Living in the moment: Of rivals, injuries and momentum in an individual sport

Momentum and sports have a cosmic correlation. Any slight derailment to this all-engulfing force results in massive shifts in the immediate priorities, tampers with the set order of plans and mostly, causes performances to nosedive. And in cases where performances don’t take a nosedive, the lapse in momentum does lead to doubts being cast about a team or a player’s future.

It’s not about the cause though. Be it team sports or individualistic sports, the causes of loss in momentum rarely do matter. It’s the resultant effects of these lapses that are significant. But where in team sports, team members and substitutes can be expected to pick up a player’s slack, thus minimising the effect of the loss of momentum, the lack of substitution cover in individual sports makes it a dual-edged knife for players engaged in such individualised sporting fields. A rationale that ends up altering the perspective of the fans as well, on account of the paradigm shift in a sport’s level of competitiveness.

Rivals and rivalries bring out the best in any sportsperson. Rafa Nadal’s lasso-like potency provided a much needed contrast to Roger Federer’s single-handed domination, as did Novak Djokovic’s boisterousness divert the attention from the intenseness of the former two. Though Murray’s laconicism is yet to permeate fully, men’s tennis nonetheless remains a multi-dimensional facet, making it even more palatable to its connoisseurs. And in all fairness, while the fluctuating trait of women’s tennis does make the point somewhat moot, there’s however no dearth of rivals or rivalries that could render a viewer’s attention bland. Which is why, injuries as causation of jerks to a player’s momentum are completely unwelcome and hindering. Even more so, when a player – a rival – is cresting on a high; such, that it’s never seen before.

Hardcore fans may dispute this line of reasoning, but heart-of-hearts each one of us would – and rightfully should – disagree with our own assertions. A rival’s absence from the playing field, because of injuries, doesn’t really make things easier for the remaining crowd favourites. But it does stand to bring down the overall qualitative finesse considerably. And let’s face it, between a choice where favourites get easy crossovers and where their path gets blocked by a player of an equal – if not superior – standing, wouldn’t we want to see our favourite put to the test? As risky as it sounds, in case of a victory, it’ll come with the knowledge that our favourite was able to endure, outwit and outlast the rival. Be it three sets or be it five sets, at times tracking a longer-duration match is far more intriguing than following a straight set encounter which could get wrapped within minutes. Of course, there are matches where innumerable breaks and re-breaks make it impossible for the attention span to sustain, but most of the matches involving higher ranked seeds pass through this gauntlet.

Be it Serena Williams’ long absence from the game a couple of years ago, or Maria Sharapova’s unexpected shoulder injury halting her in her tracks way back in 2008; or the way Lleyton Hewitt’s career ended up as a pale shadow of what it otherwise could have been, or how tendinitis has tormented Rafa to the point of causing him to have second thoughts about his future in the sport, on more than one occasion. These are simply four names, but the actual list of players whose professional aptitude has been cut short by injuries is extensive and exhaustive.

The void left in the wake of these players’ forced abstinence still however remains. And any chance to see some of them at their best will stay confined to videos and match recaps forever. Maybe that’s why we ought to be glad for the here and the now, and the ones who make us revel in the moment. Like Rafa’s, who’s made yet another successful comeback and Nole, who still remains optimistic about taking on the tennis world by storm on clay, in spite of an unexpected mishap to his ankle. For even though a lot still remains unchanged in the sport, it’s their on-court rivalry that seems to be largely momentous right now.