Aisam ul haq beat roger federer in double match

KARACHI: Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Swiss doubles partner James Cerritani brushed aside tennis great and world number one, Roger Federer and his Swiss compatriot Marco Chiudinelli in straight sets at the Basel Open in the Swiss city on Tuesday.

Qureshi was at his serve-and-volleying best in the round-of-32 match as he and Swiss Cerritani cruised to victory against the world number one Federer and Chidudinelli in two sets, 6-4, 6-3 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the 2.6 million-dollar ATP tournament.

Playing in the world number one’s hometown, the Pakistani player and his partner were in control of the match from the first game and although Federer and his old friend Chiudinelli produced moments of brilliance, the grit and powerful serve-and-volley game of Qureshi and Cerritani proved too much in the end.

The Pak-Swiss pair will now play tournament first seeds Daniel Nestor (Canada) and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) in the round of 16.

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2003 Ferrari Enzo

General Info
Price:	$643,330
Miles Per Gallon:	--- mpg
Curb Weight:	2767 lbs
Layout:	Mid-Engine/RWD
Transmission:	6-Speed Semi-Automatic
Engine
Type:	V12
Displacement:	5998 cc
Horsepower:	660 bhp @ 7800 rpm
Torque:	472 lb-ft @ 4700 rpm
Redline:	8200 rpm
Performance
0-60 mph:	3.6 sec
0-100 mph:	6.3 sec
Quarter Mile:	11 sec @ 130 mph
Skidpad:	---
Top Speed:	217 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph:	--- ft
Slalom Speed:	--- mph

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The Most Expensive Sports

One of the great things about sports is that anyone with at least a modicum of talent and a heart full of desire can participate competently at something regardless of the size of their bank account.

That's right: Despite what the marketing wizzes at Nike (nyse: NKE - news - people ) might lead you to believe, it doesn't take a $200 pair of Air Jordans to play a decent game of pick-up basketball, any more than it requires a $2,000 driver to land a lucky hole-in-one on No. 7 at Pebble Beach, or nearly a $100,000 Holland & Holland side-by-side to plug a partridge in mid-flight.

And yet, as anyone who has ever dabbled seriously at such pursuits knows, throwing money around can have a positive effect on your game. From boosting your confidence, comfort and ability levels, to inspiring awe--or, even better, intimidation--in your opponents, highest-end training and equipment can be a worthy investment.

Nowhere does this hold truer than in sports that are expensive by their very nature. An auto racer behind the wheel of the finest sports car money can buy, a racing yacht crewed by high-salaried and seasoned sailors, or a mountaineer trained by experts and outfitted in premium gear are all forces to be reckoned with, regardless of their opponents'--or mountain's--will to stop them.

"The benefit of expensive sporting assets is almost incalculable on the field of play," notes Rege Ludwig, former coach of the U.S. Polo Team, who now runs first-rate polo clinics from his base in Palm Springs, Calif. Ludwig illustrates his point with the tale of a high-goal professional polo player with a stable full of horses, including a favorite named Chessy. "Every time he was on Chessy, he would score two goals, no matter what. His skills were basically the same, but the way he used them were different, and he would try stuff on Chessy he wouldn't try on other horses. Opponents got so nervous when they saw the two together, they'd start worrying and stop playing their game."

The result? The owner of an opposing team offered £225,000 (about $405,000) for Chessy--not to ride him, but to keep the two apart. In the end, the player realized Chessy's value went well beyond money and refused to sell.

Of course, as anyone who wants to sink his change into expensive sports will quickly learn, high-priced assets are only part of the price. There's also the cost of maintaining those assets, as well as of moving them around from one event to the next. A vintage Ferrari or Bentley not only has to get to the track and back each weekend, but must also be maintained before, during and after every race. A cycling team may ride like the wind, but only if it has transportation capable of hauling both bikes and riders to the starting line. And nobody can compete in anything without the necessary membership fees, licenses, and insurance to qualify them in the first place. How fast can such costs add up? You'd be amazed.

To give you a good idea of what you're getting yourself into as you pursue high-priced excellence on the field, we've compiled some of the world's most expensive sports and the anticipated costs should you bankroll them yourself. Presented on a "give-or-take" basis, they reflect actual prices and authoritative estimates. Just remember--no matter how much money you throw at a sport, it still takes heart to win.

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Florida Gators, inspired by basketball coach Billy Donovan, rout Georgia Bulldogs in football 41-17

JACKSONVILLE — Three months into the season, Florida football players have tired of hearing head coach Urban Meyer speak about sticking together and overcoming adversity.

So to help get the Gators out of their recent funk, Meyer turned Thursday to a man who knows about defending a national title: UF men's basketball coach Billy Donovan, whose teams won it all in 2006 and 2007. He talked with the team's leaders about 6and not letting outsiders ruin the Gators' season.

"He was very inspiring," Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. "It was very motivating for a lot of us."

Inspired by Donovan's message, the Gators defeated arch-rival Georgia 41-17 on Saturday in their most complete victory of the season.

"One of the best team wins we've had at Florida," said Meyer, who gave Donovan credit for the win.

"To have a resource like that an eighth of a mile from my office, it's kind of cool," Meyer said.

