Sania in WTA Aegon Classic pre-quarters

Sania Mirza quelled a late challenge from world number 49 and 11th seed Anne Keothavong to sail into the pre-quarterfinals of the $220,000 WTA Aegon Classic on Wednesday. The unseeded Indian beat the British number one 6-1, 7-6 (5) in the second round after battling it out for one hour and 27 minutes.

Sania will now run into the winner of the match between local wild card Elena Baltachs and Russian fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the last-eight stage. Sania dominated the first set and did not give any chance to Anee, whom the Indian broke thrice to take lead.

However, Anee shrugged off the rustiness in the second set and put up a brave fight to stretch it to a tie-breaker, where Sania held her nerves and converted her second match point. Sania had beaten Tatiana Poutchek in the first round on Tuesday night.

Real Madrid sign Kaka from AC Milan

Real Madrid have signed Brazilian midfielder Kaka from AC Milan, the Primera Liga club said on their website on Tuesday. The 27-year-old international has agreed to a six-year contract to become the first player to join Real since Florentino Perez returned to the presidency this month.

Reports said the transfer fee was around 68 million euros ($94.05 million) which would make it the second biggest ever after Zinedine Zidane joined Real from Juventus for around 73 million euros in 2001. Kaka completed a routine medical earlier on Monday in Recife, where Brazil face Paraguay at home in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.

Kaka said he was leaving the Italians on good terms. "Everything I've always done for Milan has been by mutual agreement, from the moment I arrived until my departure today," he said. "I'm leaving by the front door." "I've won everything that I wanted as a player and this is a new motivation for me." "I'm sure Real Madrid will build a competitive team which can start winning titles again."

The official unveiling in Madrid is likely to take place at the end of the month, after the Confederations Cup in South Africa. "We are working on building a good team, an important team, and this has only just begun," Perez told radio station Onda Cero. Milan thanked Kaka for his contribution.

"AC Milan thanks the man Kaka and the champion Kaka for his decisive contributions to so many victories obtained in the last six years," the Serie A club said in a statement. "His loss on the field, though serious, can be filled. It will, however, be very difficult to fill the void left by Kaka the man." Kaka has long been a target for Real Madrid since former president Ramon Calderon promised to sign him in his election campaign in 2006 but failed to deliver.

Calderon resigned in January paving the way for Perez to come back three years after he stood down, and he was returned unopposed to the post. Perez has promised to deliver a "spectacular sporting project" built around the world's greatest players, and local media have spoken of a 300 million euro war chest which will be used to finance a second 'Galactico era' at the Bernabeu.

Having lured the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to Real earlier in the decade, Perez's flagship first signing on his return was Kaka, a move seen as both a declaration of intent and a dig at his predecessor.

He has also spoken of interest in Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, Liverpool's Xabi Alonso and Valencia duo David Villa and David Silva. New coach Manuel Pellegrini is the man tasked with blending these talents into a team capable of challenging treble-winners Barcelona.

Kaka will not face much competition in midfield which was one of Real's weakest areas last season as they lacked flair players capable of opening up sides in big games. His arrival will also cheer Real fans clamouring for a more entertaining brand of football, and who had often chanted "Where is Kaka?" at player presentations under Calderon over the last couple of years.

Federer wins maiden French Open title

Roger Federer gloriously completed a career Grand Slam on Sunday by capturing a record-equalling 14th major with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 win over Robin Soderling in the French Open final. The 27-year-old world number two finally won a Roland Garros crown at the 11th attempt and in his fourth successive final having come up heartbreakingly short in the last three showdowns against Spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal.

His victory, ironically over the Swedish 23rd seed who shocked four-time Nadal in the last 16, took him level with great friend Pete Sampras as the holder of 14 Grand Slam titles. He also moved into a select group made up only of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as men who have won all four of the Grand Slam events.

"It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure. I did it and it's phenomenal," said Federer who broke down in tears after being presented with the trophy by Agassi, the 1999 champion, and while the Swiss national anthem was played.

Soderling, who has now lost 10 times in 10 meetings with Federer, admitted the Swiss was a deserving winner. "Roger was too good for me today, he played much better. He is a worthy winner and for me he is the best player in history," said Soderling. "He gave me a lesson in how to play tennis."

Any doubts over Federer's ability to overcome his Paris jinx were quickly dashed as the Swiss star, playing in a record-equalling 19th Grand Slam final and riding a tidal wave of support, dominated Soderling. He broke the first game on a Soderling double fault and was soon a second break to the good to lead 4-0 when a sweetly-timed drop shot left the Swede stranded behind the baseline.

Soderling, the first Swede in the Roland Garros final since his coach Magnus Norman finished runner-up to Gustavo Kuerten in 2000, stopped the rot with a hold to trail 4-1, but Federer quickly nipped further ahead to 5-1. Soderling's uncompromising forehand, which was a dagger to the heart of Nadal, was looking more like a blunt instrument in the damp and chilly conditions.

