Pip and the Fern Festival - Part 1

Pip was bobbing up and down. He had waited for this day since the moment he had learnt to count till ten. And here it was - his big day. He was being allowed to join the others as they journeyed to the Fern Festival. Pip had dreamt of this day for so long he could hardly believe that he was not dreaming right now. 

"Pip! Pip! hurry up! or we'll miss the fireworks!" Pip snapped out of his thoughts, skipping after his best friend into the depths of the forest. Firework nights were extra special before the Fern Festival. It was most likely because the Ferntress was involved in making them. The lights were better, brighter, more real and more magical than the common place fireworks of other nights. As they approached the Fountain tree, more fairies joined them bubbling with excitement and speculating endlessly on the possibilities of what the festival would bring.

"Pip! Hurry up or well miss getting a good view," Pip had to hurry, taking off after Bennie and creating a hullabaloo as he bumped into the crowds, apologising quietly when he remembered to. Pip came to a majestic stop where a huge sand dune strategically sprouted providing a fantastic view of the Fountain Tree.

What a gorgeous tree it was. It was Ferntress's Castle too. The tree trunk was so wide that it took over 100 fairies to encircle it, and it was said that the roots went underground for miles and miles. There was even the story of naughty Silas who decided to dig into the ground and follow a root and never made his way back. The bark was brown - as brown as mud that has been soaked in fresh rain - and along its height were beautiful paintings of fairies, wands, birds, animals, and all things natural. Each painting was etched out in silver, gold and bronze. If you didn't pay close attention you could miss out on them as the lines glimmered in and out of the trunk as if they were alive, weaving in and around the bark telling a tale. Sometimes it would take days and days to see all the paintings and the younger ones had to wait till they could fly high before they could reach the top parts of the trunk.

The Fountain tree was said to be taller than Fensha the king of giants. But Pip and Bennie could now see its tip if they flew up into the sky. The most beautiful thing about the Fountain tree was its branches. Bunched in hundreds they formed a dense centre and flew out in magnificent angles, curves, and spheres. And then they dropped down like glistening rain, stopping in mid air with leaves that glimmered like emeralds but looked soft and light. Each branch had twigs of silver or bronze. Flowers big and small graced the branches - some white as the shining star, others yellow like the sun , and some pink like the Ferntress's cheeks. Pip thought red flowers were the prettiest. They were the ones hardest to reach. They were roses only more rose like than any other rose Pip had ever seen.

Bennie was more interested in the fruits. All the fruits on the fountain tree were golden. All golden and in any shape size and taste you wanted. You only had to say the name of the fruit you wanted and ask the tree for it. The fruit would gently fly into your hand and drop the most delicious fruit in your palms. Bennie had many a time asked the Ferntress how the tree never ran out of fruits, but Ferntress had merely smiled at him.

The first star had appeared in the darkening sky and the crowd hushed as they saw a little fairy dressed in a glimmering green gown, surrounded by splendour even grander than the tree, emerge from the trunk above the highest branch of the fountain tree. Ferntress seemed larger than the tree and yet how tiny she was! 

"Arise dear nymphs, your fairy brethren call to you. Dance the dance of ferns. that they may awaken and be filled with our magic. " Her lilting voice sounded into the night enthralling people far, far away with the call of the night. And all the fairy kindred took up the melody and sang the chorus like they did every year.

"The love of fairies, the love of nymphs

to bring ferns alive: Ferns awake, ferns protect"

And as they sung, the firework displays started. Pip and Bennie pointed in delight as a train of firefly designed lights enveloped the fountain tree in myriad of colours and spiralled into the night sky before reaching a crescendo and bursting down into the crowd as coloured candy for everyone. Then, there was the carriage firework that looked like a King's carriage, round and round it went and burst into a flames shaped as the Princess Riana with her Faithful Prince Saul next to her. The crowd cheered as they were entertained by more lights.

Pip and Bennie glided to the base of the fountain tree where a number of young fairy- gentlemen had gathered. Old man Brown was at the centre of the crowd dishing out instructions in his low quiet voice. "On the journey we expect complete obedience, no showing off with fancy tricks and no mischief." He looked pointedly at Bennie and said " No running off to steal fruits from orchards". He continued, "you will all listen to me and obey my instructions. Now go off and say your goodbyes. We will meet here in one hours time." 