After sloppy victories over Arkansas and Mississippi State, the Gators finally held on to the ball (zero turnovers), scored from inside the Red Zone (2-of-3 opportunities) and expertly executed the offensive game plan.

The Gators improved to 17-3 over Georgia over the past 20 years, and Meyer improved to 14-1 in rivalry games against Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State and Miami. And with Tennessee beating South Carolina 31-13 Saturday night, the Gators (8-0, 6-0 SEC) clinched the SEC East division title with two conference games to play.

Meyer and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio devised a game plan that allowed Florida's offense to gain 374 yards and score 34 points. Meyer also challenged the players during practice this week to start performing like the No. 1 team in the country, capped by an emotional speech to the team Friday night.

"We weren't living up to our potential or executing as well as we should have been," Tebow said.

Tebow had a memorable performance playing in front of his hometown crowd for the final time in his college career. He completed 15 of 21 passes for two touchdowns and rushed for 85 yards and another two touchdowns, his first multiple-touchdown game since Sept. 26 against Kentucky. More importantly, he didn't turn the ball over and took only two sacks.

Tebow's first rushing touchdown, a 23-yarder late in the first half, gave him 50 for his career, breaking Herschel Walker's official SEC record. Walker, however, scored five touchdowns in bowl games that SEC officials do not count, so technically, Tebow's 51 career touchdowns are still three short of Walker's career total.

"Just to be mentioned in the same breath as Herschel Walker, it's extremely humbling," Tebow said.

Florida may finally have clicked on offense, but the defense once again stole the show. The Gators held Georgia to 286 yards of offense and intercepted four Bulldogs passes. Linebacker A.J. Jones took two away, while linebackers Ryan Stamper and Brandon Spikes snagged one each.

Spikes returned his interception 5 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown to punctuate the blowout and send the Georgia half of the stadium home early.

For Meyer and his players, it was the perfect ending to a tough week.

"There's only one way to have fun around here," Meyer said, "and that's singing the fight song after the game."

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College basketball countdown: No. 9 Villanova

As a youngster growing up in Herndon, Va., Villanova senior Scottie Reynolds rooted for the Maryland Terrapins, so naturally his favorite buzzer-beater was Drew Nicholas' fadeaway 3-pointer that beat UNC Wilmington in an NCAA first-round game in 2003.

Now Reynolds has a new No. 1 buzzer-beater: his own shining moment in the NCAA Tournament. Reynolds' thrilling length-of-the-court-drive through the Pitt defense last season sent the Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.

"It's a lot different around here now," said Reynolds of life on the Villanova campus. "Everyone has embraced us like we won the national championship. The buzz is still that strong."

Villanova is among the favorites to make a return trip to the Final Four this season, and Reynolds is a big reason why. The 6-2 guard decided to come back for a senior season after withdrawing his name from the NBA draft in June. There were a lot of reasons Reynolds wanted to return to school, and one of them was the chance to make another Final Four and have a chance to win the national championship that eluded him last season when the Wildcats were knocked off by North Carolina in a national semifinal.

"I love this group of guys," Reynolds said. "(Last season's seniors) Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark motivated me to lead the team and wanting that challenge. We want to keep this thing at a high level. We want this team to reach its potential."

And Villanova has plenty of potential. Coach Jay Wright returns four players with starting experience and has added three of the top 30 freshmen in the country.

Reynolds (15.2 ppg) is the undisputed leader. He scored 20 points or more in nine games last year and led the team with 3.4 assists per game. He's a three-year starter and on pace to score 2,000 points for his career.

Junior guard Corey Fisher (10.8 ppg) earned the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year after assuming a reserve role midway through the season. He was the team's third-leading scorer and reached double figures 23 times in 38 games.

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Basketball becomes bat-sketball as player swats Halloween night invader

It was with an uncanny sense of timing that a bat chose Halloween to disrupt the NBA tie between San Antonio Spurs and the Sacramento Kings. What, perhaps, the creature did not count on were the quick hands of the Spurs' Manu Ginobili who, not content with scoring 13 points in his side's 113-94 win, swatted it from the air as it swooped across the court.

The bat had already sent players to the sidelines twice in the first quarter. The officials stopped the game as it circled then flew across the AT&T Center's court. First they called for a towel to catch it, then a net. But Ginobili took matters, literally, into his own hands. When the bat returned he simply smacked it to the ground before calmly carrying it off court to thunderous applause.

After a brief squirt of disinfectant from a trainer, and with the theme from Batman ringing in his ears over the venue's PA, the Argentinian player carried on much as if nothing had happened. "When you can't dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news," he said afterwards. "So that's what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn't think it was a big deal. Then the whole arena started chanting my name."

It was his team-mate, Tony Parker, who led the Spurs' victory with 24 points and seven assists, however it was Ginobili's bat-slapping exploits that grabbed the attention. "That was amazing," said Parker. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. He's always doing crazy stuff."

It was something his coach, Gregg Popovich confirmed: "The drummer that he marches to sometimes is a little bit different. He never ceases to amaze me and he just did it again. The legend grows. It's incredible on Halloween night. You would call someone a liar if they told you that story."

"I guess in Argentina, bat hunting is part of everyday life," the Kings centre Spencer Hawes said. "Somebody had to do it, and it wasn't going to be me."

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