Paes-Hingis win Australian Open mixed-doubles title

This is Leander Paes' seventh mixed-doubles crown.

India's Leander Paes and Swiss Martina Hingis turned back the clock to post a sensational win in the Australian Open mixed-doubles final and improve their respective Grand Slam count to 15, in Melbourne on Sunday.

The seventh seed Indo-Swiss pair played powerful tennis to serve past third seeds Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3 in the 62-minute battle at the Rod Laver Arena.

While the 41-year-old Paes clinched his seventh mixed doubles crown, Hingis, who came out of retirement for the second time a couple of years back, collected her tenth doubles Slam apart from her five singles titles.

Paes and Hingis broke the Canadian-French pair of Nestor and Kristina once in the first set and twice in the second to put up an entertaining display.

Paes, a veteran doubles specialist, joined forces with the 34-year-old Hingis last year only to come up with a Slam title in quick time.

Hingis, who burst into the scene in 1995, thanked her idol and legend Martina Navratilova for suggesting Paes as her mixed-doubles partner.

“I am thankful to Martina (Navratilova) for getting me partner Paes. It’s incredible to be playing on the surface that I made my debut in 1995. I never imagined that 20 year’s down-the-line I would be still be playing here,” said an excited Hingis — winner of three singles Australian Open titles.

Navratilovia, who also partnered Paes to clinch the Australian Open and Wimbledon mixed—doubles crown in 2003, was in the stands to watch the tennis veterans play.

Djokovic wins Australian Open 2015

The win means Djokovic stays at World no. 1 on the next ATP rankings when they are released on Monday, with Murray moving to four from his current sixth.

Novak Djokovic may never win as many Wimbledon or U.S. Open titles as Roger Federer or as many French Open championships as Rafa Nadal but when it comes to the Australian Open the Serbian reigns supreme.

At Melbourne on Sunday, Djokovic won his fifth Australian Open crown, beating Andy Murray 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0 in an old fashioned slugfest where the pair went toe-to-toe like two prize fighters before the Serb knocked the Scotsman out.

The only man to win more Australian titles than Djokovic is Roy Emerson, who chalked up six in the 1960s when the Grand Slams were restricted to amateur players and the Australian Open was played on grass at different cities all over the country.

But in the professional era, Djokovic is the undisputed king down under, playing in five Australian Open finals and winning the lot.

“I am so privileged and honoured and grateful to be standing here as a champion for the fifth time and to be in the elite group of players with Sir Roy Emerson and Rod Laver and all the legends of our sport,” said the Serb.

“Tough luck tonight, Andy, you are a great competitor, you fight a lot and I want to congratulate your team and wish you all the best for the rest of the season,” he added.

The win means Djokovic stays at World no. 1 on the next ATP rankings when they are released on Monday, with Murray moving to four from his current sixth.

“We have put in a lot of hard work to try and get back in this position after what was a difficult year last year,” said Murray, referring to injuries that dogged his 2014 season.

Murray put Djokovic under immediate pressure with three break points in the third game of the opening set, played in cool and windy conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

But the Serb fought back to hold after an almighty 27-stroke rally and an ace.

Djokovic struck in the next game, breaking Murray to take an early 3-1 lead.

It was hard-fought tennis and the Scot worked his way back by breaking his rival on his third break point in the seventh game.

Djokovic jammed the thumb of his serving hand when he slipped chasing a low volley and needed treatment at the next changeover.

It seemed to bother him briefly only and he broke the Scot a second time before being broken back as he served for the opening set, taking it to a tiebreaker.

The top seed trailed 2-4 in the tiebreaker but then rattled off five of the next six points to claim the opening set in 72 minutes.

Undeterred, Murray broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set before Djokovic hit back with a double break as the Scot looked in trouble with Djokovic stringing together 13 straight points.

The final was then interrupted by a security scare for five minutes when political activists unfurled a banner in support of refugees.

One of them jumped on court with security guards ringing both players as at least four protestors were escorted out of the stadium.

The stoppage worked in Murray’s favour as he broke Djokovic’s service to level the set at 4-4.

The final went to a second tiebreak in which Murray prevailed 7-4 to level the hard-fought contest.

Djokovic suffered an immediate let-down, dropping his opening service in the third set, but he stormed back with a double break to edge in front two sets to one as Murray flagged.

Fired-up, the top seed then split the final set wide open, racing through the fourth set against a spent and frustrated Murray with a triple break to surge to victory.

NASA launches Earth's water observing satellite

It is on a mission to track the amount of water locked in soil, which may help residents in low-lying regions brace for floods or farmers get ready for drought conditions.

A Delta 2 rocket carrying Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite was launched early Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California’s central coast.

The satellite is on a three-year mission to track the amount of water locked in soil, which may help residents in low-lying regions brace for floods or farmers get ready for drought conditions.

NASA launch manager Tim Dunn said there were zero launch problems with the rocket, calling the Delta 2 a “workhorse.”

Once the satellite reaches the desired orbit 430 miles or 692 kilometers high, engineers will spend two weeks checking out the two instruments, which will measure moisture in the soil every several days to produce high-resolution global maps.

Scientists hope data collected by the satellite, the latest to join NASA’s Earth—orbiting fleet, will improve flood forecasts and drought monitoring.

At a news conference broadcast online, SMAP mission project manager Kent Kellogg said the launch went off without a hitch.

“This data will benefit not only scientists seeking a better understanding of our planet, climate and environment ... it’s a boon for emergency planners and policy makers,” said Geoffery Yoder, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for programs.

Currently, drought maps and flash flood guidance issued by the federal government are based on computer modeling. SMAP will take real-time measurements that can be incorporated into forecasts, said Dara Entekhabi, mission science team leader from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Besides the satellite, the rocket also carried three research nanosatellites for JPL, Montana State University and California Polytechnic State University. More than 100 university students took part in designing and building the tiny satellites known as CubeSats.