IBLOG SPACE

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal reckons it is "impossible" for him to win all four Grand Slam titles in 2011. In an interview with ATP World Tour, the Spaniard said that he "hoped to have the chances" to complete a Grand Slam of wins next year but that it was "impossible." Nadal has been in fantastic form this season, and can complete a Grand Slam of wins outside of the calendar year if he lifts the Australian Open trophy in Melbourne next January. If he were to complete an unlikely Grand Slam of major wins in the 2011 calendar year, it would require him to win the next four slams in a row which would stretch his record to seven straight major wins.

World number one Rafael Nadal made a winning debut at the Japan Open in Tokyo as he beat Gael Monfils in Sunday's final. Nadal cast aside the 15th-ranked Frenchman 6-1 7-5 in just over an hour. The Spaniard had struggled to reach the final after saving two match points in his semi-final against Viktor Troicki, before producing a far more convincing display to clinch his seventh ATP Tour title of the year. "Every tournament is very important, it is nice to win another big title like this one," said Nadal.

Novak Djokovic successfully defended his China Open crown after beating David Ferrer in straight sets. The Serbian world number two claimed the 18th title of his career by seeing off the Spaniard 6-2 6-4 in the final which was carried over to Monday after rain washed out Sunday's play with Djokovic leading 3-1. "[I'm] just happy to win another tournament and make my record here in Beijing even better," said Djokovic, who is now 9-0 at the event. "It's definitely one of the most successful tournaments in my career."

Fernando Alonso has called on team-mate Felipe Massa to help the Spaniard claim a third world title. Any hope Alonso had of Massa aiding him in the last two races in taking points off Red Bull duo Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel was wrecked when, after starting at the back of the grid in Singapore last month due to a gearbox problem, the Brazilian failed to make it beyond turn two of the opening lap of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. It is no wonder Massa described the day at Suzuka as being "cursed" after another poor qualifying session in the morning as he started from 12th.

The Korean Grand Prix has been given the green light to take place as planned on October 24. Following months of uncertainty due to delays in the construction of the circuit in Yeongam, the FIA have confirmed the race will now go ahead. An FIA spokeswoman said: "Following a visit on October 11 by FIA safety delegate Charlie Whiting, the Yeongam circuit has passed its inspection with regards to the track and safety requirements for the upcoming Korean Grand Prix on October 24." Under the FIA's own regulations a new venue should be fit to hold an event 90 days before it is scheduled.

Jenson Button concedes his world championship bid will become an "impossible" task if McLaren do not deliver a quicker car. Button slipped 31 points behind championship leader Mark Webber after finishing fourth at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. A series of revisions and upgrades to the McLaren delivered mixed results at Suzuka, with some failing to give the increase in performance that had been expected by the team. The world champion admitted before the weekend that finishing ahead of Webber was his minimum aim, but with the Red Bull driver finishing second to team-mate Sebastian Vettel on Sunday, he knows one more slip could spell the end of his hopes.

Red Bull's Mark Webber concedes he probably needs one more win this season if he is to secure a maiden Formula One world title. The Australian has won four times this year, the last of those coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the start of August - since when he has gone four races without victory. He has nevertheless maintained his place at the top of the drivers' standings, his advantage now 14 points after coming second to team-mate Sebastian Vettel in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. With three rounds remaining, that is a position he could well defend with a run of strong points-scoring finishes, but he is only too aware of the value of a fifth victory.

Jenson Button felt he achieved the best finish possible at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. The Briton finished fourth at Suzuka, trailing home in the wake of a Red Bull one-two and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. The 12-point haul sees Button lose ground in the drivers' standings, with championship leader Mark Webber, who finished second to Sebastian Vettel today, now 31 points ahead of him with three rounds remaining. McLaren came to this race with a raft of upgrades which they hoped would move them closer to their rivals, but in the event the speed was simply not in the car.

