TENNIS

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam

Winner: Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Runner-up: Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina)

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, Dubai

Men’s Winner: Roger Federer (Switzerland)

Runner-up: Andy Murray (Great Britain)

Women’s Winner: Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)

Runner-up: Julia Gorges (Germany)

Men’s Doubles Winners: Mahesh Bhupathi / Rohan Bopanna (India)

Runners-up: Mariusz Frystenberg / Marcin Matkowski (Poland)

Women’s Doubles Winners: Liezel Huber / Lisa Raymond (U.S.)

Runners-up: Sania Mirza (India) / Elena Vesnina (Russia)

Qatar Total Open, Doha

Winner: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

Runner-up: Samantha Stosur (Australia)

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Sachin scores a Century of Centuries

Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar (left) scripted history by becoming the first cricketer in the world to score 100 international centuries, a phenomenal feat which may remain unconquered for years to come.

Tendulkar, who already has a pile of runs and records to his credit, achieved the incredible milestone in the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh in Mirpur on March 16.

It was the end of a long wait for the 38-year-old veteran, who had gone 33 innings and a year without a century. The right-hander made his 99th international ton in a World Cup match against South Africa in Nagpur on 12 March last year.

Much before his debut on November 15, 1989, Sachin’s precocious talent was there to be seen when he shared an unbeaten 664-run stand with Vinod Kambli in the Lord Harris Shield Inter-School Game in 1988.

The 1989 international debut was far less spectacular, in fact forgettable. A Waqar Younis bouncer left him with a bleeding nose but Sachin did not wince and the next two decades saw him punishing bowlers all over the world on all kind of surfaces.

His first Test century came in England next year at Old Trafford and the Indian rose in stature after the 1991-92 tour of Australia, hitting sublime centuries on a Sydney turner and a Perth minefield.

The rest is history. No existing batting record seemed safe. Other than Brian Lara’s Test match highest of 400 not out and first class highest score of 501 not out, every batting record became Sachin’s. He is also the first batsman in the world to score a double ton in ODIs, a feat he achieved in Gwalior against South Africa in February last year.

A staggering 15470 runs scored in 188 Tests at a robust average of 55.44 confirmed Sachin’s greatness in the longer version of the game. And in the 462 ODIs he played, a whopping 18,260 (before the Asia Cup match against Bangladesh) were added to his mountain of runs at an average of 44.64.