Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Azarenka & Ivanovic at Indian Wells expansion program

Getting Roger Feder, Rafael Nadal, Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic all under one frame is pretty rare. But, it did happen earlier this week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the home for BNP Paribas Open.. which is a pretty popular tennis event outside the four grand slams. 

Top tennis stars came to lay the foundation for the expansion of Indian Wells tennis garden with Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle and co-owner of the BNP Paribas event....

From left - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Larry Ellison, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden expansion event

Pic coutesy: Nadal's facebook page

Some of the expansion ideas shared by Larry Ellison includes a court-side Sushi and a new 8,000 seat stadium. 

Take a look at some of the pictures taken during the ground breaking ceremony of the expansion program at Indian Wells Tennis Garden headed by Raymond Moore, the CEO of BNP PARIBAS Open.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic serve during the Indian Wells expansion program ground breaking ceremony

Pic courtesy:  Azarenka's facebook page

"How cool is this!? Roger, Rafa, Ana, me and Djokovic serving at the photographers!! Sorry guys ;)," said Vika Azarenka on her facebook page

Ivanovic, Nadal, Federer, Azarenka and Djokovic does the ground breaking formalities at the Indian Wells expansion site with Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle and partner at the BNP Paribas Open

Pic coutesy: Nadal's facebook page

Azarenka shares a light moment during the photo shoot of the BNP Paribas Indian Wells event expansion program

BNP Paribas Open expansion ground breaking ceremony conducted at Indian Wells and attended by the tennis stars Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Azarenka and Ivanovic

Pic credit: Billie Weiss/BNP Paribas Open

Players with Legends - Djokovic with Pete Sampras

Another one in the Players with Legends series - World Number one tennis player Novak Djokovic met the legendary Tennis star Pete Sampras... one of all time bests in tennis...

Novak Djokovic shared this picture with his fans in facebook... was so happy to see these two players in one frame...

Legendary tennis star Pete Sampras of US with Novak Djokovic, the current World No.1 tennis player

Pic courtesy: Novak Djokovic's facebook

Djokovic completes Hattrick Australian Open Champion

Novak Djokovic completes a record hat-trick Australian Open Championship by beating Andy Murray in a tough four setter.

Novak Djokovic winner of Australian Open 2013 Championship

Pic courtesy: Ben Solomon and AustralianOpen.com

"Winning it three in a row, it's incredible," Djokovic said after his 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 victory over his friend Murray. "It's very thrilling. I'm full of joy right now. It's going to give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season, that's for sure."

Novak Djokovic reacts winning his third consecutive Australian Open title in Melbourne

Pic courtesy: Ben Solomon and AustralianOpen.com

Nine other men had won consecutive Australian titles in the Open era, but none three straight years. One of them was Andre Agassi, who presented Djokovic with the trophy.

Novak Djokovic's previous three Australian Open Titles and with the 2013 title, Djokovic also completes a first hat-trick of Australian Open championship

Pic courtesy: Novak Djokovic's facebook page

Serbian Djokovic also captured the Aussie Open title in 2008, which means four of his six career major titles have come Down Under.

Novak Djokovic proudly displays his Australian Open trophy in Melbourne

Pic courtesy: Ben Solomon and AustralianOpen.com

Serbian Djokovic with his Australian Open trophy at the locker room in Melbourne

Pic courtesy: Ben Solomon and AustralianOpen.com

This year seems to be promising for Djokovic but with Nadal coming back soon, its going to be a four-some  (Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and the FedEx) race for the rest of the grandslams this year. Gonna be mouthwatering :D

Sharapova and Djokovic at London Olympics Opening Ceremony

Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic impressed all of us in the tennis courts.. but during the London Olympics Opening ceremony, they both had different jobs to take care of.. and shined in those too...
Another first for both Sharapova and Djokovic as they represented their respective country as the flag bearers during the London Olympics Opening ceremony.

Maria Sharapova excelled in being the flag-bearer for the Russian contingent during the athletes parade at London during the Opening ceremony of the London summer olympics 2012.

Russia's Maria Sharapova as the flag-bearer for the Russian contingent during the London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony

Pic credit: Lars Baron/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic too looked impressive as Serbia's flag bearer during the London Olympics opening ceremony.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic carries the flag during the London Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Pic credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Take a look at the pictures of Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic being the flag-bearers of their countries during the London Olympics 2012 Opening ceremony...

Maria Sharapova of the Russia Olympic tennis team carrying her country's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 in London, England. 

