Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Watching Tiger Woods and Roger Federer back in action has been an exhilarating experience so far. Both looked quite rusty and far from their best.
But, thankfully, their enthusiasm and eagerness to get back into the groove was reassuring. The sooner they do the better for their respective sport.
The tennis and golf seasons have just begun and both Woods and Federer have a long road to traverse ahead of them. There is not only a lot of prize-money and records at stake but also immense pride and prestige.
Woods's lead at the top of the golf rankings has been steadily narrowed since he took a break after winning last year's US Open for reconstructive surgery on his left knee while Federer has already been upstaged by Rafael Nadal at the tennis summit.
Like Woods, Federer is also returning from injury - a back problem that forced him to take a break after losing to Nadal in the final of the Australian Open earlier this year. The Swiss is presently playing in an ATP tournament in Indian Wells and has scored a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over Frenchman Marc Gicquel in the second round.
Woods, on the other hand, struggled in the WGC-CA Championship in Miami, Florida, after an eight-month absence. He was five strokes off the leaders after the first round and double that number after the second. But the 33-year-old American staged a spirited rally late in the weekend to finish ninth overall.
Woods was in danger of losing his No. 1 spot, his most recent reign at 144 straight weeks, if Sergio Garcia had won in Miami and he himself had finished outside the top 26. After all, eight months is a very long time in golf and Woods had paid his price by seeing his 402-point advantage at the top dwindle to 20 over Garcia.
But Woods is happy with his progress and said as much after the final round in Miami.
"I've been away from the game for eight months (and) to come here and progress every day and get my feel of my short game, seeing shots, hitting shots; my distance control got better each and every day," said Woods who has already claimed 14 majors, the second highest, and 65 PGA Tour events, third all time best.
"I had figured it would take me a lot longer to get back. But this week was a big week for me."
Federer has also expressed similar sentiments. Like Woods, Federer is also considered the best player of his generation and rated high on the all-time greats list. He has 13 Grand Slams, just one short of Pete Sampras' record, 14 ATP Masters Series titles and an Olympic gold medal in doubles.
Moreover, Federer is to become a father for the first time soon. He's understandably over the moon. But that's not the same with some of his fans who have a keen sense of tennis history. They fear his impending fatherhood could affect his game and eventually curtail his career.
Bjorn Borg retired at 25 and his great rival John McEnroe did not win another Grand Slam once past it.
Also, father figures winning Grand Slams are a rarity. Borg had his first baby four years after retirement and McEnroe the first of his three children (with his former wife actress Tatum O'Neal) when he was 26. And though McEnroe continued to play for a few more years, he was never able to make it to a Grand Slam final again.
Ivan Lendl won his last Grand Slam title when he was 29. At that time, he was in the family way with his wife Samantha expecting their first child. Lendl in the next few years had four more children, all five girls, but never won another Grand Slam, according to an article I just read.
Sampras too had a similar fate. He won his 14th Grand Slam as a 31-year-old expecting his first child from wife Bridgette. A baby boy duly arrived, but sadly not another Grand Slam though he continued to play for a little longer.
A rare exception has been Andre Agassi. He also won his eighth and final Grand Slam as a 31-year-old but by then he and his wife Steffi Graf were already the proud parents of their first son, the 15-month-old Jade.
Federer fans will have a lot more to cheer about if they care to turn a few more pages of history. They will find one Jimmy Connors who was also 27, like Federer, when he became a father for the first time. He was already a two-time Grand Slam winner and, more pertinently, went on to win three more, the last coming when he was 31, just like in case of Sampras and Agassi.
But by then, Connors's arch rival Borg had already retired. Unlike, the present when Federer's own arch rival Nadal is only 22, injury free, in his best shape, both physically and mentally, and, more importantly, looking seemingly invincible.
By the way, he's neither married nor is known to be having a steady relationship.
Only tennis is on Nadal's mind right now and that is one more bit of bad news for Federer's fans.
Federer and Woods certainly have their own mountains to climb. But it's a journey I will give anything to follow.
