On sports: Federer win the latest battle of the generations

When Roger Federer beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in bookend-like fashion, 6-4, 6-4, to win his eighth Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship crown on Saturday night, it marked his 100th career title.

Federer gave a stunning performance that lit up the Emirates. He needed just 69 minutes to beat one of the rising stars of tennis, Tsitsipas, who is almost half as old as the 37-year-old tennis icon. Federer proved once and for all that age is just a number.

In the latest battle of the generations between Federer and Tsitsipas – their third this year and first since Tsitsipas ousted Federer in the round of 16 at the Australian Open in January – the evening belonged to Federer, much to the delight of so many in this Arabian Desert city.

Before the match, Federer was quoted as saying, “I’m just going to try to focus and play good tennis.”

Federer did more than just play good tennis. He came out focused from the start and broke Tsitsipas in the opening game. OK, game on! Playing brilliantly at times, and with a chess master’s mentality lining up his moves, Federer kept Tsitsipas thinking on his feet. He opened up the court and continually applied pressure, moving the young Greek star back and forth across the hard-court surface. Although Tsitsipas attacked Federer’s backhand often, the Swiss maestro proved up to the task and even capped one particular 23-shot rally with a lovely, back-handed half volley winner that brought the capacity crowd to its feet. Later, Federer saved the only two break points he faced after going up 40-0 while serving for the first set. Finally, on his fourth set-point opportunity, Federer secured the elusive point to move to within one set of making tennis history.

Next, the two finalists stayed on serve through the opening eight games of the second set, before Federer was able to put together a string of four straight brilliant points on his return that broke the 20-year-old Tsitsipas. The service break pushed Federer ahead for good and put himself in the position of serving for the match. Title No. 100 suddenly loomed big. As it happened, Federer wasted no time in wrapping up the historic evening by winning at love – game, set, match, championship – which closed the book on his eighth Dubai title.

Immediately after his milestone victory, Federer spoke about winning his 100th career title meant to him. He also hinted at how long he’ll be around chasing trophies. “I’m delighted, I’m so happy. It’s an absolute dream come true right now,” he said. Federer gave credit to Tsitsipas after he defeated the Greek hero, saying, “I don’t know if he was born when I won my first title. I think barely. ... Tennis is in good hands, regardless if I’m there or not.” Afterward, it was announced by tournament organizers that Federer will return to defend his Dubai title in 2020.

The free-spirited Tsitsipas, who won the Open 13 Provence in Marseille just a week earlier, took his defeat in stride. He knows there will be better days ahead for him. Tsitsipas managed to crack a smile while he was interviewed by longtime British tennis commentator David Mercer during the trophy ceremony. He spoke positively about watching Federer as a child growing up in Greece. Tsitsipas congratulated him on his career achievements. “I’ve been idolizing him since the age of six ... and now sharing the court, it’s even better,” he said. 

When it was Federer’s turn to wax poetically during the ceremony for his 100th, Federer told Mercer, “It’s been a long, wonderful journey. I have loved every minute. It’s been tough, but the sacrifice has been very, very worthwhile, and we’ll see how much more I’ve got left in the tank.

“I’m so happy I’m still playing. It all started as a junior world champion. It’s been great. I wouldn’t do it any differently.”

The history-making victory moved the 20-time Grand Slam championship to within nine titles of tying Jimmy Connors, the men’s all-time leader. While it took Federer 152 finals to reach No. 100, Connors reached his 100th in only 141 finals. 

Soon, Federer received many plaudits from current and former players and the media, via Twitter. Connors chimed in with his congratulations. “Welcome to the ‘Triple Digit’ tournament victory club @rogerfederer – I’ve been a bit lonely – glad to have the company!!!”

No doubt, Federer is a future Hall of Famer and his C.V. is an impressive one. Yet, despite his advanced age – for a tennis player – Federer continues to add milestones to it.