Kamui Kobayashi produced one of the best drives of his Formula One career to take seventh place at his home race in Japan. The Sauber driver lined up 14th on the starting grid and only just avoided the double accident that wiped out four rivals on the first lap before settling down to a frantic afternoon behind the wheel. The 24-year-old, who made his F1 debut at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix, pulled off aggressive overtakes on Jaime Alguersuari and Adrian Sutil before a late pit stop dropped him down the order. Kobayashi quickly recovered, however, excelling on fresh rubber over the final laps.

Fernando Alonso has admitted third place was the best he could have hoped for at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. Alonso has enjoyed a resurgence at recent grands prix to emerge as a formidable contender for this year's championship. The double world champion's wins at Italy and Singapore vaulted him into second place in the drivers' standings, a position he retained after his third-placed finish at Suzuka on Sunday. He now has 206 points - the same as the winner Sebastian Vettel - while Mark Webber, second on Sunday, is 14 points better off at the head of the standings.

Sebastian Vettel kept alive his Formula One world championship hopes with a superb win at the Japanese GP at Suzuka. Vettel won from pole position at Sunday's incident-packed race. The German led home a Red Bull one-two from championship leader Mark Webber while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took a strong third. The McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and fifth respectively, leaving both as rank outsiders for the title heading into the final three races of the season. The result sees Webber increase his championship lead to 14 points over Alonso and Vettel, who are locked together on 206 points.

Sebastian Vettel continued his dominance of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend by claiming pole position for Sunday's race. The Red Bull driver was the class of the field in a qualifying session postponed from yesterday due to heavy rain, posting a best time of one minute 30.785 seconds. The German will be joined on the front row by team-mate Mark Webber, who finished less than a tenth of a second down on Vettel, who is bidding for a repeat of his victory here last year. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was impressive as he claimed third place in 1:31.169, although the Briton will line up eighth for the race after taking a five-place grid drop for changing his gearbox.

Red Bull are the team to beat in Japan as Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated the second practice at Suzuka. Vettel won this race from pole position last year and is on target to repeat that feat again after following up his fastest time in opening practice with the benchmark time of one minute 31.465 seconds in session two. Championship leader Webber, who enjoys a 21-point cushion over his team-mate in the drivers' standings, finished 0.395secs down, with Renault's Robert Kubica taking third.

Mark Webber has refused to accept he is the favourite for the drivers' title as the Formula One season is in its closing stages. The Red Bull driver has moved to the brink of his first ever world championship after a fine campaign that has seen him take four wins, but with just an 11-point gap to second-placed man Fernando Alonso, is aware there is little room for complacency. Four drivers are still capable of denying Webber the title, and this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix could see caution thrown to the wind, with McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton and Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel all desperate to outscore the Australian.

Former England player Graham Thorpe has been appointed as the England and Wales Cricket Board's national lead batting coach. The 41-year-old, who had an 18-year first-class career with Surrey and scored 6,744 runs in 100 Tests for his country, has since returned to his former county side as batting coach. In his new role he will replace Australian Dene Hills, who has had two years in the role which involves coaching batsmen within the England development programme and Lions and performance (EPP) squads.

Former India captain Kapil Dev said cricket fans will talk about Sachin Tendulkar's amazing feats for at least next fifty years. Tendulkar  on Sunday became the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to reach the 14,000-run mark during the second match against Australia. "The present generation will only talk about Sachin for another 50 years. I am sure about it as not many people could reach the target that Sachin had set now. He is focused always and that is the reason that nobody could reach his standards," Kapil said. Tendulkar ended the day on 191 not out but Kapil said he should have got his double hundred on Monday itself.

A staggering 84 per cent people reacted with a 'yes' in an Australian newspaper online poll which asked, Is Sachin Tendulkar the best batsman ever? The online poll was conducted by 'Sydney Morning Herald' and close to 15,000 visitors took part in it. Only 16 per cent of the respondents felt otherwise. Tendulkar  is going great guns even at the age of 37 and only two days back became the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to touch 14,000 run mark. He hit his sixth Test double hundred during the second Test against Australia and played a crucial role in India's 2-0 series win.

