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Fedex in semis
Padma Shri for VVS, six others
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Not many can do what Lee can:
Chappell
Never tried my hand at poetry: Sachin
Model School in final
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Fedex in semis
Melbourne, January 25 Caroline Wozniacki, under huge pressure to vindicate her number one ranking with a maiden major title, made heavier work of getting past a dogged Francesca Schiavone to reach her first Melbourne Park semi, where she will meet China's Li Na. With 16 grand slam titles to his name, Federer has nothing left to prove to anyone — least of all that he is the best player in Switzerland — and the defending champion simply outclassed compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 6-3. The second seed, gunning for his fifth Australian Open title, first defused Wawrinka's serve before picking him apart with his full repertoire of shots. "I think it was a good match for me," Federer said. "For some reason, I was able to return him well. On my own service games I was really good, too. I think that really set the tone for a good match for me." Wawrinka, who Federer fondly refers to as "Stan", said he was playing the best tennis of his life going into the first grand slam quarter-final between two Swiss but served just one ace compared to 24 against Andy Roddick in round four. "It wasn't an easy match for him," Federer added. "The scoreline suggests maybe it was easier than it looked like. He really got into the match, especially in the second set. But I was able to mix it up well and just keep him on his toes." Djokovic rampaged through the first set to silence Berdych's band of bare-chested cheerleaders before getting bogged down in a dogfight in a 78-minute second. Berdych, who beat the Serbian on his way to the Wimbledon final last year, unleashed his fearsome forehands to forge 4-1 ahead but Djokovic broke and celebrated with a fist-pump. The Czech suggested the third seed was "lucky" to win the tiebreak but there was no argument about the third set which Djokovic raced through in 38 minutes. "Today has been a real test, because he's ... a very difficult opponent," said Djokovic. ""I've played one of my best tennis (matches) in the last couple months. "I have nothing to lose playing Federer, who's the title defender here. We all know everything about him. I have to believe in myself in order to win that match." Wozniacki found herself a set and a break down to Francesca Schiavone, a player 10 years her senior, before rallying to overcome the tiring French Open champion 3-6 6-3 6-3. The 20-year-old nearly paid the price for her lack of aggression in a lively contest against the Italian, who bounded around the court from the start despite having less than 48 hours to recover from her four hour, 44 minute victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova. Schiavone hit 14 winners to one to claim the first set and moved 3-1 ahead in the second before four consecutive errors handed the momentum to Wozniacki who rattled off the next six games to take control of the match. "She's a very difficult player to play against because she's mixing it up quite a bit and she knows how to slice," said Wozniacki. "So it's very difficult, but I managed to keep my head cool, and it worked out." Li dropped her opening serve against Petkovic but recovered to dominate her opponent, hammering flat groundstrokes deep into the court to seal a 10th consecutive victory in 80 minutes. — Reuters |
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Padma Shri for VVS, six others
New Delhi, January 25 Besides Laxman and Sushil, the other five conferred with the civilian award were weightlifter Kunjarani Devi, shooter Gagan Narang, discus thrower Krishna Poonia, para jumper Shital Mahajan and mountaineer Harbhajan Singh. 36-year-old Laxman, who has scored 7903 runs in 120 Tests at an average of 47.32, has played many a memorable match-winning knocks for India in his nearly 15-year-old international career starting 1996. He entered into the cricketing folklore with his magnificent 281 against Steve Waugh's Australia in 2001, which helped India script a historic win after following on at the Eden Gardens Test. In the past one year, the stylish batsman from Hyderabad has been the saviour on many occasions. He won the third Test for India against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 103 to level the three-match series 1-1 in August last year. Laxman then battled severe back pain to hit an unbeaten 73 and win the second Test against Australia in Mohali in October last year, before a similar act last month against South Africa in Durban, where he scored 96 to win the second Test and level the series. Laxman, who was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2001, has scored 16 hundreds and 49 half centuries in Tests, besides scoring 2338 runs from 86 one-day internationals. Sushil shot into limelight by bagging the bronze medal in 66kg freestyle competition in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games -- the first by an Indian since K D Jadhav's bronze medal- winning feat at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He then won the 2010 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow and clinched gold in the Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games, both in Delhi last year. Sushil received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, in 2009. — PTI
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Not many can do what Lee can:
Chappell
Melbourne, January 25 Chappell said the veteran fast bowler would leave a huge void to fill if he broke down in the coming weeks ahead of the World Cup, starting from February 19 to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "I don't think anybody's irreplaceable. If things happened and he got injured it would be a great shame but I think others could step up," Chappell told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Whether they could do exactly the same role that he does, probably not. For that reason we don't want to lose him because there are not many people that could bring to the table what he brings," the former India coach added. Lee's comeback has seen the reversal of fortunes for the Kangaroos, who received a 3-1 Ashes drubbing at the hands of England. But with the pacer's return from injury, the hosts have managed to take a 3-0 lead in the ongoing seven-match ODI series against England and are just a win away from sealing the series. The 34-year-old , who is the series leading wicket-taker with an average of 15.57 so far, has struck with the new ball and has been vital during the later stages with his blend of yorkers and slower balls. Despite battling numerous injuries, which saw the speedster bidding adieu to Test cricket, Lee has lost just one One-day International from his past 21 games, stretching back to June 2008. Lee also enjoys an exceptional winning percentage of 71.95, which is the highest success rate compared to those in Australia's World Cup squad and is considered as one of the most potential weapons in the Australian
armour. — PTI |
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Never tried my hand at poetry: Sachin
Mumbai, January 25 "Like my brother said earlier...He had to leave cricket for me. I have to leave something for him," he said referring to the comment made by his elder brother Nitin Tendulkar, who said that since he had to sacrifice his cricket for Sachin, he chose poetry. The champion batsman held the press conference to inform that a CD of the poems written by his late father, Ramesh Tendulkar, and a book of poems written by his brother Nitin, will be launched later this week. Asked whether he was thinking of writing an autobiography, Tendulkar said,"Never thought about it. Never had time to think about it....maybe someday, if I feel like." To a query, Tendulkar, who is reportedly a favourite to get the'Bharat Ratna' this year, said winning India's highest civilian honour is a dream of every countryman. "Every Indian would like to be honoured by the country. It is the biggest dream when your contribution is appreciated. But we are here for a specific reason, so I would not like to dwell too much on the topic," he added. Tendulkar, who holds the world record for scoring the maximum number of centuries in Tests and limited overs cricket, recalled how he reached the landmark 50th ton at Centurion against South Africa, a day after his father's birthday. — PTI
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Model School in final
Jalandhar, January 25 In the first semifinal today, Ajit Pandit’s lone goal in the dying minutes of the game gave Model School a win over Lyallpur Khalsa School, Jalandhar. In the second semifinal, BRC routed Sports School, Jalandhar, 4-0. The winners were leading 1-0 at half-time. Bokash Kujur scored two goals in 44th and 62nd minutes of play, Ansalem Hemrom (16th minute) and Sanjay Tirkey (55th minute) were the other scorers.
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Roger Federer made a quick dash into an eighth straight Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday but Novak Djokovic's resounding win over Thomas Berdych was a warning the Swiss cannot yet count on a sixth final. 
Melbourne, January 25
His father was a poet, so is his elder brother, but Sachin Tendulkar feels that he is born only to wield the willow and not the pen. "I haven't done that (writing) till now. I think God has given everyone some talent or the other. You have to appreciate the talent you get. I don't think I can create something of that level. I just have to sit back and appreciate that," Tendulkar said at a press conference here.
