Stanislas Wawrinka won Australian Open mens Single 2014

Stanislas Wawrinka held firm in a match of high drama to defeat an injured Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3 and win his maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The eighth seed roared to a two-set lead after top seed Nadal struggled with an apparent back injury sustained early in the second set, but the Swiss was left stunned as his opponent suddenly revived in the third at Rod Laver Arena.

Though restricted in his movement, Nadal fought back into the match with a barrage of clean hitting, completely throwing the Swiss off his game who surrendered the third set in a hail of unforced errors.

Wawrinka captured a break in the fourth set, surrendered it with a terrible service game, but recovered again to earn a chance to serve for the match.

He stayed cool when it counted, serving strongly and sealing the win with an imperious forehand rocketing down the line.

A relieved Wawrinka raised his hands in the air in celebration and after shaking hands with a gloomy Nadal, went to console the Spaniard at his chair.

"First, Rafa, I'm really sorry for you, I hope your back is okay, you are a great friend and a great champion," Wawrinka said at the trophy ceremony.

"You did a remarkable comeback last year. For me it's the best grand slam ever.

"Right now I still don't know if I'm dreaming. I guess I'll find out in the morning."

The 2009 champion Nadal shed tears at the trophy ceremony, overcome by the emotion of a roller-coaster match.

"First thing I want to say, is thanks to Stan, we have a great relationship and you really deserve it today, so many congratulations and all the best.

"To all the crowd, it's been an emotional two weeks sorry to finish this way, I tried very, very hard.

"Last year was a tough when I wasn't able to play here, thanks for your support, see you next year."

The triumph capped a remarkable fortnight for Wawrinka who became the first man in 21 years to beat the top two seeds at a grand slam since Sergi Bruguera pulled off the feat at the French Open in 1993.

Five days after ending second seed Novak Djokovic's three-year reign at Melbourne Park, Wawrinka denied a distraught Nadal from becoming only the third man to have won all four majors at least twice.

BREAKING JINX

Though Nadal's injury clearly affected his game, Wawrinka had been well on top of their match early on and surged 3-1 clear in the first set after an early break.

Without a hint of nerves, Wawrinka blasted two aces before holding to lead 4-1, leaving the centre court crowd stunned.

Wawrinka stumbled when serving for the set to fall behind 0-40 but saved them all, as Nadal's returning went awry, and took the set with a crosscourt ace.

In all his previous 12 meetings against Nadal, Wawrinka had never won a set. Breaking that jinx propelled him on.

He broke Nadal in the first game of the second to march to a 2-0 lead before the Spaniard suddenly doubled over in pain.

He grimaced after a first serve and immediately signalled for a trainer and winced again after belting a forehand into the net from the baseline.

Nadal successfully held serve to trail 2-1 but quickly left the court for a medical time out, leaving Wawrinka to argue with the chair umpire about the lack of disclosure over the injury.

Nadal re-emerged after six minutes amid some jeers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd but his movement was clearly restricted and he was unable to generate any pace on his serve.

Wawrinka simply went about his business, marching to a 4-1 lead as Nadal double-faulted repeatedly and struggled to reach wide balls.

Nadal had more treatment on his back from a physio at the change of ends, then underlined his fighting spirit by holding serve to trail 5-2, but Wawrinka went on to serve out the set with an ace.

Whether it was painkillers or just pure grit, Nadal showed signs of a revival in the third set as he saved two break points before holding serve with a barrage of sweetly-struck forehands.

A searing forehand winner down the line gave Nadal two break points and astonishingly, the Spaniard broke a flat-footed Wawrinka when the Swiss bunted a bloodless forehand into the net.

As Nadal rallied, his eighth-seeded opponent sunk, spraying shots all over the court with his concentration clearly affected by the sudden momentum switch.

Still restricted in his movements, Nadal began gunning for the lines and his stand-and-deliver approach saw him march to a 5-2 lead.

With Nadal serving for the set at 5-3, Wawrinka had a chance to break back but was unable to flush the tension out and conceded the set when he smashed a forehand into the net.

As Nadal battled with his body, Wawrinka continued to battle with his mind as he broke Nadal in the final set and then gave it straight back.

Amid the doubts, the Swiss's serve never quite deserted him and it carried him to match point before his forehand sealed it to raise thunderous cheers from the terraces.

Li Na after her maiden Australian Open title 2014

Finally I got her, last two matches vs Cibulkova were very close. Thanks to my team, my physio, who is doing a very good job. Thanks to my husband for leaving everything for me. My husband is very lucky.... to have me. He does all the odd jobs like even fixing my racquet.

# Li Na wins her second Grand Slam title and maiden Australian Open after a 7-6 6-0 win over 20th seed Dominika Cibulkova.

# World No.4 taking full control here with a second break of serve against Cibulkova. Li leads the match 7-6 4-0.

'Exceptional' 29.6 carat blue diamond found in South African mine

A 29.6 carat blue diamond, one of the rarest and most coveted in the world with a possible price tag of tens of millions of dollars, has been discovered at a South African mine by Petra Diamonds.

