Croatia will need their big-game players to step up.
Serena Williams will try to take a step closer to history on Saturday when she plays her third-round match at the US Open.
The Indo-Zimbabwe pair, who were runners-up in the tournament last year and have the 2008 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open crowns to their name, will take on 11th seeds Wesley Moodie/Lisa Raymond (South Africa/United States) in the final.
India's Leander Paes and his mixed doubles partner Zimbabwean Cara Black advanced to the Wimbledon's semi-finals on Thursday.
Top seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy earned a shot at their second title of the season after reaching the summit clash of the UNICEF Open with a win over Benjamin Becker and Scott Lipsky.
Serbia stunned Germany with a 1-0 win after Miroslav Klose was sent off and Lukas Podolski missed a penalty in World Cup Group D on Friday.
Top seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy progressed to the semi-finals of the UNICEF Open, defeating Thiemo de Bakker and Robin Haase in straight sets in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. The Indo-Czech pair beat the Dutch wild card entrants 7-5, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event.
Top seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy laboured to the doubles quarter-finals in the UNICEF Open with a hard-earned win over Florent Serra and Kristof V Liegen in s'Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. The Indo-Czech pair quelled a late challenge from the French-Belgian pair, winning 6-1, 6-7(5), 10-6, in the opening round of the euro 450,000 grass court event.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, who needed a final-set tiebreak to fight past Lukas Rosol in the first round, produced a performance of defiant persistence to fend off the challenge of the 24-year-old Dimitrov.
Indian ace Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy advanced to the doubles semi-finals while it was curtains for compatriots Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.
India's disappointing performance in the Winter Olympic Games continued with Armyman Tashi Lundup finishing a distant 83rd in the men's 15km Free Cross-country Skiing event in Vancouver.
Defending champions Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy remained on course for a second successive French Open title by advancing to the semi-finals of the men's doubles with a straight-set win in Paris on Tuesday.
Second seed Denis Istomin, third seed Marcos Baghdatis, giant-killer Oleksandr Dolgopolav Jr. and unseeded Lukas Lacko entered the semi-finals of the men' singles at the $125,000 Tashkent ATP Challenger, being played at the Olympic Tennis Stadium.
Newly-crowned Australian Open mixed doubles champion Leander Paes on Monday rose a rung to seventh in the ATP doubles' ranking in the latest list.
'We aren't playing well and we can't blame the coach, as the players are the ones who have to perform on the pitch'
Leander Paes had a bitter-sweet experience at the Australian Open, sailing into the semi-finals of the mixed doubles but crashing out of men's doubles, in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Somdev Devvarman's struggle on the ATP circuit continued as the fifth seed Indian crashed out of the Zagreb Challenger event after suffering a first round defeat against unseeded Yuri Schukin.
Germany will travel to the World Cup with all six strikers from their preliminary World Cup squad to keep their offensive options open, coach Joachim Loew said on Monday.
Leander Paes remained on course for his second successive Grand Slam title after reaching the men's doubles pre-quarterfinals of the Australian Open with partner Lukas Dlouhy in Melbourne on Saturday.
Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy crashed out of the ATP Rome Masters after being handed a straight-set defeat by the seventh seeded Polish-Austrian pair of Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach in the quarter-finals in Rome.
Third seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy moved to the quarter-finals of the ATP Rome Masters after getting a walk-over from Croat Ivan Ljubicic and Michael Llodra of France in the second round.
Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy advanced to the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters after registering a tough three-set win over American pair of John Isner and Sam Querry in Paris.
Arsenal, who went nine years without a trophy before winning the FA Cup in May, collected their second piece of silverware in three months when they crushed champions Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
Out of action owing to a wrist injury, tennis ace Sania Mirza has risen a couple of rungs to 90th in the latest WTA singles rankings issued on Monday.
Leander Paes and his partner Lukas Dlouhy breezed past Spaniards Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo to storm into the Sony Ericsson Open doubles final in Miami.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had to strain their sinews before the Indian duo, along with their respective partners, cleared the opening round hurdle in the men's doubles event of the Miami Masters.
Arsene Wenger played down an incident that led to the arrest of a Southampton fan after his Arsenal side went down 2-0 on the south coast on Thursday.
Friday's showdown will be the 40th meeting between the duo with Rafael Nadal leading 24-15 and 10-3 in Grand Slams.
An injury time goal from Lukas Podolski rescued a 2-2 friendly draw for Germany against Ivory Coast on Wednesday, the home team's first game since last week's suicide of keeper Robert Enke.
The Indian challenge in the ATP Paris Masters tennis tournament ended after Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, along with their respective partners, crashed out of the doubles event following unexpected second-round defeats.
The second seeded Indo-Czech pair beat the German-Belgian combination 2-6, 7-6(6), 10-7 in the semi-finals of the US $1,619,500 hard court event.
Her protege Tintu Luka has already broken the two-minute barrier in 800m and legendary P T Usha feels the best is yet to come for the 21-year-old who can be a bet for an Olympic medal that eluded the former track-queen in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
With Somdev Devvarman qualifying for the singles event, all the members of the Indian Davis Cup team are now set to compete in the $1,619,500 Dubai Tennis Championships, beginning in Dubai on Monday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
Criticisms from all corners for FIFA's new video technology
On a mixed day for India, defending champions and third seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy crashed out but Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi entered the men's doubles second round of the US Open in New York.
Leander Paes kept himself in contention for twin titles after making the quarter-finals of both men's doubles and mixed doubles events at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Rafa Nadal dispelled any concerns over his fitness and form at the Australian Open with an impressive second-round win over Slovakia's Lukas Lacko on Wednesday.
Indian shuttlers Chetan Anand, Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar advanced to the second round of the men's singles at Bitburger Open badminton tournament in Germany on Wednesday.
Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy had to be content with a runner-up finish at the ATP Brisbane International event after the top seeded duo lost the summit clash to Marc Gicquel and Jeremy Chardy in straight sets.
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