Somdev ‘left’ to cover fresh angles as unfamiliar foe looms
NEW DELHI: Up until the Middle Ages, ‘sinister’ did not exist in the English language. When it was finally loaned from Latin via French, the word retained its original meaning: left-handed. It was only later in the 15th century that ‘sinister’ acquired, well, ominous proportions.
More recently, a French neuroscientist who studied left-handedness in sport over several years found that they have a congenital advantage because of how the human brain is wired. Guy Azemar’s 1966 study goes on to talk about the left and right hemispheres, space management and distribution of functions.
With all due respect to Monsieur Azemar and his countrymen, there could be another rather simpler reason — unfamiliarity.
Left-handers make up a mere 10 per cent of the population, which means there is a much higher percentage of right-handed tennis players who take on each other. Left-handers though play against right-handers all the time. Righties rarely face lefties.
A junior player doesn’t face many left-handers and is unaccustomed to the angles and spins that come off the racquet. It is precisely the reason why uncle-cum-coach Toni Nadal encouraged an eightyear-old Rafa to switch to playing left-handed.
A left-hander’s out-wide serve is another potent weapon against a right-hander. When left-handers serve on the advantage side of the court, they can use the slice serve to swing the ball out wide to the right-hander’s backhand. Put some topspin on the forehand and the ball kicks more, making it even more difficult to defend. TRICKY OPPONENT Understandably, India’s Somdev Devvarman is concerned ahead of the second singles on the opening day match against Jiri Vesely.
“He is a leftie, which makes him a tricky opponent,” Devvarman said of his opponent.
Aware of the danger, the 30-yearold called for the services of local player Divij Sharan — a southpaw — during Thursday’s practice session. Devvarman asked Sharan to “serve deeper” and also worked on his backhand against the wide serve. However, the world No 164 will still have his task cut out against Vesely — former junior No 1 and boys’ singles and doubles champion at 2011 Australian Open.
In addition to the stance, the world No 40 has a lot more going for him. While not dependent on superior power or a particularly big serve, the Czech player has a fondness for hanging in the point. The 6ft 6in player covers the ground well, and most importantly, is rar
ing to go.