A sports-loving husband is the reason I dove into ‘Centre Court’ by Sriram Subramanian, and I’m glad I did! The book, crafted around India’s top tennis player’s Wimbledon dream, is deftly written. The narrative flows effortlessly and the story keeps the reader riveted. It’s easy to connect with 41st-ranked tennis pro Shankar and his Pa (the narrators) and Ma whether or not you’re a tennis buff. The blow-by-blow account of Shankar’s experience at Wimbledon is accompanied by relevant flashbacks and has you rooting for the Indian underdog as he plays the tournament of his life against all odds. Giving depth to the narrative is a profound emotional undercurrent in conjunction with an illuminating glimpse of the sordid side of the tennis world.

‘Centre Court’ is at once educational and engaging. The plot is tightly woven and studded with divers astute observations and lyrical gems – the former jiggling the mind and the latter nudging the heart – with not even a certain bittersweet soupçon of mild romance permitting the story to digress from the central theme. Tennis is unequivocally and unapologetically the hero of the story and even I, indifferent tennis-viewer though I am, felt the hero’s charm, the pull of the sport.

I do have a bone to pick and that is with the publisher. The few typos that I spotted stood out like ink blots on a white shirt. This is a book that deserves to be flawless. Typos have no place in it.

Many thanks to Mr Subramanian for rekindling my interest in tennis, which had dwindled considerably after the era when Connors and Sabatini were my favourites. Returning to the reason I read the book – verily, quite delightful and a must-read for the sporty spouse!