Explaining Nathan McSweeney facing Jasprit Bumrah in his debut series in Tennis terms
The 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia has already witnessed several ebbs and flows in the first six days of action across two Tests. The hosts are storming towards a series-leveling victory in the ongoing second Test in Adelaide after India's stunning win in the series opener.
Any battle between the two arch-rivals is never short of high-octane action on the field, a few controversial moments and many other sub-plots. While individual duels between the star players have expectedly dominated the headlines, a possible David vs Goliath tussle between Nathan McSweeney and Jasprit Bumrah has gone under the radar.
After Australia pondered several opening options in the wake of David Warner's retirement earlier this year, the wheel of forture finally spun towards McSweeney's direction for the all-important India-Australia series.
The 25-year-old from Queensland, renowned for his gritty, tenacious and old-fashioned Test batting up against the Master that is Jasprit Bumrah, who is on the doorsteps of GOAT discussions with the new ball - a role-reversal from the days of Matthew Hayden facing rookie Indian new ball bowlers.
Nathan's nightmare against Bumrah's brute - A reflection of the first Test in a nutshell
India's thumping 295-run victory in the first Test at Perth can easily be summarized by one battle - debutant Nathan McSweeny's tortured stay against a brutal Jasprit Bumrah.
While batting for long periods maybe McSweeney's prowess in the Australian domestic circuit, the champion Indian pacer was having none of that. Bumrah dismissed the young Australian opener in both innings for paltry scores of 10 and 0 in a combined 17 deliveries.
The comprehensive manners of the dismissals seemingly rattled the rest of the Australian lineup as they scored 104 and 238 to suffer a first Test defeat in their fortress, Perth Stadium.
While McSweeney's ineptness against the highest quality of new-ball bowling in Bumrah was evident, the youngster needn't hang his head in shame.
For inspiration, he only needs to look towards a sport like tennis where an upcoming player struggled to overcome an established great at the peak of his powers.
Yes, we are talking about the player most Tennis fans consider the GOAT - Novak Djokovic and how his tale of two halves against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal defined the golden era of the sport from the late 2000s to the early 2020s.
Novak Djokovic - Tennis' perennial bridesmaid amidst the 'Fedal' domination
Serbia's Novak Djokovic took no time in becoming Tennis' perennial bronze medallist, behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the second half of the 2000s. With solid groundstrokes and a never-seen-before returning ability, Djokovic epitomized consistency from 2006 to 2010.
Yet, he had negligible silverware to show for his efforts, thanks to Federer and Nadal taking turns to sweep all the major titles. While the Swiss master was on 16 Grand Slam titles at the end of the 2010 season, the Spanish warrior was fast hunting him down with 10.
And both feasted on Djokovic in big semi-final and final one after the other, resulting in most fans and experts concluding the Serbian will likely finish as the South Africa and New Zealand in Cricket Worlds - 'So near yet so far'. Djokovic did breakthrough in 2008 with his maiden slam in the Australian Open but that was his last joyous moment in a big event until the end of the decade.
The Federer-Djokovic head-to-head at the end of 2010 read 13-6 and the Nadal-Djokovic one read 16-7.
Grand Slam titles after 2010: Federer - 16, Nadal - 10, Djokovic - 1.
Keep these numbers in mind as we deep dive into one of the most remarkable turnarounds by an athlete in sporting history.
Djokovic 2.0: Turn of the Tide to Ultimate Conquer
Anyone who predicted Djokovic, Federer and Nadal's current numbers in 2010 must turn into a professional sports bettor if he or she already isn't.
After taking turns to dispatch Djokovic during the first quarter of his career, Federer and Nadal often suffered unbearable heartbreaks at the Serbian's hands for the majority of the 2010s.
Since the dawn of the 2011 season, Djokovic took it upon himself to eradicate every minute misstep that was preventing him from overcoming the Fedal (Federer and Nadal) hurdle. The overall game improved a touch, resilience even more and most importantly the belief to overcome all odds.
And now the head-to-heads read:
Federer vs Djokovic: 23-27, Nadal vs Djokovic - 29-31
Grand Slam titles: Djokovic - 24, Nadal - 22, Federer - 20
The math is self-explanatory on how much Djokovic has defeated the Federer-Nadal duo in individual battles and overall tournaments since 2011.
How McSweeney could use Novak Djokovic's words to overcome his kryptonite
As celebrated as Novak Djokovic is today, his journey began similar to Nathan McSweeney's - touted to become the next big thing only to be found wanting giants of the game.
The Serbian has often credited his two chief rivals for shaping his career to what is now and how they brought his best version out.
In an interview a few years back, Djokovic said about Federer and Nadal:
"It took me three years to win my second Grand Slam and I was No. 3 in the world for those three years. I was also No. 2 in 2009 and I was playing at a very high level, but I couldn't get to win Grand Slams because of those two. They dominated everything. I didn't have the formula to beat them. I was able to win one or two matches against them, but not the important ones."
He added:
"Those three years were crucial for my development. They made me hungrier to win, especially against them. I knew that if I could find a way to be like those guys in the big matches, and I knew a lot of that came from here (mind), I could somehow figure out the Grand Slams and start winning more. And that's what happened."
That said, expecting McSweeney to do a Djokovic might be a bridge too far (or so we assume now prematurely as many would have done with Djokovic himself in 2010).
However, the 25-year-old already displayed a willingness to evolve and fight it out from the Perth to Adelaide Tests. Following the forgettable debut at Perth, McSweeney came out to bat in Australia's first innings at Adelaide with almost all odds stacked against him - pink-ball, under lights, green pitch and the sight of Jasprit Bumrah.
Yet, the resolute right-hander rode his fortune and mixed courage with conviction to score a valuable 109-ball 39, indicating a step in the right direction for Australia's sake.
The rest of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will better answer if McSweeney vs Bumrah turns into a David-Goliath battle. However, for the time being, Australian fans can be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief at the prospect of their opening issues being sorted in the wake of McSweeney's promise under duress in the ongoing Adelaide Test.