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| SPORTS TRIBUNE |
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Fit as a fiddle Yeah yoga! Clash of the
titans Fit Zone |
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Fit as a fiddle
IT was the message that the rest of men's tennis was dreading. The morning after his victory over Andy Murray in the Australian Open final, Roger dismantling the temporary structures and delivering his chilling news: the best player in the history of the game is feeling better than ever. At 28, you would expect a 16-times Grand Slam champion to suffer the odd ache and pain after a fortnight of tennis, but in the wake of his fourth victory in Melbourne Federer looked a picture of good health. Dressed in jeans and a casual top bearing his "RF" logo, sitting back in his chair in the shade outside what was left of the players' lounge, he sounded almost embarrassed to admit how good he felt, especially after staying up all night drinking champagne with friends. "I feel fine, to be honest," he said. "I don't feel too tired. I'm surprised. I think by now I know my body so well and I've gone through these situations so many times that I'm not so exhausted. I'm tired, but I remember in the past I couldn't get out of bed, my body was down, I would press the 'off' button and would just want to sit back for two weeks and let my body heal. Today, it's very different. I feel like I could go skiing tomorrow. I'm not going to do that, but I feel fresh." With the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup perched on the table in front of him, Federer admitted that much had changed in the 12 months since he lost in Melbourne to Rafael Nadal for the third time in four Grand Slam finals. "It was here that we found out that Mirka was going to have twins," he said about finding out he was going to be a dad. "Since then, I've won three Slams and we've had the two girls. But the success remains `85 at least it's comeback. Federer felt he had played the best tennis of his life at the end of 2007. While he did not agree that 2008 was a blessing in disguise, he said that he had had to reinvent himself in the wake of what was a moderate year by his own extraordinary standards. The key was that Federer felt he was not moving about the court with the same speed and lightness of foot that he had in the past. He made changes to his fitness and training regime to remedy the problem. He has a new trainer in Stephane Vivier and believes he is now reaping the reward. "My movement has come back," he said. "I think it always used to be good, but I think I lost a little edge in my movement in 2008 and 2009. I feel like that's all come around again," Federer said, adding he had also transformed his style of play in recent years. Did he feel he had made a statement to the other players with his performance here? "Statements, what the other players think, what the press or the fans think, aren't the most important things for me. I'm happy that I've started the season well. Every time I've played well at the Aussie Open, I went on to have a good season. That gives me a sense of security, though I know I'll still have to put in the hard yards to come through and win matches and tournaments. But I'm excited about this new season because I feel that I played some of the best tennis of my life these last two weeks." To see Federer here, playing as well, if not better than ever, with his family around him (he is the first father to win a Grand Slam title for seven years), you wonder whether life could ever be sweeter for a man. "It's fantastic and I wouldn't want things any other way," he said. "It's so much fun. The babies are so good now. We're still enjoying this moment, but I think I've always had a good sense of reality, to separate tennis from the rest of my life, because it's not everything. It's definitely enhanced that and showed me that family is even bigger and better than I thought it would be." When Federer returned to his hotel room as the sun rose over Melbourne he was delighted to find that Myla, one of his daughters, was awake. "Even though she obviously has no clue what has happened and couldn't care less, I still felt it was a special moment to hold her in my arms after what happened," he said. — By
arrangement with The Independent |
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Yeah yoga!
British tennis star was banking on yoga and the influence of his new manager Simon Fuller to win the Australian Open final against Swiss Roger Federer. Tennis insiders are of the view that Andy Murray's transformation could be put down to several factors, including the presence of Fuller and a new fitness regime based on Bikram yoga, reports The Telegraph. Thanks to his fitness consultants, Murray’s devotion to Bikram yoga, the world's fastest growing yoga, is complete. It is done in a room heated to 42C (107F) and is designed to increase flexibility and strength, and prevent and heal injuries. Many in the game were surprised last year when Murray signed up with Fuller's 19 Entertainment rather than a global sports agency such as IMG, which has clients like Federer and Tiger Woods. The pop impresario, who created the Spice Girls and manages David Beckham, Claudia Schiffer and Katy Perry, set about the re-branding of Murray with gusto when he won the contract. He has given the player a new look, including a decent haircut and wardrobe of Adidas clothes. He has softened the Scottish phenomenon's attitude to the media. The 15-million pound five-year deal with Adidas, replacing a contract with Fred Perry, is part of a tough new commercial approach that will bring in promotional deals aimed at propelling Murray to global stardom. His advisers were said to be aghast when they discovered that the shirts he wore were not available in the shops. A Grand Slam win could have turned Murray into one of Britain's highest earning sportsmen, on target to make 50 million pounds a year. Fuller insists that most
of Murray's improvement can be attributed to his own extraordinary
determination to become the world's best tennis player. — ANI |
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Clash of the
titans THE South Africans play their cricket the hard way and do not give up till the last ball has been bowled. Always full of the competitive spirit, they are known for their agility on the field. They have a fierce pace attack capable of denting any batting line-up and a bunch of decent batsmen, coupled with a string of quality all-rounders. All this makes South Africa a side tough to beat.
