Spark Spot

Let me just make a small recap about the formula one season.From the thrills of Jenson Button to a near tragedy in Belgium, which saw Felipe Masa cheat death, to the approval of a new points system, Formula One was on top gear all year.

The biggest surprise of the year was Button racing his way to the driver’s championship. Few had expected him to create more than hardly a ripple, not having bagged a pole position for three years before the start of the season. It was also a year to cherish for Brawn GP, who became the first team to win the constructors’ title in their debut season after Button went on a roll, winning six of the first seven races in 2009.

Red Bull racer Sebastien Vettel also hogged the limelight, finishing the year as the youngest runner-up in the constructors’ table.Last year’s champion, Lewis Hamilton, however was a huge disappointment, finishing fifth with 49 points. The Briton fell from grace after a controversy in Melbourne, where he was accused of deliberately misleading the stewards and race director.

Formula One continued to be dogged by bad publicity when the ghosts of the crash in the Singapore GP from last year revisited. The accident was allegedly planned so that the introduction of a safety car would help Renault team mate Fernando Alonso win the race, which the Spaniard did. Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jnr, at the thick of the incident was offered immunity by the FIA if he agreed to provide full disclosures.

The biggest scare of the year came when Felipe Maasa had a close brush with death after the spring from another driver’s suspension hit him on the face in Hungary. Driving at 170 kmph at the time of impact, Maasa had a miraculous escape and the Brazilian remained in life-threatening but stable condition for sometime. Meanwhile, 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen was all set to call it a day at the end of the year, bringing to an end a successful career behind the wheel.

It has been a year full of thrills in the watched sport in the world. Going through a financial crunch, F-1 has continued to impress with high drama on and off the circuits. The next season is all set to herald with a new points system and four new teams in the grid in the next season.

A small article where i would like to make a recap of this year entire tennis main events.The 2009 cast had a few emerging heroes, one comeback queen and lot of supporting players. But, like in the last six years, one man stood out. The season, in many ways, belonged to the greatest to grace the sport - Roger Federer.

Federer couldn’t have chosen a better venue to clinch his record-breaking 15th Major crown. The All England Club that gave the 21-year-old Swiss his first Slam in 2003 also held stage for his 15th. Not many expected it to be so easy, especially after Rafael Nadal stopped Federer yet again at the start of the year in Melbourne Park to bag his first hard-court Major crown.

Rafa’s Australian dream

Nadal had dissected Federer’s strokes to the tee, the year before on Paris’ clay and Wimbledon grass, but not many fancied the Spaniard to repeat the same on the hard courts at Melbourne. But that was not to be. The Spaniard, along with Federer, who boasts of one of the best rivalries in the sport, first secured a memorable five-set marathon victory over countryman Fernando Verdasco.

Verdasco, who broke into the top 10 on the ATP charts earlier this year, had his best-ever Major result by reaching the semis at the season-opening Slam Down Under. In the title clash, Nadal, got the better of Federer in yet another five-setter which made the champion cry out, “God, it’s killing me!” On the women’s front, Serena Williams powered her way through, to make it a perfect 10 at Grand Slams after crushing a hapless Dinara Safina.

Swede Soderling

After a sensational start, Nadal was the favourite to continue his four-year reign on the red clay of Roland Garros. But, out of nowhere, Swede storm Robin Soderling knocked out Rafa in the Round of 16. Federer, who has been waiting for this moment for some time, didn’t need a second invitation as they brushed aside Soderling in the final. The elusive French Open title helped the Swiss ace complete a Career Slam. Fedex is only the sixth man in history to achieve it. With that effort, he also equalled Pete Sampras’ feat of 14 Majors.

Meanwhile, in the women’s section, for a change, it wasn’t Serena Williams who hogged the limelight. Svetlana Kuznetsova, who knocked out Serena in the quarters handed fellow-Russian Safina, yet another final loss to pick up her second Major title. A Slam-less Safina had a tough time with critics after achieving the top status. The Russian ace was the 19th woman to reach the top since the inception of WTA rankings. That also marked an occasion for the first brother-sister (Safina-Marat Safin) tandem in tennis history to both achieve No.1 rankings.