His service game crumbled again in the seventh game as Federer claimed the opening set. It had taken just 23 minutes with the Swiss losing just two points on serve. The final was then delayed by a worrying security breach during the fourth game of the second set with Federer ahead 2-1.

A spectator, dressed in red, waved a flag of the Barcelona football club in the world number two's face before he was wrestled off Court Philippe Chatrier by security guards. But the Swiss star wasn't disrupted from his elegant stride, either by the intruder or the rain which started to steadily fall.

Although Soderling slowly rediscovered his service power, it was Federer who was comfortably dictating the points and he fired down four aces in the tie-break to open up a two-sets lead. He was a break ahead in the third set to lead 1-0 before Soderling carved out, and squandered, his first break point of the match in the fourth game.

Federer then sent down his 16th ace of the tie to stretch to 4-2. He came out to serve for a place in history but faltered to 30-40 with a wild, running forehand. With pregnant wife Mirka looking anxiously on, he averted the crisis and went to match point with a confident volley and claimed victory when Soderling netted a service return after 1hr 55min on court.

Federer slumped to the Paris clay in celebration and in tears as he secured his place as arguably the greatest player of all time.

Paes, Dlouhy win French Open men's doubles

India's Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic won the French Open men's doubles title on Saturday with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Belgium's Dick Norman.It was 35-year-old Paes's fifth men's Grand Slam doubles title having won twice here in 1999 and 2001 with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi, 1999 Wimbledon with Bhupathi and the 2006 US Open with Martin Damm.

"Dick and Wesley served really huge and made it difficult for us. They did a great job in getting to the final," said Paes who has now won 40 career doubles titles. Paes and Dlouhy first teamed up at Roland Garros last year, losing in the last 16 to eventual champions Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna. They then finished runners-up to Mike and Bob Bryan in the 2008 US Open final.

"We started playing together at Roland Garros last year. We lost then to the champions so we made it a point that we would come back and try and win it this year," added Paes, who has also won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.

Roger Federer kept his dream of a maiden French Open title alive

World number two Roger Federer kept his dream of a maiden French Open title alive when he battled past Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro 3-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a nail-biting semi-final on Friday. The Swiss, playing in his 20th consecutive grand slam semi-final, was one set from defeat when he turned on the style to set up a final with Swede Robin Soderling, who ushered out four times champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.

"I am a bit lucky but I fought," said Federer, who will on Sunday equal Ivan Lendl's record of 19 grand slam final appearances. "I have an outstanding record against him (Soderling) but he played a fantastic match against (Fernando) Gonzalez," he added after the Swede earlier won in five sets against the Chilean.

"He (Soderling) has a lot of credit since he is the one who knocked out Rafa, who was the man to beat in this tournament," added the 13-times grand slam champion, who has beaten the Swede in all their nine previous encounters. Federer, looking to equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand slam titles, got off to a miserable start as Del Potro relied on his big serve and punishing forehand to dictate the play.

Backed by a 15,000 capacity Centre Court crowd, he prevailed after three hours 29 minutes on his second match point to book his place in a fourth consecutive final on the Paris clay. Federer had started confidently, moving Del Potro around the court and setting up two break chances in the second and fourth games.

The Argentine saved them with an ace and a service winner before taking control of the match, stepping into the court to dominate the points. He broke for 3-2 when Federer netted a forehand and the same error from the Swiss in the ninth game gave Del Potro the first set after 38 minutes.

The 20-year-old Argentine had never taken a set from Federer in five previous matches. The Swiss forced a tiebreak in the second after all games went with serve and that is when he showed glimpses of his brilliant best. He won the tiebreak 7-2 when Del Potro sent a forehand long, triggering a prolonged roar from the crowd.

It failed to unsettle the towering Argentine, who broke in the first game of the third set and continued to look comfortable on his service games. At 15-15 in the seventh game, it looked like Federer was warming Del Potro up at the net, simply feeding the Argentine with the ball instead of finding a passing shot.

Del Potro won the game when Federer sent a chipped forehand long. As the clock ticked past the two-hour mark, the Argentine bagged the set, his Swiss opponent firing a forehand wide. Federer then started to mix up his game with sliced shots and was rewarded for his tactical change when the Argentine dropped serve in the fourth game of the fourth set by firing a forehand long to the delight of the partisan fans.

He broke again in the sixth game, following up on serve to send the contest into an unpredictable decider. With his teeth now sinking firmly into his prey, Federer stole his opponent's serve in the first game of the fifth set as Del Potro's game continued to crumble.

The Argentine briefly regained his poise in time to break back for 3-3, only to drop serve again with a double fault. Federer could sense victory and kept his composure. Del Potro saved one match point on his own serve but was helpless on the second when Federer followed a big first serve with a forehand winner to end the match.