When does one retire?

Getting the timing of retirement for any sports personality is critical- it inks the legend forever! In Cricket, timing has mattered a lot to legacy. Don retiring with the infamous duck to leave his test average tantalizingly short of a 100, Gavaskar retiring with one of his finest innings of 96 in a lost effort against Pakistan, Steve Waugh retiring against India- those have all been momentous occasions.
Sachin, on the other hand, seems to be struggling with this.
There are several reasons.
One- he has played for India for well over 23 years, thats almost two thirds of his life. He doesnt know anything else.
Two- the uniqueness of the records- be it a 100 hundreds or 200 tests might be an incentive.
Three- there was still unfinished business after the World Cup, like beating Australia and SA on a more consistent basis.
But the moment is gone.
His retirement from one day cricket was done over Christmas, no real splashes there.
There is the new generation that is ready to take over- Kohli, Pujara, possibly Dhawan, Jadeja- move over Little Master. The old order changeth yielding place to new!

The official changing of the guard in Tennis

For the past few years, both men's and women's tennis have been fascinating to watch and this year's Finals indicate a real shift that happened. In the women's draw, no Serena or Maria and in the Men's Draw, no Federer or Nadal, two names that dominated Men's tennis in the last decade.
Andy Murray, with his Olympic gold and US Open title, is playing better than ever, and Novak is always an incredible contender and to think, he was almost knocked out by Wawrinka just goes to show how close the Men's tennis has become.
I am looking forward to the Final tomorrow.
As I write this, Azarenka is fighting from one set behind against Li Na. Both have been top players but neither has been consistent and to watch a really hard fought women's finals in the warm Australian summer is always a good sporting start to the year. It is indeed the official changing of the guard- in the Finals, no Nadal, no Federer, no Serena, no Maria- no problem- there is a lot of depth and that can only be good for the sport!