Grand Slam glory

Tendonitis trapped Nadal after his French Open loss. The knee injury forced the Mallorcan ace to withdraw from the Wimbledon Championships. But even in the absence of the defending champion Nadal, in what was the most riveting tennis match ever, Federer and Roddick battled out for the prestigious trophy. Roddick went down fighting 16-14 in the final set. Federer clinched his record 15th Major, but the American ace emerged a new hero in London after that match.

Meanwhile, there was no classic at the other end. In another all-Williams affair, Serena beat elder sister and five-time champion Venus to make it No.11 in Slams.

Del Potro comes of age

The stage moved to Flushing Meadows for the season-ending US Open. After six very ordinary performances against the supreme Federer, Argentine Juan Martin del Potro got off the mark in style against the Swiss ace. The 20-year-old announced his arrival on the grand stage after playing some jaw-dropping tennis at Flushing Meadows during his demolition of Nadal in the semis. But, he packed a knock-out punch against Federer in a thrilling five-setter to win his first Grand Slam.

Daddy and supermom

After two wins and two losses in four Slams, Federer capped a professionally successful season with some good news off the courts as well. The top shot married long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in April this year. Soon on July 23, the couple was blessed with twin girls, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose.

While the tennis daddy enjoyed a great run, supermom Kim Clijsters made a fairytale comeback after a two-year break. Clijsters made mommies proud after becoming the first mother since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980 to win a Major at Flushing Meadows. On her way to her second US Open title, Clijsters went past the Williams sisters and eventually beat Danish teenage sensation Caroline Wozniacki in the championship match.

Disappointments

Andy Murray headed the list of disappointments in the year. A lot was expected from the Scot this season. The reigning master of the best-of-three matches, Murray, proved yet again he’s the best by winning six ATP titles. However, Murray’s Slam struggles continued this season as well, as he failed to get past the semis stage of any of the four Majors. At the other end, Novak Djokovic too failed to add any to his lone 2008 Australian Open crown.

Amongst the girls, Maria Sharapova missed five months of the season recovering from a shoulder surgery in October 2008. Sharapova finally triumphed in Tokyo in October this year, bagging her fist title on her return.

At the season end, there weren’t many surprises as Federer and Serena finished the year as No.1 in their respective categories.

Controversies

2009 was also a year when a handful of controversies made headlines. But, none bigger than American legend Andre Agassi’s confessions in his autobiography - OPEN. The eight-time Major winner opened up in a way that rattled the tennis world. Agassi admitted to using ecstasy drugs ‘crystal meth’ as well as ‘speed’ in 1997 during the low point of his career. Agassi even admitted to lying to the ATP officials to avoid a ban.

Chasing Billie Jean King’s 12 Grand Slam titles, only Serena’s foul-mouth stood in her way. The 11-time Major champion lost her cool and threatened a line judge over a foot-fault call, with an abuse filled verbal volley during her semi-final clash against Clijsters at the US Open. She wound up losing the bout when a penalty point ended the contest.

The younger Williams was fined a record US$ 82,500 and handed a two-year Grand Slam probation. If Serena commits another “major offence” at a Major over the next two years, her fine would balloon to US$175,000 and she would be barred from the following US Open.

As the WADA set on its green mission, several players were suspected for doping in yet another disappointing turn of events. But, none bigger than the genial Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who was first suspected and later cleared. Likewise the Belgian duo of Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse, went through the same cycle of occurrence.

Meanwhile, Martina Hingis’ two-year ban ended on October 30, but the Swiss miss who was kept away from the sport due to doping charges ruled out a comeback.

Safin bids adieu

The Mercurial Marat Safin known for his racquet smashes, tantrums and other emotional outbursts on the ATP Tour played his last match as a professional player at the Paris Masters. The Tour’s most charismatic star ended his 12-year-career with a second-round defeat to Juan Martin del Potro. Another former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo of France too decided to pack off her racquets. On the flip side, with Justine Henin coming out of retirement, the 2010 season will undoubtedly be another one to look forward to.

Spain win Davis Cup

In team events, Italy won their second Fed Cup after Flavia Pennetta led a 4-0 whitewash victory over the United States. In the men’s division, after struggling with form since his return from knee injury, Nadal who failed to win a single tournament since his comeback showed glimpses of his old form as holders Spain blanked Czech Republic 5-0 to retain the Davis Cup.