Pic credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Maria Sharapova with Russian flag at the London Olympics Opening Ceremony

Women's Tennis World No.1 Maria Sharapova with the Russian contingent during the London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony Athletes Parade

Pic credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Men's tennis star Novak Djokovic as the Serbian flag bearer during the opening ceremony of London Olympics 2012

Pic credit: REUTERS/Phil Noble

Novak Djokovic enjoying his role as Serbia's flag bearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in London

The Serbian Olympic contingent lead by tennis star Novak Djokovic as their flag bearer during the athletes' parade in the London Olympics 2012 Opening cermony

Serbia's flag bearer Novak Djokovic holds the national flag as he leads the contingent in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games

Pic credit: REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Waiting to see who takes the tennis golds... 

Novak Djokovic's photo shoot with Australian Open trophy...

Australian Open 2012 men's singles champion Novak Djokovic celebrates at the Carlton Gardens, Melbourne following his epic five-set victory over Rafael Nadal of Spain.

Here are the pictures of the Australian Open champion Djokovic during his photo shoot session at the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne.

 

Novak Djokovic Australian Open 2012 champion 

 

Serbian Novak Djokovic kisses his Australian Open 2012 trophy

 

Novak Djokovic poses at the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne with his 2012 Australian Open trophy

 

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic poses with his Australian Open trophy during a photo shoot event at the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne

 

Serbian tennis star Djokovic in the locker room with his Australian Open trophy

All above pics courtesy: Ben Solomon and Australian Open site

 

Novak Djokovic posted this picture with the Australian Open trophy in his facebook fanpage... .

"Still cannot believe i am awake :) unbelievable match, i love tennis!!!! Ne mogu da verujem da sam jos uvek budan :) kakav mec! Obozavam tenis!!!! :)"  - Novak Djokovic posted in Facebook.

Pic courtesy: Novak Djokovic's facebook fanpage

This has been a perfect start for Novak Djokovic. He would be very much looking forward to achieve the career grand slam this year with French Open coming next.

Novak Djokovic's Australian Open 2012 victory pictures...

Defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic beat second seed Rafael Nadal  5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 in an epic final to win his third Australian Open title on Sunday. The win gave top seed Djokovic his fifth Grand Slam title

The longest finals played in the open era lasted five hours and 53 minutes. 

 

Novak Djokovic - Australian Open 2012 Men's Champion

"It was obvious on the court for everybody who has watched the match that both of us, physically, we took the last drop of energy that we had from our bodies," Djokovic said. "We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn't be two winners."

 

Djokovic poses with the Australian Open title near the official clock showing the total time of 5:53 which is the longest finals in the tennis grand slams played during the Open era

 

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic posing before the start of what was an epic 5 hour 53 minutes battle for the title which Djoker came out as the victor

 

Djoker celebrates an amazing victory over Nadal during the longest final of Australian Open in Melbourne

 

Novak Djokovic shirtless celebration after winning the Australian Open 2012 men's title beating Rafael Nadal in a near six hour five set epic match

Novak Djokovic ripped off his shirt and let out a winning scream....

 

Rafael Nadal congratulates Novak Djokovic after their epic finals in the Australian Open 2012 tournament at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne

 

The official Rolex clock showing the longest finals timing of 5 hours 53 minutes played between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Rafael Nadal of Spain

 

Djoker and Rafa posing with the Australian Open trophies

 

Djokovic kissing the Australian Open trophy

A perfect start for Djoker and his team... will we see a career slam soon??  the chances are pretty high after seeing the level of tennis that Djokovic plays now... and he seems to be deserving too.. with his will to win and the calmness he shows in the court... quite contrast to the person he was when he started playing professional tennis.

Novak Djokovic wins longest Australian Open finals against Nadal

Just witnessed an amazing and gruelling 5 hour 53 minutes marathon finals between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open Grand Slam finals held at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Serbian Novak Djokovic thus won the longest Grand Slam final in history and defended his men's singles crown by beating Spaniard Rafael Nadal in a thrilling five setter - 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5.