Old man Brown frowned as he turned to Ferntress. This journey would be unlike any other he had been to. Old man Brown had been on so many journeys he couldn't remember the count. This was the first time the wind smelled dangerous though, and Old man Brown had considered cancelling the journey. He had consulted Ferntress over the possibility, and they had pondered over the matter for days before deciding that the journey must be made. Old man Brown sighed, he had hoped that he had fought his last battle but if what Ferntress said was true there was more work to be done.

A recap, Or redress of the US open

One of my few (and far between) regular readers reckoned my post on the finals of the US open finals was a bit boring. I spent about 10 seconds being offended before I realised it was true. 

The reasons for this boring post were many: The matches were a bit one sided and boring, the post was delayed and I had lost a lot of the zeal for writing about it already, and let's face it, since I couldn't catch all the action there wasn't as much I could say about the matches. 

Well, those are my lame excuses. But rare reader and I had a brief discussion on Nadal's clothing choice for the US open. Avid (Hopefully) reader's opinion: too pink, too girlie. Mine: totally Nadal and awesome! So, I decided to take his advice and write about it, and entertain at least two or three readers.

Speaking of clothing choices for the US open, I found many of the outfits prettttty drab. In fact, I doubt that even Chrissy could have come up with something about the grandness of choice here. 

I suspect that the fact that Stan wasn't around with his tasteless outfits decided it for the designers - they would accept the challenge on Stan the man's behalf.  😏😏😏

Here is the one design/colour I didn't like at all:

But there were some decent ones: Venus's outfit, Sharapova's outfit, Karolina Pliskova's (doesn't she look great in anything?), Wozniakis (very little seen outfit - could that be because she had an early exit?) and yes, Nadal's PINK one! 

I hope that the brands come up with something more stylish for the Australian open, don't you? 

US Open Champions

Okay, so I am a little late with this write up (like super late)... but such is life!

Now who didn't think Nadal would be the champion after watching his match on Friday? After loosing that first set, Rafa upped it a few (read many) notches and was almost unplayable. I don't think Kevin Anderson had a chance (Sorry Anderson fans). 

And his straight set, straight-froward victory on Sunday was a reflection of just how strong his game is this year - an appearance at 3 Grand slam finals, and winning two of them. Nadal has been on top form, and it really has been fantastic to watch. 

Anderson also made history. First grand slam semi final and one of the only handful of South African tennis players to make such an appearance (pre open era included). So, Kudos to him and congratulations. 

As predicted the women's game went Sloane Stephens way. But the match was, also as predicted, a bit of a let down, and rather one-sided. Nonetheless, we have one more player to make the ranks of potential grand slam winners - congratulations Sloane Stephens. What a mixed year it has been for women's champions: Serena, Ostapenko, Muguruza, and Stephens. And believe it or not Venus has been the runner up at 2 of these. I can't imagine how exciting 2018 will be!

Looking forward to Djo's return, and so much more... 

A new women's US Open Champ

Sloane Stephens beat Venus Williams 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 to make her debut at a grand slam final. She will be joined by Madison Keys who convincingly beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-2. 

We are guaranteed, then, of a new women's US Open champion. This is a bit exciting, but could also mean that the final's will be a dull game filled with nerves. I will wait and watch. 

This morning, at 3:30 am I found myself wide awake. It was far too cold, but thanks to the commentary from the Guardian I was able to follow the entire game. I find that the guardian has some of the best blog coverage for live tennis action. I discovered them only a few years back and have never looked back. Moving onto the match. How topsy turvy were those two first sets? It really makes you wonder if it was nerves, or if the ladies were just sleepy! But the final set was fantastic. One twitter message said that this was Sloane's biggest win. I would agree - considering that she won to make it to a final, but I cannot forget the match she played against Serena where she won - I think any win over Serena can be considered the biggest win of a tennis career 😉

And then there was Coco Vandeweghe vs Madison Keys. I prefer calling it the Madison Keys vs Lady who didn't show up match. Madison was on top of this one from start to finish - as you can read from here. The match was surprisingly one sided, with Coco really struggling to do well with her service games. Is it just me, or do others also feel frustrated when a player beats the big names and then just fizzle out in the next game?

In other news, I am happy to find that there was a few other people who agreed with me that the commentating for the women's games has been a bit too biased, and frankly tedious.. for the games I watched, I tended to turn down the volume especially when they went on and an and on and on and on and on about the new American guard. Teehee.. I think we get it, the ladies are playing great....

That aside, can't wait for the men's semi finals!

All set for the semis

It is here - that long awaited/dreaded all American women's semis. It was an easy victory for both Keys and Coco. Damn it, Pliskova, I really wanted you to win! But moving on, so much has happened in such few hours: Pliskova has lost her no.1 ranking. Muguruza is now world no.1 for a second run. History is repeating itself, 15 years later, with the all-American semi finals.

