Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka won a battle of former girls' champions at the Australian Open by easing past Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Third seed Rafael Nadal battled through mid-match cramps for more than an hour before he lurched into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-5 victory over American qualifier Tim Smyzcek.
Belgium became the first European team to qualify for next year's World Cup when a Romelu Lukaku header gave them a 2-1 win away to Greece on Sunday with the goals coming in a five-minute second-half spell.
Napoli's Marek Hamsik enjoyed a memorable return to his former club Slovan Bratislava, scoring one and creating another, in a 2-0 victory on Thursday as the Italians joined five others who made it two wins from two in the Europa League group stage.
Religious and political leaders joined celebrities, sports stars and tens of thousands of ordinary people on Friday in bidding farewell to Muhammad Ali, the boxing champion who jolted America with his showmanship and won worldwide admiration as a man of conviction.
Garbine Muguruza's preparations for next week's Australian Open were thrown into disarray when the world number three pulled out of the Sydney International with a thigh injury on Wednesday.
There is a quiet air of confidence at the wrestling camp being held at Sonepat to prepare India's brightest wrestling prospects for the Asian Games in Incheon.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers played on Thursday
"We are committed to building a new India. We have to do this as early as possible," he said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Juventus defeated second-placed Lazio 2-0 at home on Saturday to take another huge step towards their fourth straight Serie A title and boost their confidence for Wednesday's crunch Champions League clash in Monaco.
'It needed political courage on the part of the prime minister to make such an intervention at the present juncture when the hawkish opinion rules the roost in the Indian foreign-policy discourses in our media, and, unfortunately, the sane voices have largely fallen silent,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Photos from the Euro 2016 qualifying matches played on Sunday.
The world champions now have 19 points while Poland, 8-1 winners over Gibraltar, are on 17.
Sandhya Ravishankar describes the thorny relationship between the two political titans of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa, both now part of the ages.
The Rajya Sabha saw a heated debate on Wednesday after Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government that a restraining order has been order against the broadcast of BBC documentary 'India's Daughter' on the December 2012 Delhi gang rape.
Using a sledgehammer to fix some ills can cut down a game at its peak, warns Shekhar Gupta.
Brendon McCullum's singular contribution to New Zealand cricket extends far beyond the pyrotechnics with the bat which attracted a new generation to the game and helped make the 2015 World Cup such a spectacular success.
Top seed Serena Williams and her older sister Venus led a foursome of American women into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.
Nick Kyrgios clinched his maiden tour title on home soil in a big confidence boost ahead of the Australian Open, beating Ryan Harrison 6-4, 6-2 in the Brisbane International final.
The immaculate Serb became the first player in the Tour Finals' 46-year history to claim the title four times in a row
Mihir Bhat, fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Director of the All India Disaster Management Institute tells rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that the youth of the country will swing into action to see what gets done on the ground.
'There has never been a problem between Hindu and Muslims in Kairana.' 'We are a people that smoke from the same hookah.' Once the seat of an influential tradition of Indian classical music, Kairana has become a metaphor for the exodus of Hindus.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
'Aggravated fears about the fate of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution have reopened old wounds and laid bare the widening emotional distance between Srinagar and New Delhi,' says Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Sachin Tendulkar was ensured a perfect farewell by his teammates as India thrashed a hapless West Indies by an innings and 126 runs at the Wankhede on Saturday, in well two and a half days, to complete a 2-0 whitewash in a lopsided contest.
Netherlands revived bitter Spanish memories from last year's World Cup finals when they beat a second-string La Roja 2-0 in a friendly.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City suffered from deja vu as Luis Suarez's double gave Barcelona a 2-1 first leg lead in a Champions League last 16 tie at the Etihad although Lionel Messi's late penalty miss left the door ajar on Tuesday.
'Actually, the RSS is deeply ambivalent and uncomfortable with Gandhi as well as also Ambedkar, but it is not politically wise to oppose these two.' 'So Nehru is the main and only target.'
Holders Spain suffered their first defeat in qualifying for a major tournament in eight years when Miroslav Stoch nodded a late goal to earn Slovakia a shock 2-1 victory in Euro 2016 Group C on Thursday.
An overview of India's underwhelming performance in athletics
The Indian cricket team returned to the grind on Friday with an intense net session in Melbourne.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Frisday.
Shot in 2014, these images from across the globe will tell that it is a crazy world out there!
Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar and other ex-cricketers said in unison that one should refrain from drawing comparison between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his predecessors.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez netted twice for a 2-1 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday after the visitors' Fernando Torres opened the scoring and was later sent off.
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