THE BIG WIN
GQ India|January 2021
Why every inch counts
PRAKASH AMRITRAJ
THE BIG WIN

Life’s this game of inches. So is football. Because, in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small – I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it... The inches we need are everywhere around us… On this team, we fight for that inch… We tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the f*****g difference between winning and losing!”

These are legendary actor Al Pacino’s words as the fictitious Hall of Fame coach Tony D’Amato in the brilliant Oliver Stone film, Any Given Sunday. Over the years, this movie, and this speech, has meant a lot to me. I’ve seen it at least a 100 times – often before big matches during my tennis career. As I’ve grown older, it still holds meaning, but less with regards to sport and more with regards to life.

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