Nadal was ruthless in his dismissal of Rublev. It was actually painful to see, and I hope Rublev finds motivation rather than despair as a consequence of the thrashing. There is no taking away the fact that the young Russian has great potential, though. There is, however, plenty of room for improvement - isn't there always?

And then we come to the Fed vs Del Potro game. Boy is the latter on fire. His win opens up a plethora of questions and possibilities on where the men's draw is heading. As it stands now there will be one player who will be a debutante finalist at a grand slam.

It will be interesting if Nadal and Venus win the open - two veterans back at their best!

Sadly, the timings of these matches means I might not catch a lot of the live action..

I still can't wait for all the matches.

4 down, 4 more to go

We could be looking at an all American Final in the women's half of the US Open. In fact the only person who can stop that from happening is the current world no.1. Will she manage to deal with the pressures? I certainly hope so, simply because I love the simple style and depth with which she plays. 

The Sloanes vs Sevastova match started off incredibly dull, but slowly picked up once the latter got some medical attention. Sloanes is becoming the formidable player she was before her foot injury, and I believe she has a real chance at making it to the final and even winning it. Her quickness on court is stunning to watch.

And what a match  Kvitova and V Williams played. I read a few headlines this morning that stated: "Kvitova outplayed by Venus", "Venus too strong for Kvitova," and I must say that the highlights and the scoreline do not reflect those statements. This was a tough, close match. A more fitting way to describe it would be Venus comes out top in a deciding tie break. Kudos to both players though - Venus is having an amazing year, and Kvitova is coming back from her wrist injury like a star!

The first men's quarter final was a rather dull game. It was a straight forward victory for Carenno Busta. Schwartzman was just not connecting his shots and had too many unforced errors to make it a competitive encounter. 

I woke up to see that Anderson and Querrey were still going strong. The first two sets were predictably even with Querrey needing 8 match points to seal off the second and push the game to 4/5 sets. Once he was broken in the third, it was pretty much guaranteed that he would have to win the next two sets, if he wanted a chance at the semi final. But Anderson was steady and maintained an incredibly high level in his service games and sealed off the win in the 4th set tie-break... 

What that means is that in complete contrast to the women's game we have no Americans still playing in the men's draw... 

Let the rest of the games begin...

The stage is set for the Quarter Finals

Nadal vs Rublev: The young Russian has been riding on a high wave this entire tournament and had a relatively easy Round of 16 match vs Goffin. Nadal, of course, has bludgeoned his way through his opponents with only a few worrisome moments.

Head 2 Head: This will be their first meeting. Check out some interesting stats here Nadal Vs Rublev

Federer vs Del Potro: What a cracker this is going to be. Both have had 5 set battles, both have come back displaying a class of tennis that at times is mind boggling. On paper, this is Federer's match. The last time Del Potro beat Federer was in 2013...

Head 2 Head: This will the the 22nd time the two will meet, with Fed winning 16 of those encounters. More stats here

Querrey vs Anderson:This is going to be a close match. Both players have some of the best serves in the game. Both players have been consistent this year and have made it to the latter stages of many tournaments.

Head 2 Head: They have met 14 times, with Querrey having the slight edge with 8 wins to Anderson's 6. This one could go either way as the stats clearly show

Carenno Busta vs Schwartzman: Another first meeting. This is probably the unexpected match. The novelty of the match in itself is intriguing. I cannot make a call on this one. I haven't watched either one play often enough.

Head 2 Head: First meeting.. for some stats on their careers, take a look here

Ka Pliskova vs Wandeweghe: I think the names here say a lot. I personally love Pliskova's style, and I am hoping she gets through this match. But, Wandeweghe is reaching her potential and is improving steadily. She is playing more aggressively and has the drive to win every match she plays. I want Pliskova to win this one, but I believe it will be a tough game

Head 2 Head: This will be their 5th meeting. Each winning two of their previous encounters. The key to the matches so far has been the first set. This one is even-stevens

Keys vs Kanepi: Another American in the quarters this year. The US is finally getting in more players making it to the latter stages of tournaments, and climbing the ranks (after a rather long hiatus). The last, and only time the two played Kanepi came out the winner. But two years down the line, Madison Keys is a relatively different player with a lot more to offer in terms of her game.

Head to Head: This will be their second encounter, and the first on a hard court. Some more info

V Williams vs Kvitova: Whoa! This has got to be the quarter final to watch. Just reading those names makes it exciting. If you watched Kvitova's last game, it sounds even more engrossing. I can't wait for this one.

