Random Thoughts

Roland Garros 2011 saw Federer come into the tournament not as one of the favorites for the first time. It saw Federer come in as World No. 3, pretty much away from the limelight. This time, it was Djokovic who received all the attention and Nadal who was under the scanner for not having had a good enough season by his standards. And, this time, Federer was thrown questions about all the other players, when its usually the other way around. They said Federer can no longer defeat any of the top players. They said it is the end of the Federer-Nadal rivalry. They said Djokovic is the new guy in the mix, and he will now replace Federer in the greatest rivalry that tennis has seen. But, Federer went about his business quietly, not bothering about what anyone else was saying. And indeed, he reached the semifinals quite easily. Djokovic, on the other hand, was constantly under media limelight. He was the "in form" guy and therefore, the tournament favorite. He was on a 42 match win

Your first time out of your country is a very special experience. It opens up a whole new facet of life before you. You want to just absorb everything that you see. My first (and, hopefully not the last) trip abroad was to Italy. I took in everything-the people, the place, the beautiful statues, piazzas, churches, castles, the food. Well, one has invariable read about all this already. But, when you experience it firsthand, it is something else!  TRIESTE: I was put up at ICTP in Trieste. And, the first thing you notice about Trieste is its calm blue sea. I took many walks along the sea shore, and when you're there, you feel there is no place else where you want to be. You can just sit and stare at the sea for hours. You see sea gulls gliding over or just sitting on the huge rocks, you see the ducks swimming about on the shallow waters next to the shore, you see someone sitting calmly with a fishing rod in one hand and a book in another, you see schools of small fish and jelly fi