For instance, Federer has lifted a trophy in at least one tournament in 18 of the past 19 years. Since 2001, when he won the first of his 100 titles, the only year that Federer has come up empty was during his injury-plagued 2016 season. Also, with his 100th singles title, Federer moved twenty ahead of Rafael Nadal, who has won 80. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has 73 singles titles. Meanwhile, the remaining 97 players in the current Top 100 have garnered a combined total of 333. Let’s not forget, one-fifth (20 percent) of Federer’s singles titles have come at Grand Slams. He’s won eight Wimbledon crowns, six Australian Open, five U.S. Open and one French Open. Also, he’s won 27 ATP Masters 1000 titles, 22 ATP 500 series titles, 25 ATP 250 series titles and six ATP Tour Finals titles. 

During his press conference following his Dubai triumph, Federer was asked if he’s ready to go after 10 more titles to break Connors’ 109. He replied, “We live in a world where every record has to be shattered. Not for me, I’m just happy I’m still healthy. If I reach milestones along the way, it’s wonderful, but I’m really not here to shatter all the records.”

Putting it all in perspective. That’s Roger Federer.

In Between: Taking on gender politics without apology

On Sunday morning in Washington, D.C., my wife and I attended a sneak preview of In Between (Bar Bahar in Arabic), a bold and brassy Israeli drama written and directed by Palestinian filmmaker Maysaloun Hamoud about living Arab and female in Israel. The "in-your-face-but-not-in-your-face" film is set in freewheeling and secular Tel Aviv, where the fallout from Arab Spring has brought about a new underground of Palestinians who are enjoying never-imagined freedoms – they're caught up in a new social revolution, a new world order, if you will – yet, whose underground nightlife remains contemporary and ethnic.

In Between presents three very different women – a conservative, hijab-wearing Muslim university computer science student; a modern Muslim criminal lawyer who likes to party after hours; and a liberal, Christian underground scene DJ/bartender – who happen to share an apartment where they find themselves balancing their lives between "tradition and modernity, citizenship and culture, fealty and freedom." Each woman tries to shape her own destiny despite living in a conservative Arab society that's entrenched in patriarchy.

In In Between, there's a whole lot of young people who are thinking and behaving differently – a mixture of gay and straight culture – while breaking down sacred and sexual barriers. The film, which stars Palestinian actresses Mouna Hawa (as the beautiful extrovert Laila), Sana Jammelieh (as the artsy and closeted lesbian Salma) and Shaden Kanboura (as the somewhat näive but observant and studious Nour), is presented in Arabic and Hebrew dialogue with English subtitles and includes an exotic and pulsating electronica soundtrack. It is Hamoud's first feature-length film – she did it with Israeli funding – and it earned her a fatwa from her own people because of the frank and explicit subject matter it tackled: homosexuality, intoxication and drug use.

"I couldn't imagine this happening, but I am not surprised," said Hamoud, during a 2017 BBC Newsnight interview. "They didn't want to look in the mirror and see the ugly face that is put in front of them."

As we see during this non-rated 103-minute film, In Between also deals with a Jewish state that treats its Arab citizens with a sense of mistrust, which makes it even more of a challenge for Laila, Salma and Nour to be able to live free in a restricted society and defend their sense of independence from the familial values they no longer share.

Throughout In Between, suggests critic Susan Wloszczyna of RogerEbert.com, what is most intriguing is "how each woman is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them without any judgment on Hamoud's part." Another critic, Ella Taylor of NPR, writes that "Hamoud's narrative instincts can be broad, but she is rarely glib or coy. That she has chosen to focus squarely on internal tensions within the Arab community – the widening cultural and political gulf between the generations – is a mark of her courage, her bravado and her brutal honesty."

In his review of In Between, New York Times film critic A.O. Scott notes that the movie "is fatalistic about the local political situation, pessimistic about men and encouraged by the power of female solidarity. In other words, whether by serendipity or prophetic insight or some combination of the two, it's a perfect movie for the movement."

Adds Hamoud: "The thing that's really touched me is when women come and say 'you are inspiring for us'. I cannot ask for more than this."

