Zinedine Zidane stole the show at a France's training camp on Wednesday in a sign that Les Bleus had a long way to go to erase the memory of their South Africa World Cup disgrace.
Maria Sharapova began Act II of her storied career on Monday when she shrieked her way into the second round of the French Open with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus.
New mum Victoria Azarenka wants to see more child-friendly tournaments on the WTA Tour, saying not enough is done to help players travelling with young families.
Holder Marion Bartoli advanced to the quarter-finals of the Stanford Classic on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over former world number one Ana Ivanovic, while Maria Sharapova also advanced to the last eight. Russian Sharapova, a three-times Grand Slam winner, beat Belarus's Olga Govortsova 6-3, 6-3 while Maria Kirilenko defeated sixth seed Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-3.
Ace Indian pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are one step away from securing the lone trophy missing from their cabinets. The third seeds got the better of the second-seeded pair of Daniel Nestor of Cananda and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 to make it to the final of the Australian Open.
Olympian Achanta Sharath Kamal, Soumyadeep Roy and A Amalraj entered the men's singles second round but it was curtains for their women counterparts in the opening round itself as India made a mixed start at the Egypt Open table tennis tournament in Cairo.
India's Greco-Roman grapplers Ravinder Singh, Harpreet Singh and Hardeep crashed out in the penultimate day of the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest on Saturday.
Indian ace Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi sailed into the second round of the men's doubles at Wimbledon, scoring a straight-set victory over the Argentine duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Sebastian Prieto in London on Thursday. The fourth-seeded Indo-Belarus pair won 7-5, 6-1, 7-5.
Sushil struggled at the Jakarta Asian Games leading to questions on whether he was good enough to go any further at 36.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
A thrilling draw away to Salzburg enabled Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade to reach the Champions League group stage for the first time where they will be joined by Portugal's Benfica and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. Red Star, who won the European Cup in 1991, came back from two goals down in an electrifying second leg in Austria to draw 2-2 and go through on away goals.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna advanced to the doubles quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event in Nice, France after winning the first round with their respective partners.
Gandhi's decision to fly economy class followed a similar act by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and an announcement by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna that he would be undertaking official trips to Belarus and Turkmenistan.
Sania Mirza and her Italian partner Francesca Schiavone, seeded 14th, survived a scare from unseeded Ekaterina Dzehalevich of Belarus and Czech Renata Voracova before recording a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win to advance to the women's doubles second round.
Jelena Jankovic had to fight her way into the fourth round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Monday while former world number one Kim Clijsters was upset by Russian Alisa Kleybanova. Serbian sixth seed Jankovic beat Italian Sara Errani 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in an error-strewn marathon on the stadium court before twice champion Clijsters of Belgium tumbled out 6-4, 1-6, 7-6.
Images from the action on Day 2 at the Australian Open.
Top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi made a shock first round exit from USD 1,100,000 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships after suffering a straight set defeat in Memphis.
Here's this week of photos that prove we live in a mad world.
Caroline Wozniacki said she felt 'cursed' at Melbourne Park after losing in straight sets to a resurgent Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open second round on Thursday.
It was a repeat of the 34-year-old's straight sets victory over Andy Murray in the second round of the US Open in August.
World number one Roger Federer overcame a sluggish start before advancing to the Australian Open semi-finals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5 victory over in-form Russian Nikolay Davydenko on Wednesday.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza successfully defended her Monterrey Open title on Sunday when Victoria Azarenka retired injured from her first WTA singles final in three years.
Serena Williams continued her smooth lead up to next week's Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Vera Dushevina at the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Australia's gruelling summer conditions claimed three more victims on Monday when Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka and Marion Bartoli all pulled out of the Sydney International because of injury and illness.
Victoria Azarenka suffered a stunning meltdown and blew three match points against world number one Serena Williams before losing 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(1) in the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
A round-up of Thursday night's matches from the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be the happiest man alive once he has completed his move to Barcelona from Inter Milan, the Swedish striker said on Sunday.
India became the first winner of the Women's Champions Challenge II in hockey history after they defeated Belgium 6-3 in the final in Kazan, Russia, on Saturday. Rani Rampal scored four goals and emerged the top scorer of the tournament.
Fabio Capello described David Beckham's man-of-the-match award as like American president Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize after the midfielder made a 30-minute cameo in a 3-0 defeat of Belarus on Wednesday. Beckham, sporting a bushy beard, said he is taking nothing for granted but insisted he would fight for his place in what would be a fourth World Cup finals with England.
Germany defender Nico Schulz scored a late winner as their new-look side snatched a 3-2 win away to the Netherlands in their opening Euro 2020 Group C qualifier on Sunday, an absorbing clash that swung in fortunes from one side to the other.
Manchester Untied striker Michael Owen is set for three weeks on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of a groin problem in the 2-1 Champions League victory over VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
It was mixed fortunes for Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles at the Wimbledon on Monday.
World number one Dinara Safina continued to bulldoze her way through the French Open draw when she flattened France's Aravane Rezai 6-1 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals on Sunday.
In the crucial ninth game Suarez Navarro seemingly held but Sabalenka challenged an ace at 40-15 and won the discussion.
Serena, a six-times champion in New York who is seeded 17th, will start her campaign against Polish world number 60 Magda Linette and could face Venus in the third round before a possible fourth-round showdown with Romanian top seed Halep.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said striker Diego Costa will start against Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday despite being left out of the Spain squad for this month's international matches because of persistent injuries.
Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza notched up a rare double for India at the US Open by advancing to the second round of the season's last Grand Slam with contrasting opening wins at the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.
Russia won their third successive Olympic rhythmic gymnastics group gold with two dynamic and intricately choreographed routines on Sunday. Their flawless exhibition of agility and dexterity earned them 35.550 points, 0.325 more than surprise silver medallists China. Belarus took the bronze.
What happened on Day 3 of the French Open was more surprising. Two of the top five seeded women exited.
Vinesh wins bronze, Pooja in line for second medal
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