Still in the family

Sir ? The nomination of Priya Dutt to stand for elections in the constituency of her dead father, Sunil Dutt, is populism at its worst (?Dutt seat for daughter?, July 2). Why is the baton always passed on to family members after the death of an elected candidate? Is it part of the great Indian political tradition? By confining seats within the family, the party only creates distrust in the minds of the electorate. Sonia Gandhi?s move, despite her insistence on impartiality, has set a bad precedent.

Yours faithfully,
Rahul Sinha, Berhampore

Winning streak

Sir ? Simon Barnes may have found Roger Federer?s Wimbledon victory for the third time in a row ?inevitable?(?Like Hamlet, this had an air of inevitability?, July 5), but Federer, quite obviously, is not invincible. Marat Safin and Rafael Nadal made that evident in the two previous grand slams of this year. But when it comes to Wimbledon, competitiveness seems to go out of the window. We have to see the same winner year after year. Federer?s opponents in the semi-final and final, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, showed no signs of an improved game-plan or strategy. Which only goes to prove that the standard of grass court tennis has gone down over the years. We may hold the torch high to light Federer?s face, but beneath it, the grass surface is sinking into darkness.

Yours faithfully,
Raju Maulick, Calcutta

Sir ? The Wimbledon men?s finals was tennis at its sublime best. Although the match between Federer and Roddick was one-sided, I enjoyed the quality and class of the game. It was obvious that Federer was calling the shots. His game is superior to that of all the tennis legends so far. It is difficult to predict how long he will be able to stay at the top. But once he steps aside, he will trigger off another bout of comparisons, this time about the relative ?staying power? of the tennis stars.

Yours faithfully,
Prem Luthra, Calcutta

Sir ? It was a pleasure to see Venus Williams run away with the Wimbledon women?s singles crown with her power game and never-say-die attitude. In the tournament this time, the ?baseline? game predominated, and the star players must have touched 135 miles per hour speed. Maria Sharapova, whom the champion defeated in the semi-finals, could have easily won the ?grunt-athon? championship had there been one. Roger Federer remains the coolest male player. Let us see if he can sustain his winning streak next year as well.

Yours faithfully,
Altaf Ladiwala, Mumbai

Sir ? Venus Williams has done it once again. Once written off, Venus is ?unputdownable? today. Pictures taken of her soon after the win capture her exuberance. As her mother pointed out in interviews that followed, the Wimbledon salver, after all, has come back to her after a long and painful wait.

Yours faithfully,
Aditi Purkayastha, Calcutta

Sir ? Mahesh Bhupathi?s victory in the mixed doubles final in Wimbledon is a slap on the face of those who had thought he could survive only under the shadows of Leander Paes. Bhupathi has won eight of his target of achieving 10 grand slam titles. It won?t be long before he gets the rest.

Yours faithfully,
S. Poddar, Calcutta