The big news: Finally, Federer does it

Roger Federer beat his nemesis Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to win the Australian Open final to clinch his 18th major title. Federer saw himself fight back from a 1-3 deficit in the fifth set to seal his fifth Australian Open title and his fifth Grand Slam title since his 2012 Wimbledon title.

Nadal, who like Federer was making a comeback from a wrist injury, tried his best against a resilient Federer at Rod Laver Arena. The 17-time Grand Slam winner finally broke the Spaniard to take a 5-4 lead and serve for the match. Nadal fought a number of championship points, but could not hold Federer from winning yet another Grand Slam title.

Tennis:

  • India’s Sania Mirza and Croatian partner Ivan Dodig lost their Australian Open mixed doubles final on Sunday. The second seeds were outclassed by Abigail Spears and Juan Sebastian Cabal 2-6, 4-6 in the final.

Badminton:

  • Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu clinched her maiden Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title in Lucknow on Sunday with a comfortable 21-13, 21-14 victory over Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska. In the men’s singles final, Sameer Verma beat Sai Praneeth 21-19, 21-16 to lift the trophy. 

Cricket:

  • India beat England by five runs in the second T20I at Nagpur on Sunday. Put into bat first, India reached 144/8 after KL Rahul’s knock of 71. However, it was Ashish Nehra and Jasprit Bumrah who ensured an Indian victory. With the T20I series tied at 1-1, the third T20I at Bangalore will be a crucial affair on February 1.
  • The Indian Under-19 cricket team trainer Rajesh Sawant was found dead in his hotel room in Mumbai on Sunday. The incident occurred a day before the India Under-19 team’s first one-day against England Under-19.
  • Delhi beat Jammu and Kashmir by eight wickets in the North Zone leg match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament on Sunday.
  • The England cricket team will be lodging a complaint against match referee C Shamshuddin, who was officiating the second T20I on Sunday. Shamshuddin sent Joe Root back to pavilion. However, Root had clearly edged the ball before it hit his pad.

Boxing:

  • Indian boxer L Sarita Devi comfortably defeated Zsofia Bedo of Hungary to start her professional career on a winning note in the IBC Fight Night on Sunday. Sarita won the bout by a unanimous verdict. 

Football:

  • Luis Suarez’s last minute strike salvaged a 1-1 draw for Barcelona at Real Betis in the La Liga on Sunday. Betis took the lead with a goal from Alex Alegria in the 75th minute.       
  • East Bengal demolished Minerva Punjab 5-0 in their I-League match at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Sunday. 
  • FC Pune City and FC Alakhpura played out a goalless draw in the third match of the Women’s I-League at New Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium on Sunday.      
  • Dimitri Payet completed his £25 million move to Marseille from West Ham United, signing a four-and-a-half year contract with the Ligue 1 club.
  • Real Madrid moved four points clear at the top of the La Liga with a game in hand as they beat Real Sociedad 3-0 on Sunday. Real are ahead with 46 points, with Barcelona and Sevilla on 42, with Barcelona second owing to goal difference. 
  • Manchester United beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 in their FA Cup clash on Sunday. Goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Marouane Fellaini, Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan ensured an easy win for Jose Mourinho.  
  • Champions Juventus went four points clear at the top of Serie A with a 2-0 win over Sassuolo. Gonzalo Higuain and Sami Khedira netted one goal apiece in the easy win.