The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Federer's invincibility shattered
Djokovic will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in
Sunday's showpiece

Melbourne, January 25
Roger Federer's invincibility was pierced, pummelled and finally pulled apart at Melbourne Park on Friday, the world number one brutally ejected from the Australian Open semi-finals by Novak Djokovic.

The Swiss champion and top seed fell 7-5 6-3 7-6, ending his bid to reach an 11th consecutive grand slam final. Instead Djokovic will face muscular Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's showpiece.

"Of course, I've created a monster, so I know I need to always win every tournament," Federer wearily told reporters. "But semis is still, you know, pretty good."

Where third seed Djokovic was thunderous, Federer was ponderous.

"It's unbelievable to beat the number one player in the world, probably the best this court has seen," Djokovic beamed.

"I was able to deal with the pressure in the best possible way. And if you do that against the best player in the world, you know, you should get the positive outcome."

This defeat was Federer's first in straight sets at a grand slam since he lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the 2004 French Open.

The holder of 12 grand slam crowns, his chase of Pete Sampras's record 14 is now on ice until the French Open begins in May.

Djokovic was simply too strong, too steady. Where Federer inched past him in the last grand slam final at the U.S. Open, the Serb was always a nose ahead this time.

Preparation hampered

Federer has failed to peak in Melbourne this year, his preparation hampered by a viral illness, and third seed Djokovic was more aggressive throughout.

"It's very difficult to play against a player who is so dominant on any surface," Djokovic said.

"He has been so successful in the last couple of years in Australia and he had the crowd behind him. I am amazed at the way I coped with the pressure."

Friday night marked Federer's 15th straight appearance in a grand slam semi-final. Not once in those previous 14 has he put in such a low-key performance.

Seemingly distracted, slow off the mark and uncharacteristically cranky with the umpire he was there for the taking.

It was the Swiss who grabbed the first break of the match but it was more a case of Djokovic needing to settle than Federer's superiority.

From trailing 5-3, the Serb reeled off the next four games to clinch the set.

Djokovic broke for 3-1 in the second, chasing down a glanced backhand volley and flicking it down the line.

He held a set point while leading 5-3 but Federer saved that with a rapier forehand down the line.

Shanking shots

Irresistible Serbian Djokovic received a time warning but immediately crunched a forehand winner to bring up a second set point which he took with his fourth ace before glaring at the umpire.

Federer raced into three break points for a 2-0 lead in the third set but Djokovic saw them all off with mighty serving.

Off the pace and frequently shanking shots, Federer looked in deep trouble but the pair were neck-and-neck throughout the third set.

Federer got a break point at 6-5 up but Djokovic held with a big serve to the backhand. The Swiss earned another a moment later with a piledriver forehand cross-court but again a big serve followed by a forehand winner saved the Serb.

His 13th ace silenced Federer and a clever drop-shot-volley combination forced the tiebreak.

Federer grabbed the first mini-break for a 2-0 lead but Djokovic would not be denied, punching back and clinching the tiebreak 7-5 to seal victory after two hours and 28 minutes. — Reuters

