Lose to win

A strange thing happened in the Australian Open during the match between Karen Khachanov and Aleksander Kovacevic. Tongue twister. Not really. Filipinos breeze through classic names declassified to be unique but end up grotesque. Even the children struggle to write and say their own names. But at least they avoid being flagged when they apply for clearance from any wrongdoing. No guarantee either. Others thought to have one-of-a-kind names share it with unkind beings.

No need to name names. It is a matter of personal choice. Of the parents unfortunately, not of the child stuck with the name they neither chose nor like. For life. Except when they petition in court to change for a fee. But why spend money, what’s in a name anyway. Many, aside from identity. It represents deep meaning for the parents. Or their taste.

Whichever, Khachanov, or to say it easy, Karen, served against a breakpoint. Kovacevic, or to say it easy, Aleksander, or Aleks, or should it be Alex, returned the ball wide. But the ball kid wasted no time, caught the wayward ball before it landed out. The umpire called it let, or a game impeded and ordered to replay the point.

Incensed, Karen demanded the umpire to show him the rule. There is. It is premature to call a ball wide or long unless it touches the court. Or elsewhere. But because the ball kid saw it certain to drop wide, he caught it before it actually landed.

In all probability, the ball is wide. By a foot. The ball kid is right, but he preempted the inevitable. Karen is right too, but then rules are rules. No one is above them. Pretty much unlike in this country. Others may argue the umpire applied the rule too literally. But then no one knows for sure which part of the court the ball bounces on. A sliced ball may appear about to drop on one spot but lands elsewhere, within inches or a foot of each other. The beauty of tennis, no one knows what happens next.

There’s a thick line that separates probability from certainty. For if the result of a match is certain, it will never entertain. No need to play even. Tomorrow is never known today. But today knows yesterday. Though sometimes the present either chooses to forget or recreate the past. Or desecrate.

The umpire refused to budge. Pretty much like a resolute judge unsettled by pressure and influence. Replay the point. That’s the only way to answer what would have been. Do not wonder about what if. Wander with what is. But Aleksander the Great conceded the point. He also saw the ball was wide and refused to win a point he did not deserve. Pretty much like a few good men and women who live their lives with decency, integrity and equity. Pretty much unlike others who cheat their way to fame, fortune and power. Actually, it’s ugly much.