After pocketing Tests 2-0, Indian cricketers will arrive in Kochi on Thursday for their first ODI of the series against Australia on October 17. Both the teams, without some of their key players, will arrive from Bangalore, where India registered a 7-wicket win over Australia in the second Test, at 1:30 pm by a chartered flight, Kerala Cricket Association secretary T C Mathew told reporters. India will be without the services of Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Gautam Gambhir during the three-match ODI series, while Australia will play in absence of Ricky Ponting, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson.

Ten years ago, Sachin Tendulkar was in the same position as Ricky Ponting is in today. He batted out of his skin Down Under but could not stave off defeat in all the Tests of the series and soon took the unselfish decision to step down from the captaincy, tacitly accepting that he had failed at the job. Ponting must be feeling much the same way even though he is yet to speak on abdicating the throne. If he stays the course, the Tasmanian will have the dubious privilege of leading his side, which is ranked fifth in the world now, against traditional rivals England in the Ashes while under threat of becoming the first Australian captain to lose the urn thrice. The point is how much more could  Ponting  have done after batting like a champion in at least three innings of four in the series.

After playing a crucial role in India's 2-0 whitewash of Australia, Sachin Tendulkar said series win was the result of a great team effort. India beat Australia in the Mohali Test by one wicket and registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win to complete their first ever series whitewash of Australia. Tendulkar  was adjudged both Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series for scoring 403 runs, highest in the series. "It was a fantastic series. I would like to congratulate the whole team. (VVS) Laxman helped us win the first Test at Mohali with Ishant Sharma. And in this match,  Murali Vijay , Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan and S Sreesanth put up great efforts.

The BCCI has charged Lalit Modi with misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 470 crore. The complaint mentioned misappropriation of funds, irregularities in the distribution of media rights among others. The complaint was filed in Chennai where the Cricket Board is registered. The Chennai Police Commissioner T Rajendra confirmed the development that a criminal complaint has been filed against former IPL chief.

Terming Tendulkar the "all time greatest cricketer", West Indies cricketing great Viv Richards said the Mumbai maestro would create many more records in the future. The former West Indies captain said, "Tendulkar is the all time greatest cricketer. I am sure he will have more records to his credit." Tendulkar  became the first batsman to touch the 14,000 Test runs mark during the second Test against Australia. Richards though said Tendulkar does not bat the way he use to, a fews years ago.

India completed their first ever series whitewash of Australia as Sachin Tendulkar led them to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the visitors in the second Test. Tendulkar  (53 not out) added a half century to his first innings double ton and capitalised on the foundation laid by debutant Cheteshwar Pujara (72) as India easily surpassed the target of 207 in the final session of the last day. Tendulkar hit the winning runs, a two, off Nathan Hauritz half-an-hour into the final session to trigger wild celebrations at the Indian camp and among the Chinnaswamy Stadium crowd.

Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan have been rested for the upcoming ODI series against Australia. Also, India will be without explosive batsman  Virender Sehwag  who will miss the series due to an injury. Although the Cricket Board has not specified the exact nature of the Sehwag's injury but he is reportedly nursing a shoulder problem. Since  Gautam Gambhir  is also injured, the selectors have filled the opening slot by calling Murali Vijay in the 14-member squad, which has a new face in batsman Shikhar Dhawan.

The BCCI president Shashank Manohar said the brand IPL won’t be affected by the termination of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. He also dismissed speculations that the BCCI has been unduly biased about terminating the contracts of the franchises which allegedly share a close affinity with former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. “The decisions were not take due to any person,” Manohar told the reporters without taking Modi’s name. Manohar stated that decisions were taken unanimously after seeking legal opinion.

Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra is shocked by BCCI's latest decision to expel IPL teams and is planning legal action against the Board. Shocked by BCCI's decision to terminate the franchise agreement of Rajasthan Royals, co-owner Raj Kundra said that he is not sure how the fourth edition of IPL will be held under the current circumstances. "I am quite shocked about the developments. I don't know how the IPL-IV will be held if the BCCI starts treating teams in this manner. I am not in a position to make any further comments until I receive a formal copy of the termination agreement. Obviously, I will be seeking legal opinion in this matter," Kundra was quoted as saying by a television channel, today. When BCCI president Sashank Manohar was told about Kundra's intent, he replied, "It's his choice,"

The BCCI unanimously decided to "terminate" the franchise agreements of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, while sparing the newly-inducted Kochi team. In a drastic action, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) terminated Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab from the Indian Premier League on alleged breach of franchise agreement by them and issued notice to the newly-inducted Kochi team asking them to resolve all their internal disputes within 10 days. As a result of this, the two teams will be barred from participating in next year's IPL 4 which appears to be in serious turmoil as Rajasthan Royals are mulling on a legal action.

Sachin Tendulkar, with his splendid double hundred against Australia, has emulated Virender Sehwag's record of six Test double centuries. By Rajesh Kumar Tendulkar 's tally of six double hundreds is now exceeded only by four players in Test cricket - Australia's Sir Donald Bradman (12), West Indian Brian Lara (9), England's Wally Hammond (7) and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (7). Bradman and Lara's tallies include two innings of 300-plus as well.

Long time back, when somebody asked the 'Lovely' Sushma Reddy, "Sush, are you a Punjaban?" She only acted 'Fair' and said "Well… I am not a Punjaban. I am idli sambharan!" That's Sushma Reddy for you. Smart, talented, beautiful and everything in between! The news is that Sushma will now be seen as the brand ambassador of the global cosmetic giant 'Fair & Lovely', so informs ApnaDesi 's confirmed sources as well as the market buzz. Attempts to establish contacts with Sushma to confirm the same proved futile. Looks like Sushma has lots of reasons to celebrate these days. On one hand, while she will be the face of the 'Fair & Lovely', on the other, her debut film (as a producer) called Dus Tola , is nearing its release. Some double whammy that!

It's finally happening on Saturday Night (October 9). The retro-music-and-dance night at a suburban retro club where Akshay Kumar would be deejay and play all his favourite songs from the 1970s as part of the promotional campaign for Action Replayy . The retro Saturday night would be sadly incomplete without Akshay's leading lady Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Aishwarya has gone to the Pusan Film Festival, leaving Akshay to his own musical devices on Saturday night. Vipul explains his leading lady's absence on this important night. "The retro-music night was to happen on September 30. But that turned out to be the date for the verdict on Ayodhya. When now Aishwarya has committed her time for such an important international festival I can't expect her to set aside her plans. And she has promised she would try to fly back to Mumbai for the evening and then return to Pusan." Akshay, however, is reconciled to his solitary star appearance as a deejay for

It all started with the film Slumdog Millionaire for Anil Kapoor who went on to become famous across the globe courtesy his act in this Academy Award winning film directed by Danny Boyle. With acclaim coming in from all quarters, it wasn't long before Anil was offered a pivotal part in the hit prime time Hollywood TV series 24, along side Kiefer Sutherland. Moving on, the latest buzz is that Anil has struck gold and the reason behind this is the fact that he has been confirmed for the fourth instalment in the Mission Impossible series, along side Hollywood action star Tom Cruise. The film, which is being directed by Brad Bird ( The Incredibles ), will start shooting under the initially decided working title of Aries . J. J. Abrams, who directed the third film in the series, will be writing the script for the film, alongside Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum. As for Anil, earlier reports were that he would be playing the role of one of the villains in th

So, here's what the news reads. And beware...it might just turn out that it's 'true'. At the moment, it's just in talks. Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap are co-producing Vikram Motwane's next untitled film. A few close sources from the director's company told us that the two creative heads are in talks with each other on locking something concrete for Vikram's next film. Well, if it has Karan Johar interested, it must be a script that has touched his liking and if it has Anurag Kashyap to back it all up, we might just witness a never before seen spectacle to hit the big screens soon. Now that's what I call commercial news more than just breaking.

