Roger Federer finally broke the 14 Grand Slams record of Pete Sampras by winning the Wimbledon this weekend beating Andy Roddick of the US in a 5 set thriller.  The final set went on for an astonishing 95 minutes.

I was expecting to see another sobbing Federer at the end of the match, but it seems he managed to keep his emotions under perfect control.   An amazingly cool and composed player who very rarely loses his cool both on and off the pitch.  For a growing up kid, there is no better role model in Roger Federer.

He’s never been seen to yell either at the opponent / match officials, doesn’t spit on the ground, is modest about his achievements, but sometimes he does surprise us with his comments about the absolute confidence he has in his own game.

It would be easy to say that Federer won the last remaining Grand Slam, the French Open simply because Rafael Nadal was knocked out early in the tournament. And that Federer didnt have to meet his most decisive opponent in the finals.  But the fact is that it doesnt take away the sheen from his achievements.

Roger Federer’s Grand Slam victories

2003 – Wimbledon
2004 – Australian Open
2004 – Wimbledon
2004 – US Open
2005 – Wimbledon
2005 – US Open
2006 – Australian Open
2006 – Wimbledon
2006 – US Open
2007 – Australian Open
2007 – Wimbledon
2007 – US Open
2008 – US Open
2009 – French Open
2009 – Wimbledon

For a person who has achieved possibly everything that men’s singles tennis has to offer, it would be very tempting to either walk away from it all or to find motivation to save that one next set point or match point.   But knowing the champion that Federer is, am sure he will be back to entertain us, to show us the sheer joy of winning and most importantly that you dont need to be a brash, abusive, megalomaniac to be a champion.

All rise for the greatest tennis player ever.  Roger Federer.

Above pic source:  Din and Noise & IBNLive

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Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open, beating Nathalie Dechy (France) and Andy Ram (Israel) 6-3, 6-1 in the final in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon. The ace Indian pair thus made up for the disappointment of last year when they were beaten by Tiantian Sun and Nenad Zimonjic in the final.

While Sania picked her maiden Grand slam title in the process, Bhupathi swelled his Grand Slam title collection in mixed doubles to seven. Before Sunday’s triumph he won six mixed doubles crowns with different partners, the last also at the Australian Open in 2006 when he had partnered Swiss Martina Hingis.

Sania and Bhupathi had an easier time than they may have expected. Ram was broken in the opening game and from then on there was nothing the French-Israeli pair could do to stop the Indians. Two more breaks, in the seventh and ninth games, and Sania and Bhupathi had the first set in their bag in 28 minutes.

The second set too was one-sided. Bhupathi kicked it off, winning at love. Then a break on Dechy’s serve put the Indians high in the saddle at 3-1. Another break off Ram’s serve and the Indians were cruising at 5-1. Sania completed the formalities by serving out the seventh game for the set and match in 54 minutes.

On Saturday, Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles squandered a one-set lead and went down to Bob and Mike Bryan in the men’s doubles final.

Above picture from: Australian Open & news from Rediff

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Leander Paes & Lukas Dlouhy

Some great news in tennis for India.  Leander Paes has reached the finals of both the men’s doubles and mixed doubles at the US Open.

Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy sprinted into the men’s doubles final by pulverising Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco 6-2, 6-0 in just 46 minutes.  (Lines courtesy: Rediff)

Cara Black

Meanwhile in the mixed doubles, Paes and his partner Cara Black of Zimbabwe beat Nadia Petrova and Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-4 to reach the finals.

The last time Leander Paes achieved such a result was in the 1999 Wimbledon.  Will he be able to repeat this feat at the last Grand Slam of the year ?

Above pictures courtesy: Getty Images & Wikipedia

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