Doing a ‘Novotna’ on us!

With the Wimbledon finals about to start this weekend, I have been thinking about the 1993 women’s final between Steffi Graf and Jana Novotna. This match is considered to be one of the classics in the history of this tournament which span over 100 years. In that match, after losing the first set to Steffi Graf (6-7), Novotna took an ‘all or nothing’ approach to her game. She rushed to the net like cougar at the beginning of every rally, putting away the returns of Graf before they hit the ground. Her racket looked like a magnet which picked every ball at the net and put away beautifully for points. Steffi Graf had no answer to this, and she looked bewildered and lost. Novotna won the second set easily (6-1), and raced to a 4-1 lead in the third and final set, with her serving just one point away from a 5-1 lead. The match appeared all over at that stage, it being a matter of minutes before Novotna hoisting the winner's plate. Probably that thought of being the new Champion, tightened Novotna. She decided to play it safe and somehow coast to a victory by holding on to her sizable lead. She stopped her attacking net game, and switched to a cautious baseline game. This was exactly what Graf wanted -- someone to rally with her in the baseline where the accuracy and length of her shots were hard to beat. Novotna lost her serve and the next four games in a row, giving a Steffi Graf a 6-4 win in the final set! It was one of the biggest collapses in tennis, and the poor Novotna cried bitterly on the shoulders of the Duchess of Kent who gave away the awards. I am worried that Barrack Obama is setting himself for a similar fate with his cautious ‘move to the center’ strategy. He had an amazing win over Hillary Clinton in the primaries, as a bold ‘change candidate’ different from the typical politicians who triangulate on every issue. His opponent John McCain will have a hard time to challenge that as majority of the people in this country are sick of the Republican Party, and want to elect a Democrat for change. Like Novotna was in the final set, Obama is set to win this election easily. I hope that he does not do a Novotna on us by safely playing to the middle, and losing everything!