. Whenever the ball came close enough to take a swing,my confidence would shatter,and my hand would automatically head south for a weak slice rather than the full-blooded drive Id seen Ivan Lendl hit so many times on TV.
But it was a little-known Belgian girl,playing only her second Grand Slam,who provided a vision of pure grace in a first-round defeat to Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo. Then only 17,Justine Henin lost 6-1 6-4,but those who watched her play that day could tell that the fluidity of her stroke was for the ages.
Watching her go for a backhand was a rare treat in itself. She would run with her left hand loosely holding the racquet shaft,and then,at the last instant,pull it away to unleash a surge of hidden speed as the ball flew across the net at an unbelievable angle. More than the result,what stood out was the aesthetic charm of her single-handed arc. Not in recent times had a backhand been hit with such poise. In the years to come,John McEnroe would describe it as the greatest in history.
Henin went on to win 41 titles,including seven Grand Slams. Then,at only 25 years of age,she announced her retirement in the first half of 2008 while still ranked No 1 in the world. And,just like that,her backhand was relegated to YouTube memory.
Henins return ahead of the 2010 Australian Open starting next week is one of the sports stories of the year,not just because tennis will get its most glorious shot back but also because the womens game has somehow been lost somewhere between the 200-kmph serve of the Williams sisters and the intense rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the mens side.
That her comeback almost coincides with the reemergence of another Belgian,Kim Clijsters,is the boost her sport desperately needed going forward in an era where equal prize-money at all major events has failed to be backed up with equal interest. Mens tennis has produced a series of unforgettable matches over the last couple of years Federer vs Nadal,Federer vs Roddick,Nadal vs Verdasco while womens tennis has somehow been relegated to a sideshow where glamour comes before game. Ever since Anna Kournikova first transformed the sport into a series of hoardings with double-meaning taglines,the interest generated on court has paled in comparison to the buzz outside the field of play.
The poster girls Ana Ivanovic,Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic are down in the rankings. The only constants at the top,Venus and Serena Williams,are surrounded by a bunch of similar-styled youngsters from eastern Europe who are more front office than box office.
Now,in 2010,with two women in the latter half of their twenties returning to resume battle with the Williams sisters,the excitement is bound to grow exponentially. In sport,nothing sells like a comeback,and Clijsterss US Open victory in 2009 had already set the tone for what could lie ahead.
The Belgians gave tennis its first epic match of the year last week as Clijsters beat Henin in a third-set tie-break to win the title at the Brisbane International. The most important moment came midway in the second set. Clijsters hit a deep inside-out,and Henin,lunging to her left,swung her trademark backhand for a searing crosscourt winner. Twenty months away from the sport,nothing had changed. They paused to exchange knowing smiles across the net,and the capacity crowd laughed with them.
Linked together,sometimes awkwardly,right from the start of their careers,the two could well make this womens tenniss year of the un-retirees.
kunal.pradhan@expressindia.com