In awarding In Between best debut feature film at the Haifa Film Festival, the jury described it as "a powerful creation about women fighting to shape their fate by coping with challenges, through friendship, courage, victory, and by breaking free of shackles, and the price they pay."

In an age of #MeToo, In Between takes on gender politics without apology. I highly recommend this award-winning film, which has received limited release in the U.S.

Photo: Courtesy of Film Movement. Videos: Courtesy of YouTube.

Elvis Costello: A master of high fidelity and storytelling, too

Elvis Costello / Charming crowds with his music and storytelling.

Elvis Costello knows how to charm the pants off an audience. He's done it successfully for the past 40 years as one of his generation's greatest songwriters. Now, with a simple wink, a friendly smile, or just the right choice of words and upbeat tone of voice, the bespectacled and iconic English musician who was once described by a critic as a "pop encyclopedia," is delighting crowds with his good-natured manner and geniality of conversation. He's become a master of the craft of storytelling.

Last Thursday evening's City Arts & Lectures event at the Nourse in San Francisco provided Costello with a forum for talking at length about his new memoir -- 'Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink' -- that (at a hefty but very readable 670 pages) shows Costello to be an intelligent, thoughtful, witty and lyrical writer.

In conversation with Dan Stone, editor-in-chief of Radio Silence, Costello showed why he's a wonderful conversationalist and gifted storyteller. Costello stood and read several passages from his memoir that recalled a mostly happy childhood growing up in a musical family in Liverpool, England, and the special relationship he shared with his father, Ross MacManus, who was a professional singer in a popular dance band. The younger MacManus recalled with clarity watching his father play afternoon dance gigs at the Hammersmith Palais in the 1961. By the end of the decade, Costello had gone into the family business, following in both his father's and grandfather's footsteps, and he took the popular music world by storm by the age of 24, replete with his black-framed Buddy Holly glasses.

Over the course of about 80 minutes, there were many funny and good-natured reminisces about Costello's coming of age, including: one of his first jobs as a data-entry clerk for cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden; the influence of the Beatles on both his and his father's musical careers; coming to play San Francisco for the first time in his early twenties back in the 1970s; and his infamous TV appearance on Saturday Night Live. Costello punctuated his fluid storytelling by sharing many candid family photos that were projected overhead on a giant movie screen for the audience to delight in.

While 'Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink' doesn't adhere to a linear chronology, what I have read thus far has been a fun and enjoyable read, and each chapter presents colorful highlights in Costello's remarkable life. The New York Times called 'Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink' "some of the best writing -- funny, strange, spiteful, anguished -- we've ever had from an important musician."

Throughout last Thursday's conversation and later, during a Question and Answer period with the house lights turned up, we learned why Costello, 61, is truly a music fan and delights in championing the works of other musicians such as country star George Jones, jazz pianist Allen Toussaint, pop composer Burt Bacharach, rock guitarist and producer T Bone Burnett, English singer/songwriter Nick Lowe, former Beatles icon Paul McCartney, and hip hop/neo soul band The Roots, to name just a few whom Costello has collaborated with over the years.

But wait, the best part of the night was yet to come. Without any prompting, Costello asked the audience: "Hey, you wanna hear a song?" The sold-out audience at the Nourse responded by amping up their already enthusiastic applause. Before the cheering could fade, an acoustic Gibson guitar was brought out and handed to Costello to play and, quickly, a stool, microphone and music stand were in place for "the show" to go on.

Thus, Elvis began an impromptu "mini concert" by performing a very meaningful and moving -- and slowed-down -- version of "Every Day I Write the Book" from 1983's Punch the Clock, followed by "I Hear a Melody," originally recorded in 1977 for his debut album My Aim is True. Finally, a medley of "Radio Sweetheart/What Jackie Wilson Said," the former penned by Costello and the latter composed by Van Morrison, brought the crowd to its feet. The night was complete.

Photo images: Courtesy of 'Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink', 2015.