The miner said the "exceptional" acorn-sized diamond, small enough to fit into the palm of a hand, was unearthed at the Cullinan mine near Pretoria.

The mine, owned by the firm since 2008, was also where the Cullinan Diamond was found in 1905 - described as the largest rough gem diamond ever recovered and weighing 3,106 carats.

Other notable diamonds found in the mine include a 25.5 carat Cullinan blue diamond, found in 2013 and sold for $16.9 million, and a diamond found in 2008, known as the Star of Josephine, which was sold for $9.49 million.

Chief Executive Johan Dippenaar told Reuters the latest blue diamond discovery could outstrip recent finds.

"By some margin ... this is probably the most significant stone we've ever, in terms of blue stones, recovered," he said.

"The stones in the last year or so are selling well above $2 million per carat. That's not my quote, that's updates in the market," he said ahead of the company's first-half trading statement.

Petra Diamonds is due to release figures on production and sales for the six months to December 31 on Thursday, but these will not take into account the find which occurred in January.

Analyst Cailey Barker at brokers Numis thought the diamond could fetch between $15 million and $20 million at auction.

Diamonds from both the Cullinan mine in South Africa and the Williamson facilities in Tanzania, both owned by Petra, have been displayed at London's Buckingham Palace and are regarded as among the rarest and most valuable in the world.

The 1905 Cullinan Diamond has been cut into two stones - the First Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa - and form part of Britain's Crown Jewels held in the Tower of London.

Dippenaar said the company would decide what to do with the diamond in the next week.

Samsung shows their tablet & Curved UHD TVs

Korean electronics giant Samsung took the wraps off four new high-end tablets and a new television that will allow consumers to change the display from flat to curved at the touch of a button. 

In a packed Mandalay Bay hall here at the International Consumer Electronics Show, which featured Hollywood director Michael Bay, the company introduced the Galaxy NotePRO and Galaxy TabPRO line of tablets — a few variations of which come in screens as large as 12.2 inches. The new Galaxy TabPRO, which is an expansion of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab line of tablets, comes in three available sizes — 8.4 inch, 10.1 inch and 12.2 inch. The Galaxy NotePRO will only be available in the 12.2-inch variation, however.

“We created this new series to kick-off a year in which Samsung truly establishes its leadership in the tablet market,” said J. K. Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Division, Samsung Electronics. 

All four tablets will have 2560 X 1600 pixel displays, Android 4.4 KitKat, WI-FI and LTE options and 8-megapixel rear cameras as well as 2-megapixel front panels.

According to analysts, the new tablets will help Samsung straddle the gap between a normal tablet and a laptop computer. As a case in point, the company's demos focussed on a new four-pane multi-window multi-tasking feature.

While the price and exact launch date of the tablets were not disclosed by the company, they are widely expected to be available by the end of the first quarter.

 

Curved HD TVs

The company also made a straight pitch for its curved ultra high-definition (HD) TVs, as it looks to combat shrinking sales and stagnating prices by focusing on ultra high-definition screens.

“A curved television provides even more life-like picture quality and depth. It gives you a 3D-like effect without wearing 3D glasses. It provides a truly immersive experience,” said a Samsung executive.

At least four of Samsung’s new TVs will have the curved design, a quality that company executives compare to IMAX and 3D. The models will range from 55 inches to 110 inches. While no launch dates or prices were given for the company's curved ultra HD TVs, the bendable TV will likely reach the market by the second-half of 2014.

 

(The correspondent is in Las Vegas at the invitation of Samsung)

Xolo unveils AMD-powered Windows

Xolo, the smartphone brand of Indian handset maker Lava, on Wednesday unveiled its first AMD-powered 10.1-inch tablet Xolo Win.

The company said the tablet will be available in stores across India towards the end of this month. However, the price of the Windows 8 certified device was not announced.

“The tablet is targeted at youth as well as working professionals, offering a superior high-definition image rendering with great multi-tasking and impressive power saving technology,” Lava International co-founder and Director Vishal Sehgal said.

The device features AMD dual core 1.0 GHz processor with AMD Radeon HD 8180G Graphics, which is designed to enhance the visual experience.

Xolo Win expands the usage of tablets with its strong battery life, solid performance and superior graphics and comes at a price point that redefines the tablet space, AMD India Managing Director Ravi Swaminathan said.

“We are delighted to be associated with Lava International Limited as we usher into a new era of mobility,” he added.

The tablet has a 2GB RAM and a 32GB multimedia card (MMC) reader. It has a rear camera with a resolution of 2MP, a front camera of one MP and a battery life of up to 7 hours.

Street named after A R Rahman in Canada

Oscar-winning music composer A R Rahman gets a street named after him in Markham, Ontario, Canada and the board having the street's name reads 'Allah-Rakha Rahman st'. A delighted Rahman posted a picture of him holding the board and tweeted "Welcome to my street! (In Markham, ON, Canada)."

 

The ace composer has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. The hard work he has done has earned him the nickname 'the Mozart of Madras' (born in Chennai) and is also nicknamed Isai Puyal (Music Storm).