(culled from my email to Twisted's Jessica Zafra, reacting very excitedly to her Aug. 3 Philippine Star column. )
Hi Jessica,
This time, I can't resist emailing you (after reading 'You be the shrink').
Never fails to tickle me whenever you write about the tennis greats because I also adore Marat, the unpredictable Russian. I find his natural, spontaneous manner very engaging. When he walks around the court, I only see a giant good-looking teenager - the nineteener who defeated Sampras and who couldn't explain how he did it. (I'm always in a time warp when I watch him loping around, swinging his racquet or looking intently at the strings).
When he beat Sampras in the US Open, I didn't hate him even if I felt badly about Sampras' defeat.
Federer - I can't forgive him for depriving Pistol Pete (the greatest of them all) of a 2001 Wimbledon title. I know you admire him, but I call him Babalu.
Sampras - he affects me in a grand way. He moved me so much when he dropped on the grass after beating Rafter in Wimbledon 2000. Simply awesome.
By the way, I don't know the rudiments of tennis but years ago, I stayed glued to the TV everytime Safin, Sampras, Rafter were playing. Now, I only watch tennis when Safin is playing.
Haas? Used to like him because he looks good. It was just a momentary infatuation.
Best,
Samprasita