Currently ranked No 2 in Tests, the South Africans who have landed in the country for the two-Test and three-ODI series, with the first Test scheduled at Nagpur on February 6, are no different. In Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell, the visitors have a formidable bowling attack. While Steyn and Morkel are two out-and-out quick bowlers capable of rattling a batting line-up with genuine pace and bounce, 20-year-old Parnell is somewhat of an all-rounder. Primarily a left-handed seamer, accuracy being his strength, Parnell is also a useful batsman down the order. Ryan McLaren’s inclusion is in line with South Africa’s policy of having quality all-rounders in the squad. Earlier, the 26-year-old all-rounder, a Kent regular, was first included in the 15-man squad for the maiden Test against England in December last. McLaren is somewhat like a Justine Kemp or Lance Klusener, capable of hitting the ball long and hard and snapping up wickets. AB de Villiers is among the most promising young batsmen in contemporary cricket. The ease with which he bats and the variety of strokes clearly mark him out as someone special. J. P. Duminy and newcomer Alviro Petersen would be expected to support skipper Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Mark Boucher to challenge the might of Indian batting, which looks quite formidable even in the absence of the injured duo of Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. While Dravid had fractured his jaw in the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka and has been advised three weeks’ rest, Yuvraj has an injury on his left wrist. Fresh from the 2-0 Test triumph over Bangladesh where they suffered an initial blip in the first game when they were bowled out for 243 despite a century from Sachin Tendulkar, the hosts would do well to guard against any complacency against a side which is sure to close all escape routes at the first available opportunity. Though the Graeme Smith-led side somewhat lacks in experience on account of the absence of seasoned campaigners like Makhaya Ntini and the dangerous Harschelle Gibbs, taking them lightly could prove perilous. The recent form of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has been heartening. The left-armed seamer sealed the series with the second-innings haul of seven wickets in the last Test in Bangladesh and was Man of the Match and feted for the Match of the Series. With seamer Ishant Sharma gradually getting back into form, the Dhoni-led team will not have much concern regarding pace bowling. With a third seamer
unlikely to have a look-in on the domestic placid tracks, the hosts
would do well if they get their plans vis-a-vis the spin attack right.
With Harbhajan Singh a certainty, proper thought should go into the
selection of his spin partner. Of the two other frontline spinners in
the squad---leg-spinner Amit Mishra and the left-armed Pragyan Ojha---the
former played a decisive role in the first Test win against Bangladesh.
Ian Chappell was skeptical about India clinging on to the No 1 Test slot
for a considerable period of time, contending that the Dhoni-led squad
lacked firepower in bowling. The series provides the hosts an ideal
opportunity to prove the claims of critics like Chappell wrong. |
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Fit Zone
Yoga can help bring you inner peace when you are stressed out. It can even provide relief from headaches, backaches, and menstrual cramps. The contemporary practitioners of yoga range from high-powered executives trying to keep their hearts healthy to image-conscious Hollywood stars striving for sleek physiques. Even prominent athletes are adding yoga to their training regime to develop balanced, injury-free muscles and spines. You can get great results from even 10 to 15 minutes of yoga per day. Here are several simple poses that will calm and relax you instantly. Makarasana
Benefits: Makar means crocodile. Hence, this asana is also known as the crocodile pose. This is one of the best yoga poses for busting stress. Continue deep breathing and stay in this position for around five to 10 minutes before getting up slowly. This pose reduces stress by relaxing your entire body from head to toe. Balasana
Benefits: Balasana is one of the best-known yoga relaxation and meditation poses. It has helped many get maximum relief from stress, leading to high blood pressure. Balasana is also one of the good poses for stress relief. Bhramari
Benefits: It is a tremendous`A0breathing exercise`A0for meditation. The mind becomes calm and peaceful. It helps reduce mental tension, agitation,`A0high blood pressure, etc. Parvatasana
Benefits: The basic pose is the parvathasana, but because it is so simple, many yoga enthusiasts tend to overlook its power. The mountain pose is important for stress relief. It has an amazing effect, and the biggest benefit is that you can practice this pose wherever you are. |
Looking
Stand in a mountain pose, making
sure that your body is correctly aligned.