Croatia have no major injury concerns going into Sunday's World Cup final despite having played three 120-minute matches
Nadal braced for tough Cilic test in Melbourne showdown
World number three Novak Djokovic and US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro kicked off their Australian Open preparations with easy first-round wins at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Wednesday. Del Potro cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, before Serbian Djokovic made light work of experienced German Tommy Haas 6-2, 6-3 at the eight-man invitational event.
Real Madrid will not take any risk in rushing forward Gareth Bale back from injury and the Wales international will only return when he is ready, manager Zinedine Zidane said. Bale has not played since Jan. 17 after damaging a calf muscle in a La Liga match against Sporting Gijon. Spanish media have reported that Bale, whose Real career has been blighted by a succession of injuries, suffered a setback in his recovery. Zidane said Real needed to be "calm" about an injury that has been "going on for a bit more time for him". "If he's uncomfortable and it hurts him, it's normal that he could have a setback," Zidane told a news conference on Friday. "He's a very important player for us and we're not going to take any risks. We want him at 100 percent, not at 80 or 85." Zidane said Bale was "in good spirits" although he is set to miss at least the first leg of Real's Champions League last-16 clash with AS Roma in Italy on Wednesday.
Hull City completed the signing of Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez from Italian Serie A club Palermo for a club record fee of 9.5 million pounds ($15.8 million) on Monday.
Australian Nick Kyrgios was expelled from the tournament after going wild in the third set of his match against Casper Ruud.
India's Sania Mirza put herself in contention for a seventh Grand Slam title as she breezed into the Australian Open mixed doubles final with Ivan Dodig, beating local favourites Samantha Stosur and Sam Groth in Melbourne on Friday.
American Andy Roddick defeated the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday after an enthralling final.
Filmmaker Ronnie Screwvala's daughter Trishya got married to Suhail Chandhok on January 19 at the Taj Mahal Palace in south Mumbai. It was followed by a starry reception at the same venue the next day.
Six-time Australian Open champion Djokovic pulled out of a tournament in Abu Dhabi last week because of continuing problems with his right elbow and wore a sleeve over the joint during his round robin match against the Austrian.
With 'nothing to lose', Kuznetsov senses upset over vulnerable Murray
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Novak Djokovic recovered from a set down to defeat fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday, while India's Somdev Devvarman lost to Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
World number two Karolina Pliskova beat Croatia's Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the inaugural Zhengzhou Open on Sunday to win the 15th WTA singles title of her career and her first in China.
Beaten twice by Nadal in the space of a month, in the Barcelona and Madrid Open finals, Thiem took his revenge by handing the 30-year-old Spaniard a first clay court defeat of the season in Rome.
Teeanger Borna Coric completed an unlikely comeback for Croatia as the small Balkan nation beat the United States 3-2 in a Davis Cup quarter-final in Oregon on Sunday.
Sania Mirza and doubles partner Cara Black got off to a bad start in the New Year with a shock first round defeat against wild cards Jarmila Gajdosova and Ajlaat Tomljanovic at the WTA Apia International, in Sydney on Monday.
Roger Federer was given a fright before reaching the semi-final of the inaugural Istanbul Open.
Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva has been handed a two-match ban for deceiving the referee in last week's Champions League play-off against Arsenal, UEFA said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Rumi: What a holiday for the Lipstick In A Burkha actress.
Coric, who had failed to win a match in his last two appearances in Beijing and Shenzhen, saved two break points at 3-3 in the second set and clinched the first four games of the decider to record his 32nd match win of the season.
Mahesh Bhupathi was on Friday accused of non-payment of dues by the production company that was involved in the broadcast of his star-studded league International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) but the Indian tennis ace said he is not responsible for the situation.
While it's usually the hooligans who make the headlines, we turn our attention to the peace loving fans of the Euros.
Croatian Ivan Ljubicic captured his first ATP title in two years when he dismissed France's Michael Llodra 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Lyon Grand Prix on Sunday.
Images from the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
Top seed Rafa Nadal moved into the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Friday when Ivan Ljubicic became the eighth player to retire from the $3.24 million tournament. The Spanish world number two had just evened the match up at 3-6, 6-3 when 30-year-old Ljubicic, who had already had treatment on his left thigh, decided he could no longer continue.
World number two Rafa Nadal's comeback came to a shuddering halt on Saturday when he was crushed 6-1, 6-3 by Croatian Marin Cilic in the semi-finals of the $6.6 million China Open.
Top seed Andy Murray quickly found his feet on grass at Queen's Club on Wednesday, posting a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Italy's Andreas Seppi to reach the third round of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.
On a day when top seed Sloane Stephens survived a scare before beating Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, Sakkari showcased supreme court coverage skills throughout her almost two-hour match against Bertens.
Following are comments, quotes and reactions from the French coach, players.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's trophy aspirations could well depend on how well they cope with an injury crisis that sees Gareth Bale and Luka Modric in the treatment room.
It was no surprise that Croatia cavorted on the pitch in celebration with fans and family long after beating England in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Wednesday night, but a wiser head might have ushered them quietly to ice bath and bed.
Some England soccer fans sobbed while others looked to the future with confidence
Euro 2016's round of 16 gets under way on Saturday after the completion of the group stages. With shocks aplenty, we saw some major upsets and heartbreaks in the preliminary round. Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com takes a look at the top five disappointments of Euro 2016 so far...
Ninth seed Gilles Simon booked his place in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday after a 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 win over Russian Igor Andreev.
Defending champion Djokovic fired his 15th ace on match point to defeat Querrey but his serve had been an issue earlier in their second-round encounter.
A round-up of Thursday night's matches from the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Croatia will be ready for both versions of Russia, says Perisic
Rafael Nadal continued his quest for a maiden Paris Masters title when he survived a second set blip to beat Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas
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