One of many reasons that have resulted in the super success of 3 Idiots has been its unique marketing strategies. Talking about marketing, there's yet another story that is attached to the film, which is in the form of the brand of scooter which Kareena rides in the film. The actress has now been signed up the brand ambassador for the same. We are indeed talking about Mahindra's new two wheeler- 'PowerScooter', of which Kareena has been chosen as the brand ambassador. Talking about this, Bebo said that, "My experience with Mahindra scooter dates back to two years ago, when I rode a Mahindra 'PowerScooter' in 3 Idiots . I am delighted to be working with them." Kareena will now feature in a multimedia campaign for the brand. The first campaign will be for the Mahindra Rodeo, about which, she said "Rodeo is a youthful, fun and fresh brand. It has the right mix of style and power." The campaign will be officially launched soon.

Has Emraan Hashmi joined the 'powerful' cast of Rajkumar Santoshi's Power which is fast turning out to be the most star studded affairs of 2011? Well, that's the gossip going around in the industry circles ever since Power first came in news close to a fortnight ago. Says an industry insider, "Yes, there have been talks of Emraan making an appearance in the film. Though the actor doesn't do too many multi starrers, he did give the film a close hearing when he was approached for it. Rajkumar Santoshi is a huge name and his ensemble starrers can prove to be a huge draw. Also, Emraan too has opened up more after the smash success of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai which was a two hero project. He too feels that it isn't bad after all to bring in that occasional multi starrer in his profile." Well, if Power stars Emraan, it would indeed turn out to be a casting coup of sorts with people across all generations being a part of thi

EXPECTATIONS In a film which is about 'Sai Baba', it is but natural that the soundtrack too would boast primarily of devotional songs. With hundreds of devotional tracks already made for Sai Baba, one looks forward to what does composer Anup Jalota have in store for the audience with his score in Maalik Ek . MUSIC Its a bunch of kids that brings on a collective laughter to kick start ' Sai Baba Achche '. A chorus track with Jackie Shroff (playing the role of Sai Baba) holding the baton for the song with intermittent laughter being thrown around; ' Sai Baba Achche ' has an innocent appeal to it which goes with the genre. Written by Amit Khanna, this one is about Sai Baba narrating the tale of Lord Rama. Anup Jalota brings himself on a singer as well for ' Sai Naam Mein Jadoo Aisa ' which is written by Manoj Kumar. Expectedly a devotional track, this one is in praise of Sai Baba and Shirdi. Strictly for the followers of d

Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt have often admitted that newspaper headlines citing a burning issue have sown the seeds of a film in their minds. And CROOK, directed by the talented Mohit Suri, deals with one such issue: Racism in Australia. Well, depiction of racism on the Hindi screen isn't entirely new, since I - PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN explored the issue several monsoons ago. In fact, the issue has only got aggravated across the globe post 9/11. A film like CROOK holds a lot of significance also because the plight of Indian students in Australia continues to hit headlines to this day. Known for high concept films, Bhatt brothers' new outing CROOK, unfortunately, tackles the issue half-heartedly. Sure, you expect more from the Bhatts since the makers of repute are known to call a spade a spade, but the problem with CROOK is that the message doesn't come across strongly. That's because it tries to strike a balance between a love story and the raci

The highpoint of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's movies was the simplicity with which he narrated the story of ordinary people. Soaked in humour with an undercurrent of emotions, the films made by Hrishi-da are fresh to this date, inspiring the present-day film-makers as well. DO DOONI CHAAR, directed by debutant Habib Faisal, could easily pass off as a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film. A simple plot involving simpletons and straight out of life situations makes this one an extremely watchable experience. The casting of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor in pivotal parts is, without doubt, the icing on the cake. Come to think of it, DO DOONI CHAAR is a complete contrast to what's being made these days. It's far from glossy, the setting is a middle class house in a tiny colony of Delhi, the characters are far from classy, the problems are very, very real and yes, there's a message towards the final moments of the film. But it's these factors that make DO DOONI CHAAR a notch abo