Head 2 Head: Kvitova has won 4 of the 5 matches the two have played. The last time they met was in 2014 and it is telling that most of their matches have been 3 setters. This is going to be a battle, like their previous encounters

Stephens vs Sevastova: One of the first matches of Stephens that I watched was the 2013 Australian open when she won. There was something about how she played that match that suggested she could go places. Currently, it is good to see her regain some of the zest and energy. Sevastova's soft hands and skillful mix up of shots is going to be the key to the match - how well will Stephens read her opponents game, and will she have the correct responses?

Head 2 Head: The two have not met previously. Some interesting comparisons here

Talk about an open, open

Whoa! I finally got to watch a few matches to completion, and I can tell you, I picked the right ones to watch.

Yesterday's game between Shapovalov and Carenno Busta was thrilling. Each set had a scoreline that vacillated in favour of one, and then the other player. Each set was decided in a tie break. On one end, Busta was steady and played his shots out with external calm. On the other side, Shapovalov had some stunning winners, but I think the number of unforced errors from his side combined with his inability at the time to convert opportunities led to his loss. If the youngster continues to stay in form, and works on converting chances, he is going to be a force to reckon with.

Following them on court was Sharapova vs Sevastova. What a first set they played - and perhaps that set the precedence for the final scoreline. It really was good to see Sharapova play - I do believe there are areas of her game that have improved tremendously. But Sevastova made the most of a suffering Sharapova serve in the second set and after the first break she sealed it off by consolidating her service games. It was a deserved win for the Latvian, and a decent show for Sugarpova's first comeback grand slam - tennis is always more exciting with her around.

The quarter final matches are already looking interesting. After his incredible Wimbledon performance, Querrey saw off the younger Zverev brother to set up an encounter with Anderson who has made his way without fuss into the round of 16. Both players have fantastic serves and this should be a good game to watch. Carreno Busta vs Schwartzman is the other decided game. I haven't watched the latter play in a long time, but he can be a tricky customer. And the round of 16 games that will determine who joins the quarter finals will play out today - I'm calling it for Federer in 3 sets against Kohlschriber. The other three matches could go either way, and I expect 4 and/or 5 setters - let's wait and watch. This US open has pulled out far too many strange results!

If you thought the draw on the men's side was exciting wait for the women's draw: Kvitova has come out all guns blazing. What a win for her again Muguruza, to set up a quarter final against the mighty Venus. Stephens takes on Sevastova in the other decided quarter final who have never played a competitive match against one other. Madison Keys. And look at what there is on the cards for the remaining round of 16 games: Keys vs Svitolina - both are playing great tennis at Flushing Meadows, Safarova vs Vandeweghe. The other two games: Pliskova takes on another American Brady who is playing her maiden US open. On paper the number one seed should get through this safely, but if last week has anything to do with it, anything is possible. Finally we have the surprise match - Kasatkina Vs Kanepi. The former has not passed the 3rd round at any grand slam. Kanepi is ranked 513 in the world but has previously been to the quarterfinals at a grand slam.

I can't wait to watch some of this action...

Roger's had another long battle

Good morning!

There you have it - Looks like the Monfils vs Young match was entertaining as hell and a see-saw affair that took 5 sets to decide on a winner. And what is it with 5 setters, anyway? Look at Fed's second long match? 3 hours and 8 minutes is what it took for Fed to get through to the next round. Leading 6-1 in the first set, you would think that the match would have been straight forward. But the next two sets (scores considered) were interesting...interesting enough to have Federer clinch the 4th & 5th in his usual style; makes me wonder what goes on with the opponent at such times - it's an interesting debate that one.

So, Berdych is out - I was afraid he might quietly sneak into a semi final. I am kind of relieved that didn't happen because I just don't find him very exciting to watch. A little ooompfh is really a good thing. I'm super excited to see Thiem, Dogopolov, and Edmunds through. Oh, and yes, M. Zverev is holding on....

Speaking of oooompfh - you know while many of the women had straightforward victories, the manner in which most of them are playing is simply oooomphatic! Svitolina, Ostapenko, Kvitova, Muguruza - gosh, the list is endless, but boy is it exciting!

And the number of matches filled with possibilities is also increasing - look at these potentially tight matches to look forward to this evening (or morning depending on where you are): M Zverev vs John Isner, Rybarikova vs Muguruza, Makarova vs Navarro, Shapovalov Vs Edmunds.

Let the tennis madness strike...