Numbers can be misleading. They tell you the facts, but not the stories that weave those facts. A bit like ends without the means.
Take a tennis match. The score-line tells you who won the match, but pretty much nothing else. It does not tell you how close the match can sometimes be, and how the guy who wins may not always be the one who played better. It does not tell you how long, and how intensely, a rally was fought, nor does it tell you the role played by that fickle lady called luck. It does not tell you about the exhilaration of an exquisite drop shot that caught your opponent unawares, or the agony when your perfect backhand lands just beyond the line. It does not tell you about the mental strength that makes you climb an insurmountable Everest even when you keep on slipping down, and the disappointment when your body gives in just when you have the summit in sight.
Numbers tell you that that a legend made it to the second round of his last professional Grand Slam, beating a 21young upstart 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7,7-5. They do not tell you how close the winner came to losing, and how valiantly he fought to win.
They do not tell you that a 21 year old Cyprian clawed back from two sets down and 0-4 in what appeared to be the penultimate set of the match to stage an Agassi-like comeback – against Andre Agassi. Had he succeeded, which he nearly did, he would have been the first man in six years to snatch away a 2-0 set lead from Agassi. And the last man to beat him in a Slam match.
Numbers do not tell you that this young man would have put a 36-year old legend out of his last professional match on his home ground, had he not suffered sever cramps - and how he still hung on, forcing several dueces and then holding on to his serve, despite being barely able to move.
They do not tell you how valiantly this young man fought back every time defeat appeared to be a certainty for him, and how he never lost his wide grin despite a partisan and hostile crowd. How he fought for every point as if his life depended upon it, even when playing seemed like a physical impossibility. Nor do they tell you about his magnanimity and graciousness towards a lucky victor.
Numbers do not tell you about the tenacity and hunger of a 36-year old man playing his last professional tournament, who fights for each point as if he is a youngster in his debut season, much less a man preparing for a comfortable retirement. A man who continues to push the boundaries of physical and mental endurance, constantly challenging himself, and in the process, some unlucky opponents.
They do not tell you that if this man uses all and sundry means at his disposal to secure victory – some fair, like his talent, hunger and perseverance – and some not so fair, likely an unruly and partisan crowd and his opponent’s physical weakness – you forgive him. For the world loves fighters, especially those who win.
Numbers do not tell you that like it or not, patriotism and sentimentality will count more than respect for talent, and money will continue tightening its vice over sports. Why else would an educated crowd loudly cheer a double fault by a gutsy player who was badly cramping, only because he was playing against their aging countryman? Or why the patronizing and idiotic commentator would make a statement like – ‘If Agassi loses today, the game of tennis would lose, the US Open would lose’. I couldn’t understand how the game of tennis could lose from the victory of a worthier man in one of the best matches in recent times, till I realized that an aging 36 year old American was the reason for packed Center Court attendance and record breaking TV viewership. Jimmy forgot to add that the game and the tournament would lose money.
Numbers also do not tell you if Andre Agassi is the ‘nice person’ that he nobly exhorted his colleagues to be at the start of this tournament, or merely a devious person hungry for victory. Was it Agassi’s conscience that made him nervous and repeatedly drop serve and net shots even when Baghdatis could barely move, or was he selfishly trying to prolong his opponent’s agony to force him off the court, thus denying him the possibility of a win. One would like to believe the former.
It is debatable whether Andre Agassi deserves to be in the third round of his last professional tournament. Or whether 21 year old Marcus Baghdatis deserves to return home after an awe inspiring comeback. ‘Deserve’ is always a matter of perspective.
What is beyond doubt is that I saw one of the best games of tennis I’ve seen in a while between two great players. And realized that sometimes there are no limits to human courage and endurance. And when you have crossed that line, there are no losers.
