Of all the things that the end of the year means to all of us, to the diehard tennis fan it means being bereft and lonely for a month and a half. Now you might argue, and very aptly and correctly too, that that is the stupidest complaint you’ve ever heard. After all, the end of the year in India can mean a little bit of ‘cool’ into our hot lives, a welcome respite from eternal summer in some places and freezing cold in others.

In the hours between Sunday night and Monday morning, the tennis world more or less came to a standstill. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer at the ATP World Tour Finals, but whether you celebrated or mourned (most of us mourned, right?), you also felt a slight sense of loss. Pic/AFP