Sporting Life

It's cold in Paris? Dig in and deal with it

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My Australian son-in-law and I play a yearly tennis championship for the prize of butter chicken and bragging rights. Alas I have beaten him only once, in Singapore, on a humid day when he, 20 years younger, wilted like a hydrangea in the heat. He was red-faced, huffing and close to throwing up. It was a beautiful sight.

He took it like a man and complained about the conditions for only six months. But in truth he understood: This is part of sport, these mad variables, this home advantage, this capricious weather.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 29, 2020, with the headline It's cold in Paris? Dig in and deal with it. Subscribe