Kumar Sangakkara

Karachi: Senior-most pro Sachin Tendulkar isn’t the only one who had to choose between cricket and tennis. Kumar Sangakkara had to make the same choice.

The difference, of course, is that Sachin did so around a decade earlier — after India’s World Cup win in 1983.

“I was 16 or thereabouts when a reality check had to be done… I realised I wasn’t good enough to really make it big in tennis and, so, decided to concentrate on cricket,” Sangakkara, the dashing Sri Lankan vice-captain, told The Telegraph.

He added: “I grew up following the Boris Becker-Stefan Edberg rivalry… Following the closing stages of the Martina Navratilova-Chris Evert rivalry… Later, I followed Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Pete Sampras… Today, I just love the way Roger Federer plays… Nobody wants to be a loser, but Federer has that something extra…”

Grinning, Sangakkara hoped that Federer would again win at Big W, making it an awesome double hattrick. He’s already in the semi-finals.

Asked whether he had a favourite among the women players, Sangakkara quipped: “Not really… It’s best to watch women’s tennis… You don’t have to have a favourite!”

Incidentally, Sangakkara’s elder sister, Saranga, was Sri Lanka’s national champion at 16. “She could’ve gone places, but a rotator cuff injury forced her to stop playing,” he remarked.