Hip Hip ‘Murray’!

Britain’s Andy Murray couldn’t have asked for a better start to his ATP Dubai Open campaign which started on 3rd March. After trailing by a set, the unseeded 20 year old shocked world no.1 and top seed Roger Federer in the 1st round 6-7(6/8), 6-3, 6-4. This was not the first time that Murray has shown the door to Federer, 19 months ago Fed-ex was tamed by Murray in Cincinnati Masters.
For Roger the year has not started ‘the Federer way’. Having lost the Australian Open semi finals to Novak Djokovic, this defeat to Murray was his second straight loss this year.
It usually doesn’t happen that Federer bows out of a tournament and that too in the first round, something which has not taken place since the summer of 2004! So, what’s the reason behind Federer’s recent failures? While some experts say that the Swiss maestro has not got enough of match play the others feel that he is not fully fit. Maybe, Maybe not. I feel that Federer has been in an unbeaten mode far too long, long enough for experts to study his game and create an antidote.
For instance, why has Federer always struggled against Rafael Nadal? The logic is simple, if you take some one out of their comfort zone, he/she WILL struggle. The same applies to Federer. His strength is that he plays on the ‘baseline’ which helps him get the ball on the rise and in return gives his opponent less time to recover. So while the opponent is getting back in position to face the next ball, Federer is all ready to deliver the ‘knock-out punch’. So, what does Nadal or a Murray or a Djokovic do right against the world no.1? They play the ball high with heavy spin on his backhand which forces Federer to go behind the baseline because of single handed backhand. Once Fed-ex is behind the baseline, the opponent gets the opportunity to jump inside the court and dictate the point.
Enough dissection of Federer’s game. Here’s hoping Fed-Ex soon gets back on track.

Tendulkar's ton anchors India's victory at SCG

It's time for Team India to keep the Champagne bottle in ice. On Sunday, India knocked Australia by 6 wickets and with 25 balls remaining to go one up in the 'Best of 3' finals of the CB Series. There were two men, or rather one man and the other grooming up to be one whomade this historic win possible.. 35 year old Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and 20 year old, state mate Rohit Sharma from Mumbai. While the LITTLE Masters BIG knock of unbeaten 117 paved the road for India's historic win, Sharma made his 3 ODI 50 and played a crucial knock of 66 when time demanded. On his way to 117, Tendulkar completed his 42 ODI ton, his first against Australia in 38 ODI's. This knock will surely silence the critics who have been after his case for long. As for the sportsman Tendulkar is, it really does'nt matter who says what to his game because at the end of the day, the little master just knows how to belt that CHERRY with the
(MRF)WILLOW! Coming back to the match, Aussie bowlers did'nt shine much with the ball, James Hopes sent off opener Robin Uthappa (17) and Rohit Sharma (66), Brad Hogg bowled Yuraj Singh for just 10 runs. Mitchell Johnson and Hopes were involved in a run-out which saw Gautam Gambhir return to the pavillion after making 3 runs.
Earlier, slowly but steadily Australia piled up 239/8 in 50 overs. Thanks to Mathew Hayden's 82 and Mike Hussey's 45 . Andrew Symonds played a quickfire knock of 31 off 44 balls. Indian bowlers Praveen Kumar and Harbhajan Singh scalped 2 wickets each, while Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Yuvraj Singh managed one apiece. Pathan proved to be the most expensive of the lot, he bowled 7 overs and conceded 63 runs and with an economy rate ranging to 9 runs an over.
Now, one final down and one to go on the 4th of March when India take on the world beaters Australia in Brisbane. Let's hope that the MEN IN BLUE will hoist the TRI-COLOR at the Brisbane Cricket Ground and capture the CB Series.

Mourinho says NO to Lyon offer

Former Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho has turned down an offer to coach French club Lyon. According to reports, Mourinho refused the French liaison because he wants to coach La Liga supremo Barcelona. Not just this, Mourinho has gone a step ahead and collected DVD’s of each Barca player and is currently analyzing them. The Portuguese met the Catalan giant’s officials few days ago and a deal is in the offing. If sources are to be believed current Barca coach Frank Rijkaard may soon strike a deal with Chelsea at the end of current season.