Here are some pictures of this amazing epic finals between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

 

Novak Djokovic wins Australian Open Grand Slam men's title 2012

 

Serbian Djokovic celebrates shirtless after his Australian Open victory after beating Rafael Nadal in a 5 hour 53 minutes epic finals

 

The Legend Rod Laver presenting the Australian Open trophy to Novak Djokovic

 

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal - The winner and runner-up of Australian Open 2012 Grand Slam

 

The epic match finalists - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after playing the longest finals in the Tennis open era. You can see that both of them are visibly tired and couldn't even stand during the presentation ceremony

 

Thank god for the chairs :) Rafael Nadal and Djokovic were thankful after getting to sit in these chairs during the presentation ceremony after their epic Australian Open finals

 

Novak Djokovic wins his 3rd Australian Open title and his 5th Grand slam title

 

Rafael Nadal becomes the unlucky runner-up after being beaten by Djokovic in an epic 5 set match. 

Nadal unable to beat Djokovic in 7 of their previous final encounters

Thank You Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for giving us such an amazing finals!!! You both are winners...
What a final it has been.. even am tired after watching it for so long.. gotta get some break now.. :)

Top Sporting Moments of 2011

The year 2011 witnessed quite a few sporting success and surprises... Here are some of the top sporting moments in the year 201, according to me.

1. India's World Cup Cricket Triumph

 

Wallpaper of India's World Cup 2011 Victory

First and foremost being India winning the Cricket World Cup 2011 beating Sri Lanka in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on 2nd April, 2011. This was India's second World Cup after Kapil Dev's team led India to their first World Cup way back in 1983. Sachin Tendulkar achieved his World cup dream after six attempts playing in World Cups.


2. New Zealand's All Black Team winning Rugby World Cup

 

All Blacks winning Rugby World Cup  after 24 years

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team - the All Blacks winning the Rugby World Cup beating France 8-7 to lift the Rugby World Cup for the second time in Auckland on October 23rd 2011. The first time they won was way back in 1987 which was the inaugural Rugby World Cup.


3. Tennis World Number One Novak Djokovic showing his supremacy in 2011

 

2011 - The Year of Djoker in Tennis

The world no. One Serbian Novak Djokovic dominated this tennis season with a 70-6 win-loss record, which saw the Serbian winning 10 ATP titles, including three of the four Grand Slams - Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open. His 43-game unbeaten streak from the start of the season was an ATP tour record, surpassing John McEnroe's 42-game mark in 1982.
He had a phenominal 2011 where both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal lost their ground to this Serbian star.


4. Formula One Champion Sebastian Vettel's amazing 2011 season

 

Sebastian Vettel winning successive Formula One Championship for Red Bull

German Formula One star Sebastian Vettel claiming his second successive Formula One Championship representing the Red Bull Racing team. It was a strong dominant season of 2011 for Sebastian Vettel as claimed a record 15 pole positions, eclipsing Nigel Mansell's 1992 record. Vettel won 11 races out of the 19 F1 Grand Prix races. He also finished on the podium in 18 of the 19 races he completed. The young German (just 24 years old) is the fast on the rise to be an efficient successor of Michael Schumacher.


5. Virender Sehwag scoring double century (219) surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's 200 in ODI Cricket

 

Virender Sehwag scoring second double century in One Day International Cricket

Virender Sehwag of India scored a double century against West Indies to become the second batsman in the world, after the Maestro Sachin Tendulkar, to score a double-ton in the 50-over game.
The Nawab of Najafgadh became the highest scorer in an ODI innings with 219 runs.


6. French Open Grand slam champion Li Na of China becoming Asia's first singles Grand Slam winner 

 

China's Li Na wining French Open and becoming Asia's first singles grand slam winner

Asia's first singles grand slam winner Li Na - the French Open Women's Champion in 2011. China's Li Na becomes Asia's first-ever Grand Slam title champion when she beat the Italian Francesca Schiavone to win the women's title at Roland Garros.


7. England Cricket Team lifting Ashes beating Australia 3-1 in Australia

 

English Cricket Team winning Ashes in Australia

The England cricket team winning the Ashes series 3-1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 7, 2011. England claimed their a first series triumph in Australia in nearly a quarter of a century. The English team dominated the tests in 2011 and ended the year as Number one test team deservingly.


There were many more such sporting moments.. to name a few.. 
1. Lionel Messi taking Barcelona to the 2011 UEFA Champions League title beating Manchester United 3-1
2. New Zealand cricket test team beating Australia in a test match in Australian soil after 26 long years
3. Samantha Stosur winning the US Open Grand Slam 2011 title and thus becoming the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
4. The Czech tennis star Petra Kvitova winning her first Grand Slam title in the form of Wimbledon 2011. This year saw three new women's grand slam tennis winners.


Wish You All A Happy New Year 2012. Hope the year 2012 will bring many more such sporting moments...