The trination series in srilanka has come to an end with India emerging as pure winners. First of all i would like to congratulate Dhoni and his boys for putting up a tremendous show in the island of lanka. Newzealand was defeated in the first round and it was India and Srilanka who fought the final battle of Compaq Cup 2009!

Indian team was solid and confident right from the beginning of the final match. It was Littele Master Sachin Tendulkar who played a tremendous knock to reach his 44th ODI century at Premedasa on Monday. Sachin with all his skill and experience guided the team well and put India in a comfortable position.

India won an entertaining final game  in a comprehensive manner. Sachin was awarded the Man of the match and Man of the Series. This Little Master is still proving that age is not a criteria for any sport. Sachin is still young and fresh in his mind and thoughts and that is the reason for he can come up strong delivering as and when it is required for India.

Congratulations Indian Cricket Team for all your efforts to capture the Compaq Cup 2009 at Srilanks. Hats off Sachin! We all love you Sachin! Hope you play for India forever!

I am a  great fan of Roger Federer and i would like share his tremendous victory that created new records in the tennis books.  He is really an artistic player. Roger Federer, the popular tennis maestro from switzerland,  beat highly talented American Andy Roddick 5-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 16-14 in a marathon Wimbledon’s men’s singles final on Sunday and won 15th grandslam title.

With American Pete Sampras, the only other man to win 14 slams, watching intently from the Royal Box, Federer kept his nose in front in a nerve-racking decider and clinched victory after over four hours when Roddick dropped serve for the only time in the match at 14-15 when he mishit a forehand.

Federer was stretched to the limit in an unforgettable duel of enery-sapping tension, losing the first set and then trailing 6-2 in the second set tiebreak before digging himself out of trouble to win six consecutive points and level the match. He could make no headway on the Roddick serve but remained solid on his own delivery to win the third set on another tiebreak.

Let us congratulate the champion Roger Federer on his tremendous victory and the excited federer said humbly that he still has a long way to go.

India and Pakistan clashed in the warm up game for 2009 T20 Worldcup. It was India which won the match in absolute style. Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq helped Pakistan put on 158 for six against India in a sold-out warmup tie at the Oval that resembled the final of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup tournament.

Tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani supporters packed the Oval cricket ground, and cheered every boundary and wicket in a match that swung wildly at the start before skipper and veteran batsman Younis Khan helped to stabilize his side. Electing to bat before a nearly exclusive South Asian crowd, Pakistan began disastrously, losing opener Shahzaid Hasan for a duck to Praveen Kumar in the first over.

Spinner Harbhajan Singh dropped teenage batting sensation Ahmed Shehzad in the very next over off R.P. Singh before Shehzad (25 off 19 balls, 5 fours) and Kamran Akmal (19 off nine, 4 fours) wreaked a brief carnage on the Indian bowlers, hammering Kumar and Singh for a flurry of boundaries.

The men in blue then bounced back, to the delight of their delirious supporters and india won the match by 9 wickets comfortably. Great performance by Dhoni and his boys..

The T20 world cup is about to commence in just a few days. Every team has made its way to England. The Pakistan cricket team has proceeded to England for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup without any of the players having undergone dope tests as has been the practice in recent times.

A senior official of the board confirmed today that no out-of-competition tests were carried out by the board this time prior to the World Cup. The reason is that we have already been constantly educating and informing the players about the anti-doping policy and regulations of the ICC. Pakistan Cricket Board had conducted out-of-competition tests few months back and all the players tested negative.

ICC would pick nine players from each men’s team and two from women’s teams in the Twenty20 World Cup for the tests. The Pakistan cricket board is confident that there will no problem with pakistan players regarding the doping issues.  Two of the Pakistani players, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who have faced doping issues in recent times are both not in the Pakistan squad for this tournament.

United Progressive Alliance led by Congress Party is expected to get 216 seats, 40 seats ahead of the opposition BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, who are likely to win 177 seats in the general election. The Third Front, a loosely-built coalition of smaller regional parties led by the left parties, will end up with 105 seats, the channel said.

The left will not support a Congress-led government at the centre, but said no government was possible without the support of the Third Front, a coalition of smaller regional parties. The left recently softened its stand against the ruling Congress party, that may help it to form a government. The left will first try to form an alternative government with help from its allies in The Third Front, but if the front disintegrates, the left might might sit in the opposition and allow the Congress to form a government.

