Former world number one Andy Murray is in line to play Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the inaugural ATP Cup, with Bulgaria qualifying among the final six teams in the nation-based tournament.
The Italian and Japanese battled shoulder-to-shoulder as the leading pair in the final 4km, but the Italian coped well with the pressure and accelerated in the final 300m to seal the gold medal.
Serena Williams signalled she is not quite ready for retirement advancing to the second round of the US Open on Monday with a scrappy 6-3, 6-3 win over Danka Kovinic.
Murali Sreeshankar became the first Indian male long jumper to qualify for World Athletics Championships finals while 3000 metre steeplechaser Avinash Sable also expectedly made the grade on the opening day of competition, in Eugene, USA, on Saturday.
The players in question are Aussie cricketers Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Stewart Clark and Mike Hussey, who are all set to shoot for the Bollywood film, Victory starring Harman Baweja and Amrita Rao.
'...I'll treasure this one a lot more after everything I have been through.'
A summary of the finals on Day 2 at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
No wonder Meghan Markle fell for Prince Harry :)
'Kuldeep tossed the final delivery of his sixth over just a fraction higher. The ball drifted across Babar, drawing him out of his crease, unsure whether to cover the googly, then dipped wickedly, bit off the pitch and ripped viciously through the gap between bat and pad before kissing the top of the off-stump bail.'
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Sunday.
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh remained an unstoppable force, clinching a Technical Knock-out over the more experienced Mike Snider on his debut in the US professional circuit, in Newark, on Saturday night.
Bella Hadid stole the limelight at the after-party in a sheer slip dress, covering her modesty with just black tape.
The seventh wicket partnership of 74 runs between Mike Hussey and Steve Smith in Wednesday's WT20 against Bangladesh is Australia's highest for this wicket in T20Is. The pair obliterated the previous record stand of 57 between Brad Hogg and Brett Lee at Johannesburg on 24-02-2006.
In their letter, the lawmakers said that the US as a nation that is familiar with political protests can offer counsel to India during their current period of social disturbance.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first in Sunday's tri-series ODI against India.
Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag are the only two Indians to figure in a world XI selected by The Times writers. While Gavaskar is picked by the celebrated Christopher Martin-Jenjins for being "pure technical close-to-perfection," Alan Lee and John Woodcock second him, the latter describing Sunny as a "wonderful player".
Captain Ricky Ponting, his deputy Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Jason Gillespie and Cameron White are the Australians who have joined the IPL.
Candid shots you will *not* see on the show!
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Images from the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday, Day 8.
One of the most intimidating batsmen in his heydays, former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist says he himself feared only Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.
IPL's agent Neil Maxwell warned that the Australian players may retire or simply walk away if they are not allowed to take part.
Andrew Symonds said the Indian off-spinner had himself to blame for incurring a three-match ban from match referee Mike Procter.
Former Australian pacer Brett Lee equated his country's pace attack for the upcoming Cricket World Cup at home to the 'biggest wolf pack' he has ever seen.
Adding 20 minutes to a daily walk and increasing vigorous daily activity by eight minutes would be enough to achieve a lower sleep apnea risk, a study has revealed.
Images from the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Monday, Day 4.
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been ruled out of the three-match Test series in India with an ankle injury and will be replaced by paceman Matt Henry.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Australia beat Bangladesh by four wickets in the first ODI
The Australian captain became the first player to win the award twice, while Shane Warne was named Test player of the year.
The West Indies were 68 for 2 in their second innings at stumps on day 3 of the third Test, after Australia had taken a first innings lead of 23 runs.
Australia's captain said the two rescued the side when it was under pressure.
A poor start saw India lose Tendulkar and Laxman to Brett Lee early on.
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong says the country will spend 20 million dollars to host the summit.
Nathan Ellis says the IPL stint in the UAE is bound to provide him valuable experience going into the T20 World Cup.
Boston Celtics' Kanter sparks backlash in China after comments on Tibet, Xi.
Images from the World Athletics Championships on Sunday, Day 3, in Oregon.
