IS Serena Williams 35 years old? And is Roger Federer 35 years old, too?
If yes, then why are they still playing tennis? Competitive at that? And becoming gallant winners even?
Aren’t they of the retiring breed? Stud-bound?
Who do they think they are?
Wonder Woman Serena?
Superman Roger?
And, look: How come they are still queen and king in an arena they should have left a long time ago, winning the Australian Open women’s and men’s titles, respectively, last weekend?
What were they trying to prove?
Knee-power is forever?
Father Time is beatable, after all?
Oh, youth, where are you? Whatever happened to vigor, elixir?
Where have all the game’s youngsters gone?
Has tennis ran out of players that could run as fast as Usain Bolt as to be able to chase with ludicrous ease—and successfully return—even the most blinding down-the-line shot one can ever imagine?
Or do we now have a bizarre reversal of roles, the elderly suddenly supplanting the game’s resident artists—specifically those belonging to the 30-and-under segment?
Ah, and I thought the legs always go first before the mind.
What, not anymore?
That seemed to be the case in the Melbourne victories of Serena Williams and Roger Federer.
So, have the duo started a revolution for the thirty-fivers to come forward and smash the march of the twenty-something tennis upstarts led by the Zverev brothers?
Even Venus Williams has joined the seniors rebellion.
At 36, when she was supposed to be watching the Australian Open on TV—seated on a rocking chair sipping vintage wine—Venus instead was at the famed Rod Laver Arena, trying to stop sister Serena from pocketing her record 23rd Grand Slam title.
Venus was deflected—but of course.
Even as Venus made history herself with her Australian Open final appearance, she is damaged goods already before Saturday’s clash with Serena.
In 2011 Venus contracted Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease. Although she had battled back, not even a handful believed she could win an eighth major—five of which came in Wimbledon, her favorite trophy.
By 2014 Venus fell out of the Top 100 and only advanced past the third round of a major once.
But her finals advance in Melbourne was deemed sensational and a record of sorts, coming 14 years after Venus reached the Aussie final in 2003.
Venus lost the crown to Serena in two sets last Saturday, but she won the hearts of a crowd that watched the oldest finalist in Australia give it her all against all odds.
Welcome to the world of the elderly.
THAT’S IT Tiger Woods got cut last week, spoiling his first serious bid for a comeback. He has 12 weeks or so to prepare for the year’s first golf major, The Masters, in April. As I keep saying, only a miracle could make Woods, 40, a major winner again after scoring his 14th and last major in the 2009 US Open…. Are they serious? Unless the courts intervene, they are going to tear down soon the iconic Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on Vito Cruz, Manila, to make way for the construction of a new mall. Next thing on the agenda might be this: Luneta will morph into a food park, complete with ukay-ukay stuff. That’ll be the day….