	Australian Open Bhupathi-Sania in final Keeping alive Indian hopes in the Australian Open, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza today set a smile on the face of Indian tennis fans as they won 6-4, 6-2 over Nathalie Dechy of France and Andy Ram of Israel in the semifinals of the mixed doubles competition here. The unseeded pair will now face the winner of the other semifinal between fifth seeds Tiantian Sun of China and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic and the third seeded pair of Chinese Zi Yan and Mark Knowles of Bahrain. Meanwhile, Yuki Bhambri of Delhi lost in the junior boys singles semifinal to local hope Bernard Tomic. Yuki put up a spirited fight before going down 0-6, 7-5, 1-6. — UNI
	Indian tail frustrates Aussies Ashis Ray Adelaide, January 25 The Indian tail wagged vigorously to perch India in a comfortable position at close of play on the 2nd day of a thus far absorbing 4th and final Test here at the heart-warming Adelaide Oval. Australia were still 462 runs adrift in the 1st innings, albeit with all 10 wickets in hand, after India had pegged a par-for-the-course total of 526. India’s ascendancy was achieved by rollicking partnerships for the 8th and 10th wickets of 107 and 58 respectively. Captain Anil Kumble (87) featured in both, with Harbhajan Singh (63 in 103 balls with seven fours) stroke-fully dominating the first and Ishant Sharma lending yeoman’s support in the second. These, after Tendulkar had departed on 153. Australia’s uncharacteristically cautious reply endorsed the challenge facing them. A reverse flick from Dinesh Karthik, substituting for R P Singh, narrowly missed running out Phil Jaques. Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, though, had toiled diligently on a heartless pitch to not only share seven of the Indian wickets, but in the instance of the former, at less than three runs per over. Twice in the last four years, teams have amassed over 500 runs in the 1st innings at the local Oval and yet lost the match - Australia in 2003-04 against India and England versus Australia last winter. But such drama is still a rarity and the defiant Indian lower order has certainly imposed a catch up role on Australia, if the latter are to preserve or improve upon their 2-1 lead in the four-Test series. Mahendra Dhoni disappointed again, unable to see off the shine in the second new ball as he skied Johnson to cover. But Tendulkar continued from where he left off on the 1st day, flicking the first ball he received to square leg for four. His 13th boundary raised his 150, but soon after, an inside edge on to his left knee - while facing Lee - left him hobbling and requiring attention. The very next ball, he hooked straight into the hands of long leg. It was a low percentage shot, for two fielders had been placed behind square leg to take advantage of precisely such a mistimed shot. But an even bigger attendance than the 1st day warmly acknowledged a masterly display. At 359 for seven and Lee breathing fire, Australia would have fancied terminating the Indian effort for less than 400. Indeed, Jaques floored a very sharp chance at forward short leg when Kumble was seven - Lee being the sufferer. But as the temperature soared to over 33 degrees centigrade, the Aussies began to wilt. And the captain joined by Harbhajan did full justice to a beautiful batting wicket by flaying the bowlers to all parts of the field. Harbhajan has always been instilled with flair to attack. He only needed to summon greater courage and tighten his defence. These he has accomplished of late. Half-centuries in consecutive Tests against the world champions are ample evidence of this. Indeed, he is only the second player - after South African Lance Klusener - to feature in hundred stands for the 8th wicket in successive tests. But the spirited Punjabi rather threw it away after a series of scorching drives, top-edging a sweep, which Adam Gilchrist caught running around to short midwicket. This, though, was not the end of the story, as Kumble found an able ally in Sharma; and the two frustrated the hosts until after tea. Scoreboard India (1st innings): Sehwag c Hayden b Lee 63 Pathan c Gilchrist b Johnson 9 Dravid c Ponting b Johnson 18 Tendulkar c Hogg b Lee 153 Ganguly lbw b Hogg 7 Laxman c Gilchrist b Lee 51 Dhoni c Symonds b Johnson 16 Kumble c Gilchrist b Johnson 87 Harbhajan c Gilchrist b Symonds 63 R P Singh c Johnson b Clarke 0 Ishant not out 14 Extras: (b-8, nb-13, w-3, lb-21): 45 Total: (all out in 152.5 overs): 526 FoW: 1-34, 2-82, 3-122, 4-156, 5-282, 6-336, 7-359, 8-466, 9-468. Bowling: Brett Lee 36-4-101-3, Mitchell Johnson 37.5-6-126-4, Stuart Clark 31-6-92-0, Brad Hogg 31-2-119-1, Michael Clarke 10-0-39-1, Andrew Symonds 7-0-20-1. Australia (1st innings): Jaques not out 21 Hayden not out 36 Extras (lb-3, nb-2): 5 Total (Without 21 overs): 62 Bowling: RP Singh 4-0-14-0, Irfan Pathan 6-0-17-0, Ishant Sharma 4-0-12-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-1-9-0, Anil Kumble 3-0-7-0.
