LINUS FERNANDES

Li Na: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

What she said:

“Age just paper.It’s just plus one.”

Li Na says that the age factor in the women’s final is not such a big deal.

What she really meant:

“Hell, Francesca’s just a year older than me.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“Ageism? What’s that?”

Randomly setting off cricketing (and non-cricketing) fires

A few random thoughts:

We are into the second day of the Lords’s Test between Sri Lanka and England. The home side leads 1-0 following a devastating collapse by the Lankans on the last day of a boring first Test. We don’t need T20 if we can have wickets falling like nine-pins in less than an hour.

Now, if only we had a way of figuring out which session of a Test match will have all the excitement. I’d buy season tickets.

The evening of the final days’s play in the first Test was also an occasion to trot out over-used clichés about the game:

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Rahul Dravid: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"From being a master blaster, he is now a mistake-proof batsman."

Rahul Dravid describes the changes in Sachin Tendulkar’s approach to batting over the years.

What he really meant:

“Sachin is impossible to get out until he gets out.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Mistake-proof—that’s a fantastic new term. Is it patented?”

Roger Federer: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"It’s a good present because he [Nadal] had been struggling against him lately."

Roger Federer plays some mind games before the final claiming that he has done his rival, Rafael Nadal, a favour by knocking out Novak Djokovic.

What he really meant:

“Whom would Nadal prefer meeting in the final? An older foe or a younger one?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’ll roll over and play dead.”

Li Na: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

What she said:

“I’m not old. Why do you think I’m old? I feel I’m still young."

Li Na is not old—according to her—on the WTA Tour.

What she really meant:

“Age is a state of mind.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“I’m a spring chicken.”

Francesca Schiavone: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

What she said:

"Okay, we only have about 70 million. But we have big hearts."

Francesca Schiavone is heartened by just 70 million compatriots’ support for the French Open final.

What she really meant:

“Numbers? Numbers mean nothing to me.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“Italians have heart problems.”

French Open 2011: Can Roger Federer and Li Na overcome?

He did it.

Roger Federer is through to his first major final since the 2010 Australian Open.

He was written off. Yet he bounced back.

Novak Djokovic can console himself that he almost took the match into the final set. It says a lot for the progress he has made in the past six months. His confidence has skyrocketed and setbacks are to be met with unequivocal defiance.

Federer may not have captured a Slam in over a year but he was unlikely to let a 2-0 lead in a Grand Slam semi-final go to waste. The writing was on the wall. The Djoker delayed the inevitable—splendidly.

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Novak Djokovic: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

"It was best five months of my life."

Novak Djokovic comments on his 43-match winning streak after losing to Roger Federer in the French Open semis.

What he really meant:

“It was the best five months of my life.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“It was the worst five months of my life.”

Sachin Tendulkar: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

What he said:

“Satisfaction is like engaging the handbrake and hoping a car moves forward.”

Sachin Tendulkar says he is never satisfied while speaking to ‘Sky Sports Magazine’.

What he really meant:

“Satisfaction is a self-erected barrier to further successes.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“My replies are mechanic.”

Francesca Schiavone: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

What she said:

“Or you are a big, big talent or now you can find 28 or 30 years old, and they use experience, they use body, mind.So for young player is much tougher now than before.”

Francesca Schiavone makes it clear that in the battle between youth and experience, the older players have the upper hand.

What she really meant:

“Body, mind and spirit together with experience makes for a formidable combination.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“I’ll hand you a walkover because you’re younger than me.”