A regional party in the potential swing state of Andhra Pradesh said it will join the BJP-led coalition in a boost to the latter’s alliance building efforts. The regional Telangana Rashtra Samithi  said the NDA promised to fulfil the party’s longstanding demand for a separate Telangana state carved out of Andhra Pradesh, which currently boasts 42 seats in India’s national parliament. The TRS had fought the election with the Third Front.

The Congress party has opened its doors to all parties to cobble together a coalition, that could form the next government. The Congress, which has struggled to keep its allies happy, is negotiating with all political groups, even those belonging to the opposition BJP-led alliance, and was slightly ahead of the BJP-led bloc in exit polls.

Hindu-nationalist BJP, the main opposition party, said it will emerge as the single-largest after election results are announced on Saturday, and will form the government with help from allies, and new partners. The BJP was speaking to the AIADMK and Telugu Desam Party in southern India for possible alliances, which could help them get the numbers required to form a government

Deccan Chargers will be looking to get back to wining ways against last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. For Super Kings it is just the opposite. They are on a two-match winning streak and will be hoping to make a hat-trick of wins, which was done by Deccan Chargers early on in the league.

This time under a new captain in Adam Gilchrist, Deccan Chargers have forced everyone to stand up and take notice of their performance. Their batting has looked solid with Gilchrist leading the charge. Youngsters like Rohit Sharma and Azhar Bilakhia have also come out with good innings.

The bowlers also have done well, especially fast bowlers Rudra Pratap Singh and Fidel Edwards. Rudra Pratap is the second highest wicket-taker in the IPL while Edwards has checked the run flow. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been one of the most successful spinner in the second IPL and was chief architect in Chargers’ win over Mumbai Indians.Batting and bowling aside, Deccan Chargers’ fielding has been exceptional. Live wire fielders like Herschelle Gibbs and Sharma have really set the benchmarks on the field.

Not doubt it will be a challenge for the Super Kings to put a challenging total on board. Except Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath, big names like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel are due for a big score.Their opening pair has been a problem.

While the veteran Matthew Hayden has been in fine nick, he hasn’t got good support from the other end. Parthiv Patel looked out of sorts and his replacement Murali Vijay was a misfit in the Twenty20. The bowlers have come up with good performances. Saturday night little known Shadab Jakat spun Super Kings to a terrific win over Daredevils. Sudip Tyagi and the wily Muttiah Muralitharan have been economical.

So can Chennai make it three in a row by smashing chargers. Lets hope so!

Yusuf Pathan, the big power machine of Royals,  blazed his way to an unbeaten half-century to propel Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Pathan smashed 62 not out off 30 balls with three fours and six sixes as Rajasthan reached 147 for five to overhaul Delhi’s 143 for seven with nine balls to spare. It was second-placed Delhi’s first defeat in four matches in this year’s tournament.

Pathan and Graeme Smith shared an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership of 83 in 47 balls, with the South Africa captain contributing an unbeaten 44 after the Royals had slumped to 64 for five.Pathan, who was dropped on 30, brought up his half-century in 26 balls as the holders claimed their second win of the competition to go fourth in the table.

It was Pathan again for Royals to smash the oppenents. Last time Pathan drove Royals to an emphatic win over Knight Riders in a super over by smashing the srilankan spinner Mendis all over the park. Pathan in this kind of form, i am sure that royals would feel their place in the semi finals.

Chennai super kings, one of the victorious team in the last season of IPL, is playing very ordinary cricket in this season of IPL. Chennai led by Dhoni, inspite of having a pretty balanced team in the paper, is not performing even upto 70% of its strength. Matthew Hayden, 37 year old aussie player, is the only man showing great amusing stuffs with his bat in the same way as he use to do for Aistralia.

Chennai has no problems with the start and the run rate is more than good in the powerplay overs. But the middle order fails in all the matches so far. The 11-15 overs is really a period of worry for super kings. I personally feel that Dhoni should look into the team selection for the next match and he has to get the right combination going.

Chennai, one of the most favorite team is struggling a lot at the moment against all teams. Chennai fans are really frustrated over their teams efforts in this season of IPL.  Chennai should their best in order to clinch their position in the semi finals. Let us hope that Chennai Super Kings fires all guns in the upcoming matches by playing to the expectation.