Virat Kohli, who recently retired from T20Is and Tests, drew parallels between the pressure of high-stakes tennis and the intense scrutiny that surrounds India-Pakistan encounters and World Cup knockouts. Kohli, attending Wimbledon on Monday alongside his wife, actor Anushka Sharma, was struck by the relentless mental demands placed on tennis players.
The former India skipper remarked that what tennis players endure on a near-weekly basis is akin only to the sporadic but searing pressure faced by Indian cricketers during marquee clashes against Pakistan or in World Cup knockouts.
“I think the experience (in pressure situations) can be similar. But the intimidation factor and the pressure that would replicate for us in a World Cup game, a World Cup match between India and Pakistan or a semifinal or a final of the World Cup, your legs are shivering because of sheer pressure,” Kohli said during the interview telecast on `Star Sports`, during a conversation with tennis legend Vijay Amritraj during the day`s proceedings.
“But these players might be facing that from the quarterfinal onwards to the final, which I think is a lot of pressure to handle. I have a lot of respect for tennis players for playing with that composure and maintaining that level of fitness and mental toughness,” added Kohli.
Kohli, widely regarded as one of the modern greats, retired from Tests earlier this year with a formidable record of 9,230 runs in 123 matches, studded with 30 centuries. Reflecting on the nuances of the two sports, the 36-year-old noted that cricket rarely allows players the luxury of clawing back once the momentum slips away, unlike tennis, where a single set or point can shift fortunes dramatically.
“Different sports have different challenges. In cricket, one of the challenges is that you have to wait for a long period, you warm-up in the morning and then you come back and wait in the dressing room, as you don`t know when you are going to bat,” he said.
“Sitting there, reading the game, the situation changes so drastically. Here (in tennis) probably you have set conditions, you know what you are walking into,” he added.
Kohli didn’t shy away from expressing his hopes for the ongoing tournament. He wished for Serbian icon Novak Djokovic to secure his record 25th Grand Slam title, adding that his dream final would pit Djokovic against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning two-time champion. “I have been in touch with Novak (Djokovic) for a while now. We have exchanged a few messages and he has been gracious and kind to stay in touch.”
“I want Carlos (Alcaraz) and Novak in the final and probably Novak win the title because that would be tremendous for him at this stage of his career, and the whole conversation of being the greatest of all time, maximum number of Grand Slams and he deserves it,” he signed off.
