CRAIG CIGNARELLI SHARES HIS VIEWS ON TENNIS – ‘BOUT “SETTING 2017 AFIRE!”

Written by: Staff on 21st December 2016

CRAIG CIGNARELLI SHARES HIS VIEWS ON TENNIS - 'BOUT “SETTING 2017 AFIRE!" |

There’s something about torches. Mary Shelley wrote about the ones the villagers used to track down Frankenstein. Muhammad Ali carried one up the steps on his way into Olympic history. They’ve been used to illuminate catacombs, to signal the British arrival, to signify Freedom in New York’s harbor.

The torchlight though is a`small flame which represents a frontier, a path ahead. It is a match to stoke the fires beyond. Rarely, however, do we talk about the light. Most often, we focus upon the torchbearer, that stalwart of fortitude whose courage and curiosity propel him/her to the forefront of the masses. The torchbearer defies danger and takes risks in spite of the unknown. She/He emerges from the crowd, summons up a resolve, clasps the torch handle, tilts the head, and marches into the face of adversity. There’s a level of courage here, which merits moments like Olympic torch lighting and war announcements and the genesis of an idea. To be a torchbearer requires a level of grit only the rare few will understand. Bruce Lee once asked his little brother to do push-ups until he could do no more. Teary-eyed and embarrassed, the boy repped out ninety-six and then shook upon his weary arms, to claim, “That’s as far as I can go.” Bruce removed a revolver from his hip, placed it against his sibling’s head and said, “Do five more or I shoot.” Whether this is urban legend or a call to arms (as it were), it is believable because we know what Lee represents.

As 2017 approaches, one hears murmurs from the crowd. When 2016 ended, a committed Brit had just taken the torch from an emotionally decaying Serbian. With a curled lip and shoulders wide enough to support a burden, Andy Murray now stares into the future’s frontier. For how long though? HIs trek to the front has been one of sustained trudging, desperately clawing at Djokovic’s coattails until the man wilted from the thin air of the front (apparently, even hyperbaric chambers cannot sustain one atop the mountain forever). Eventually, Andy will succumb to fatigue, to age, to a test of his resolve which he can no longer meet. Then what?

On the women’s side, Serena has held the torch upon perfectly-formed deltoids for nearly a decade. By now, her trophies are weighing her down and she may be ready to retreat into the yellow haze of history. Kerber relieved Williams of her role for a spell, but will she maintain atop the mantle?

I think those are the questions for 2017. The masses are now stirring with anticipation of a new leader. A few recognizable names wander toward the breach – Thiem, Kyrgios, Raonic – Keys, Konta, Svitolina, – but none of them appear ready to push-up to the gun barrel hollow edge. Behind them, some youngsters are watching, trying to find a pathway through the crowd to seek the light, to assume the torch, to lead the mob. In January, the tennis year will begin. Winter’s darkness will succumb to the flames of competition. Another Phoenix will rise. And we will watch the skies to see new Gods revealed.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Craig Cignarelli, Dominic Thiem, Elina Svitolina, Jo Konta, Madison Keys, milos raonic, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams, sports news, Tennis