Life is a Game…

Leander Paes equalled the record for most number of Grand Slam title triumphs by an Indian as the veteran and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched the Australian Open mixed doubles championship with a straight set win in Melbourne on Sunday.
Top seeds and favourites, the 36-year old Paes and the 30-year-old Black beat 10th seeds Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Jaroslav Levinsky of Czechoslovakia 7-5, 6-3 in just about one-and-a-half hour. The triumph gave the Indian his 11th overall and fifth mixed doubles title. With this Paes has equalled one-time doubles’ partner Mahesh Bhupathi’s tally.
The last couple of times they reached a Grand Slam final, Paes and Black ended up on the losing side and eager to make amends for that, they were dominant from the word go. This is Paes and Black’s second title together, the first being the 2008 U.S. Open. Paes thanked the fans and Black for their support after the win.
His 11th Grand Slam title has only whetted Leander Paes’ appetite for success and the Indian ace said he remained a “student of tennis” who drew inspiration from Roger Federer and strived for perfection.

Roger Federer dismantled Andy Murray in the Australian Open final on Sunday to extend his own record to 16 Grand Slam titles and prolong the British drought. Federer collected his fourth Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(11) win at Rod Laver Arena that, apart from the tiebreaker, lacked the drama and raw emotion of his five-set loss here last year to then No.1-ranked Rafael Nadal.
Last year, Federer sobbed when Rod Laver presented the trophy to Nadal, having missed a chance to equal Pete Sampras’s record 14 career majors. This time, Murray was on the verge of tears, drawing deep breaths as he apologised for failing to end a 74-year old drought for British men at the Grand Slam tournaments. Federer saved five set points and wasted two match points in the tiebreaker with some uncharacteristic shot selection before clinching it when Murray netted a backhand after two hours, 41 minutes. Murray was desperate to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win one of the four tennis majors, but seldom had the answers to Federer’s unrivalled finals experience. He had set a record for British men just by reaching two major finals in the Open era.

Cricket
Australia lifted the Under-19 Cricket World Cup after putting up a fine all-round performance to beat Pakistan by 25 runs in a low-scoring final on Saturday. Put in, Australia posted a competitive 207 in 50 overs and then skittled out Pakistan for 182 in 46.4 overs.
Pacer Josh Hazlewood’s four-wicket haul and left-arm spinner Luke Doran’s three scalps brought about the downfall of Pakistan. Chasing 208 to win, the Pakistan batsmen could not capitalise on their starts and the team kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Azeem Ghumman top-scored with a 90-ball 41, which included just one four.
The only partnership that gave Pakistan’s total some respectability was the 54-tun first wicket stand between Ahmad Shahzad (36) and Muhammad Babar (28).
Liverpool, Villa register wins
Football
Tottenham stayed in the fourth spot in the English Premier League after a 1-1 draw against Birmingham on Saturday. Spur’s rivals for a place in next season’s Champions League, Liverpool and Aston Villa, both won to keep up the pressure.
Liverpool beat Bolton 2-0 and Villa won by a similar margin with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring both goals. Everton registered a 1-0 victory against Wigan while Blackburn Rovers and West Ham shared points in a goalless draw.

Tennis
Melbourne: Defending champion and top seed Serena Williams powered to her fifth Australian Open title and 12th Grand Slam when she beat a brave Justine Henin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Saturday. Williams took a tight first set then to hold off a charging Henin to deny the Belgian a fairytale ending to her tennis comeback in a thrilling two hours seven minutes final on Rod Laver Arena.
The American claimed her 12th Grand Slam with the win, putting her alongside fellow American Billie Jean King on the list of all time major winners. It was fitting that the final was played in front of King and Australian great Margaret Smith Court, who won a record 24 Grand Slams, along with a host of other former champions.
Williams was made to work hard by the tenacious Henin, playing only her second tournament since coming out of an 18-month retirement and needing a wild card to enter. In the end it was Williams’ sheer power that won out as her huge serves and booming ground strokes eventually wore Henin down and forced costly errors. Henin showed that she is still a real force and capable of adding to her seven Grand Slam titles.