Jottings - Slice of life - 306 ( Cori Gauff - impressions)

Jottings - Slice of life - 306 ( Cori Gauff - impressions)

The greatest pleasure of watching tennis (or any game for that matter) over long periods of time is to be able to spot that precise point in a game when a blistering serve, a soft nudge, a forehand that comes of the middle of the racket with a resounding twang, or that look of unbridled confidence in the eyes of an emerging champion when a cross-court winner whistles past the opponent like a bullet, or that singular point in a game when the body, mind, and soul come together to achieve a synergy of form and strategy. On first of July 2019, at the center court of Wimbledon, such a moment arrived for the young fifteen-year-old American "Coco" Gauff( her father nicknamed her Coco) against the veteran champion Venus Williams. It came in the fourth game of the first set, when on serve, Coco effortless orchestrated a crosscourt forehand win, leaving Venus stranded. For most observers, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but for keen connoisseurs of the game that particulate exchange early on in the match would have stood out as a singular moment, a moment when young Coco asserted her enormous talent on the game’s biggest stage. There was a look in her eyes after that point, beautifully captured on camera, which lights up ever so briefly with immense satisfaction over the perfect execution of the shot. The mental focus, the position of the body, the trajectory of the ball over the net, the angle across the court, the clean follow through, and above all the dancer-like poise after the shot is completed said it all. It was clinical and magical at the same time. The tone for the rest the match was set then and there.

When Venus Williams won her first Grand slam, Coco gauff was not yet born. Twenty-four years later, when both of them meet, there is a change of guard. For Coco, in many ways, playing Venus was a dream come true. Born in Atlanta to parents having strong ties with sports and athletics, she could have picked up any sport she wanted; but tennis was her choice, and that is largely due to the fact that Coco grew up watching the William sisters play the game at the highest levels with a tenacity and grit that transformed the very nature of women’s tennis. Especially, Venus Williams, who in her younger days was one of the most athletic ladies on the circuit. Her movement on the court, her languid elegance, her uncanny ability to reach every ball and play that magical shot out of nowhere catapulted Venus to the position of world number one. Coco grew up venerating this champion. At the age of ten, under the studied guidance of her father, young Coco trained with top tennis coaches and soon began to exhibit prodigious talent. What stuck her mentors was her singular ambition to win, no matter what. Nothing less than excellence drove the young girl. By thirteen, Coco was playing the national circuit, and by fourteen international matches. Endorsements started pouring in. She had signed two big sporting contracts with agencies that managed the likes of Federer. And Coco was eyeing the grand slams.

After Jennifer Capriati, who played her first Wimbledon when she was fourteen, coco becomes the youngest player in the open era to win at Wimbledon. It is too early to predict if Coco will make a mark in this tournament and go all the way till the end, or fizzle out. But the first impressions of this girl seems to suggest that there is champion material in her game and outlook. She reminds me of young Steffi Graf - the same determination and athleticism. Nirmal Sekhar, one of my favorite sports writers of all time, loved to quote Frederick Nietzsche the German philosopher. Writing about Steffi Graf in August 2006, Sekhar noted: " All great champions have the ability to concentrate, some more than others. But Graf was one step above almost everybody else in her generation. There was an almost other-worldly intensity to her Concentration on the court. At the best of times, one could get an idea of Friedrich Nietzsche's ‘Pure will without the troubles of Intellect’’ when Graf played..” I see the same intensity in young Coco gaff eyes and body language. The huge audience of the center court did not bother her the least, and throughout her match with Venus, there was this otherworldly focus on her face that brooked no distractions from the task at hand.

Like other great champions, Coco has a complete game. Her serve is powerful and explores the edges of the box, both the backhand and the forehand strokes are strong, great body position, she has a deft touch when needed, and more importantly, she is unfazed by her opponents. She plays the game on its merit, and that according to me is the single most important factor in a true champion. Wimbledon always brings out the best in players, and I hope we will see more of Coco gauff in the next two weeks, and further.

God bless…

yours in mortality,

Bala