Sachin creates history in London

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the first Indian sports icon to be featured at the Madame Tussaud's wax museum.
The world renowned tourist attraction in London flewn its new wax figure of the Indian batting legend over 7,000 kilometers to Mumbai for a "meeting" with the real cricketing legend.

"I am very impressed with the figure and delighted to be honoured by Madame Tussauds," commented Terndulkar.

"It is the first time we have ever launched a figure overseas but we really wanted Sachin to see his likeness before it "meets" the public in the attraction," said Liz Edwards, PR Manager at Madame Tussauds London.

"The figure will now be returning to London to join the ranks of sporting greats past and present in our Sports Zone. There will also be a cricketing challenge around the figure where guests can test their skills against the `masterblaster` and we know it will be a huge hit with fans," Edwards was quoted.

Sally Chatterjee, Interim CEO, Visit London said, "London and India share a great passion for cricket and we are delighted that Madame Tussauds has unveiled a figure of Sachin Tendulkar. With the ICC World Twenty20 coming to London this June more cricket fans will have the opportunity to come face to face with one of their sporting heroes."

Cesc wants unbeaten run

Captain Cesc Fabregas wants Arsenal to go unbeaten until the end of the campaign in a bid to silence their critics.

The Gunners have failed to mount a serious Premier League title challenge this term, but are in the FA Cup semi-finals and in a strong position to reach the same stage of the Champions League.

Arsene Wenger's men have not lost in the league since November after a period when William Gallas was replaced by Fabregas as the club's captain.

Fabregas has recently returned from almost four months out with a knee injury and is now eager to finish the season in a positive fashion.

"It's quite good what we have done, but it is not enough," said Fabregas. "We want to go all the way.

"We have said to ourselves we do not want to lose another game before the end of the season and that's what we will try to do. Of course, we cannot say for definite that will happen. But that's the aim, for sure. That has been our intention.

"We have done it during the past few weeks. We just need to keep it going for a few weeks more."

Arsenal face Villarreal in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday with the tie at 1-1 before meeting Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.

Title contenders Liverpool await in the Premier League next week and Fabregas is looking forward to the upcoming fixtures.

He added: "It is a good 10 days we have coming up now. We will play three very important matches for the players and the club that will decide our season and where we can go.

"I'm very confident that if we keep going and playing like we are doing, we can do well.

"We have been playing quite well throughout the whole season, yet for some reason some people decided to go a little bit against us. Some people tried to create a little bit of a bad atmosphere.

"We can answer them by winning things and that's what we are aiming to do over the remainder of the season. That's why these next few days are key for us.

"We have Villarreal in the Champions League, then Chelsea, an amazing team, in the FA Cup semi-final. We still have a big say in the season."

Is Loeb Motorsports' greatest?

In Engine Block’s “Rumble Strip” this week, we ask: Can WRC driving legend Sebastien Loeb rival Motorsports' greatest?

Fifty-one wins from 117 races, 5 consecutive championships from 2004 to 2008 and every other record you can think of in rally racing. To say Sebastien Loeb came into the motorsports scene with a bang is an understatement conquering the Junior World Rally Championship as a rookie in 2001 and progressing straight away to the main series the following year. The Frenchman just narrowly missed winning his first WRC title in 2003, relinquishing the crown to Norway's Petter Solberg by a mere point, but his prowess has been indomitable since.

Loeb's driving supremacy extends to open-wheel where he's posted competitive lap times in testing compared to F1 drivers. The rally specialist has in fact beaten the best of the best in every imaginable racing discipline winning the prestigious Race of Champions event three times, more than any other driver, the formidable Michael Schumacher included.

Yet, in a world where image rules, Loeb is overshadowed by personalities with a penchant for over-the-top drama. Despite his potential for being hailed the greatest driver, he remains hugely under the radar. Still, his many accomplishments speak for itself. Can the Frenchman be considered motorsports greatest?

Nadal to defend Queen's Club title

World number one Rafael Nadal is set to defend his title at the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club in London in June.

The Spaniard warmed up for his maiden Wimbledon triumph last summer by beating Novak Djokovic in the final, and now joins the line-up for the 2009 event alongside Britain's Andy Murray.

Nadal told aegonchampionships.com: "It is nice to come back to a place where you are the last champion.

"The AEGON Championships and Wimbledon are both very traditional tournaments and I love to play these two tournaments. To arrive as the last champion is going to be a really nice experience.

"You feel like you are in a club, a real tennis club, so that always is really nice.

"Playing (the AEGON Championships) means that you are already in London, the courts are in perfect condition like at Wimbledon and so it is always a pleasure to play there.

"The atmosphere is always really good and the crowd has always been really nice with me."

Federer heads to Monaco

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer has decided to accept a wild card to play in next week's Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

The world number two had initially left the first big clay court event of the season off his schedule but has now changed his mind.

Federer has again failed to recover his dominance of previous years and is yet to win a title this season.

The Swiss star told www.rogerfederer.com: "I have decided to accept a wildcard into the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tournament that begins on Monday. I will head there this weekend to start the clay court season."

Federer's great rival Rafael Nadal will be going for a fifth straight title when play begins on Sunday.