Off-Court..

She says Rafa is better than Roger. She lays out a million instances for his glory - About his mastery on clay, his agility, his stamina, his hunger for victory. And this year, she continuous, it will be Rafa and his Corrida in Rolland Garros and after this year it would be just Rafa’s Capote that French people would talk of.

He just sits back and listens.

She then goes to say about the serve, the fastest servers, and the unbelievable -the one that curve into, the one that eludes you by a whisker and then she moves on the great match, grand slam matches that he hasn’t even heard off. He wondered if there is any thing else in this female’s mind apart from Tennis!!

Then, again, she comes back to Rafa. She says about his Girl friend, his role model and writes another masterpiece with ever inexhaustible vocabulary.
He thinks she was born on a tennis court with Rafa as the midwife (or mid husband!!).

For second she becomes silent. And he just grabs that opportunity.

“Were you in the college tennis team or something like that? “ He was genuinely curious.

“No…I was not that…athletic” – she tries to reason.

Now his eagerness prompts “Have you watched any matches – maybe Chennai open?”

“No..never… I didn’t have the company to go last time …” She says with despair.

“Have you ever seen a tennis court?” He mocks.

She doesn’t reply. Only silence answers in its vague, yet emotional way.

He bites his lips; he knew he had asked the wrong question. Catastrophe caused couldn’t be undone yet he asks “let’s make the next team outing to Rolland Garros and see Federer winning it!!”

She turns around with glimmer in her eyes and says “Correction, Rafa winning it!!”