	Bhajji hearing Did Stuart refuse to co-operate? Ashis Ray Adelaide, January 25 Closer examination of television pictures of rival cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds exchanging words during the 2nd Test at Sydney earlier this month, following which the latter complained about being racially abused, has revealed that Stuart Clark, the Australian bowler, passes them just then, but was not produced as a witness by the complainants. This evidence is expected to be placed before Venkatesh Manohar, the well known criminal lawyer appointed by the BCCI to represent Harbhajan in an appeal on January 29 and 30, for his consideration. Justice John Hansen of New Zealand has been named as the Appeals Commissioner in the case by the ICC. He will consider the matter at Adelaide, while Manohar pleads his case by video-conference from Mumbai. Legal adviser to Cricket Australia, Brian Ward and their in-house lawyer, Dean Kino will argue on behalf of Symonds. As far as the ICC are concerned, Justice Hansen’s verdict will be final in the matter. The Indian management’s contention is Clark was apparently nearest to Harbhajan and Symonds when these two were talking at each other. So, why didn’t Clark appear at the hearing before match referee Mike Proctor? Did he not pick up anything? Did he refuse to support Symonds? Clark is not known to be as close to Symonds as Mathew Hayden and Michael Clarke. Did he, therefore, refuse to co-operate? It is also pertinent that neither Ricky Ponting nor Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s captain and vice-captain respectively, heard anything, which they confirmed to Procter. Symonds admitted in front of Procter that he had used foul language in telling Harbhajan not to get friendly with Brett Lee - which amounted to unprovoked abuse. The Indian had patted the latter on the back. Seemingly, Lee did not object to this and, significantly, was also not one of Symonds’ witnesses. Proctor’s ruling was astonishing. On the face of it, it still looks a clear cut case of one side’s word against the other (with Sachin Tendulkar, reportedly, categorically conveying to Procter that Harbhajan never called Symonds a “monkey”), with no independent corroboration of either version. Field umpires heard nothing. The stump microphones - known to be quite sensitive - did not record anything, either. Unless the Australians come up with new, irrefutable proof of Harbhajan calling Symonds a “monkey” - which the former denies — it is hard to imagine under which principle of jurisprudence Justice Hansen will find Harbhajan guilty.
	Allan Border writes Tendulkar looks dominating India’s tour of Australia With just three days remaining in a series which has lived up to its reputation, India have done wonderfully well in Adelaide. At close on day two, they are in the box seat. Of course, there is a lot of hard work to be done. And it will take a mammoth effort for Australia to either win or draw the Test from here. More than analysing the match, I think a few words should be spoken about the Little Master. There was a lot of talk before Sachin Tendulkar hit the shores on how he hasn't been the Tendulkar of the past and how he is nearing his retirement. But he has proven all the critics wrong. His batting has been as good as anytime. His shot selection has been exemplary to say the least. Of course he hasn't been as attacking as he used to be in the past. But he looks more dominating at the crease now. You are scratching your head as to how to get him out. And that I think is signature of a great player. I was surprised to hear this fact yesterday that he has never scored 500 runs in a single Test series. While the fact that he has hardly played five-Test series, I think the fact that he is one of those guys who loves to score quickly has also made him more vulnerable. If he was tied down at the crease, he used to get impatient and make a mistake which has resulted in him not making as many big scores as by someone like Brian Lara. But that is not the case anymore. I think in the next couple of years we will see a lot of big scores. I guess before he finishes he might push close to 50 hundreds. It would be a great feeling and we will have to wait and watch whether the likes of Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis will be able to go past him. Coming back to the match, thumbs up for the Indian selection panel on tour for having decided to go into the match with five bowlers. And trust me, the move is going to pay dividends. One, R.P.Singh's injury is not going to be sorely missed. And two, with two regular spinners in the side I think they are going to be the key to the match's outcome. If Kumble and Harbhajan, backed by Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar, who has been underbowled despite being a dangerous customer especially when the ball is turning, are able to get the inroads on Saturday, I think India would have almost squared the series. Tomorrow is a very important day. This wicket is a very good one for batting but it does some tricks on the last two days. So if India converts all their catching opportunities and are able to get early inroads into that Australian batting line-up, they stand with a good chance to win the match. Having said that, the contribution of the tail has been just so vital. With seven wickets down, India were in danger of being bowled out below 400. And if that had happened, it would have put Australia on top. However, Anil Kumble, who has improved immensely as a batsman over the last two years, and Harbhajan ensured that they will have a good total to bowl to the Australians. Harbhajan throws the willow but don't forget he connects it very often. — PMG
	Adelaide Diary Happy and relaxed Ashis Ray Adelaide, January 25 A second day of a Test match is a serious working day for today’s professional cricketers. But it’s an 11 o’clock start of play, so there’s some breathing space in the morning. The Indian cricketers are lodged in a posh skyscraper of a hotel. Breakfast is, in fact, in a cafe at the premises, with a view of the red brick and white marquee stands and the four floodlight towers of the Adelaide Oval, the venue of the contest, across this city’s Torrens River. As the crow flies, it’s only a couple of hundred metres away. Rising times among the players vary. Some are early and already departing for the ground while others loiter in for the buffet. The men in blue - for this is the colour of their training attire - are sprinkled over different tables in no particular way. Anil Kumble is ensconced with Gary Kirsten, the side’s consultant and coach-select. From appearances, they are discussing strategy for the day and match. But the captain still has time to get up and greet you. No airs, just a well groomed person. Another cluster has Lalchand Rajput, labelled “assistant coach”, sitting with Mahendra Dhoni and Rudra Pratap Singh. Sachin Tendulkar joins them and, indeed, takes a seat beside Dhoni. They are the two not out batsmen; and the former, seemingly, takes the opportunity to share his perspective on resumption with his partner. Rahul Dravid is quietly tucking in at a slightly remote table; VVS Laxman is busy helping himself to some of the spread, which includes fruit juice, cereals, fruits, croissant to a variety of sliced bread, eggs, bacon, sausages, tea and coffee. Eating habits obviously vary; besides, some are hungrier than others. It’s a split between those who opt for a light or a heavier intake. Notably, the tourists give the impression of being happy and relaxed, which is a good sign, given that they are in the midst of a crucial test match. Tendulkar thinks not only will be wicket crack but also become powdery. The latter, according to him, will induce mistimed drives, making them fly into the air. Sourav Ganguly thinks the ball will start turning from the third day; but he is late. He walks in slightly bleary eyed - having possibly overslept. “Ki dada?” Tendulkar asks him. The Bengali babu hurriedly gulps down some fruits and tea. And races to the team coach for the short ride to the Oval.
	RP suffers hamstring injury Adelaide, January 25 India were dealt a big blow today with pace spearhead R P Singh suffering a hamstring injury during the second day's play of the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia. The paceman had bowled four overs during the Australian first innings when he suffered the injury. R P was treated for the hamstring injury after the day's play and the the team management will again assess his condition tomorrow. The Indians have opted to go into the crucial Test with a five-pronged bowling attack but their move could lose much of its sting if the paceman is not fit enough to bowl on the third day tomorrow. Replying to India's mammoth first innings total of 526, Australia were 62 for no loss at close of play on the second day. — PTI
	Procter clarifies Melbourne, Jan 25 Match referee Mike Procter did not consider Sachin Tendulkar's evidence in the Harbhajan Singh racial row because he thought the champion batsman was not in a position to hear what his team-mate had uttered during the controversial Sydney Test, a newspaper report claimed today. "I note that Sachin Tendulkar only became involved when he realised that something was happening and was gestured over. He tried to calm things down because something had happened that he did not hear," 'Herald Sun' attributed Procter as having written as reason to hold Harbhajan guilty. — PTI
	HP girl to play in Challenger Trophy Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Dharamsala, January 25 Eighteen-year old left-arm pace bowler Sapna Randhawa studying in 10 plus two in the senior secondary school at Ranital in Kangra district has been selected in the India-B women’s cricket team for the Challenger Trophy-2008. She is the first girl from Himachal Pradesh to get a place in the cricket team at the national level. She came into limelight in November last year when she played the national women cricket tournament for Himachal in the under-19 team and got 12 wickets for her state. Soon, she was picked up in the north zone team and performed well in the zonal national tournament held at Pune, recently. After that she got a place in the national squad. “It is really an amazing feeling for having included in the national team. It's a dream come true for me”, she said after getting a fax message from the BCCI this evening. Inspired by her uncle Gurdev Singh, she has been playing cricket for the past over six years. In 2006, she was selected in Himachal’s state team. Since then the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association has been providing her coaching and financial assistance to groom her. She has also been getting coaching from cricket coach Jaswant Singh and Yuvraj’s father Yograj Singh.