World number one Rafael Nadal won a battle of attrition against fellow left-hander Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 7-6(4), 6-4 to seal Spain's spot in the final eight of the inaugural ATP Cup in Perth on Wednesday. Meanwhile his long-time rival, world number two Novak Djokovic, had an easier outing in Brisbane, strolling past Chile's Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-3 to stay undefeated in the new year.
Roger Federer, who will be chasing an 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open later this month, breezed through to the Brisbane International men's semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-1 thumping of Australian Marinko Matosevic.
From a lower order batsman to one of Australia's prolific Test run-getters, Marnus Labuschange has carved his spot in the Australian line-up. The highest run-scorer in a calendar year in Test cricket in 2019, 'mind-blowing' Labuschange is now looking to break into the one-day team for the tour of India.
National squash champion Saurav Ghosal toppled fifth seed Amr Swelim of Egypt to enter the final of the US $ 15,000 Ornano International Open in Bordeaux on Saturday. The fifth-seeded Indian came from behind to beat top seed Renan Lavigne 7-11, 15-13, 11-5, 11-5 in the quarter-final and then quelled the challenge of Swelim 10-12, 11-2, 11-2, 3-11, 14-12 in the semi-finals.
Premier League clubs West Bromwich Albion and Watford were knocked out in the League Cup second round by lower-league opponents on Tuesday as a strong Liverpool side crushed championship Burton Albion 5-0.
Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao has insisted that God is on his side after sparking global controversy by describing gay couples as 'worse than animals'. The eight-division world champion admitted that he was wrong to compare homosexuals to animals, but added that his opinion was based on the Bible and therefore the word of God should be honoured, Sport24 reported. Earlier, Pacquiao saw his reputation take a severe hit when he said that animals are better than homosexuals because they could distinguish between male and female. Although Pacquiao issued an apology on social media for his insensitive remarks, Sports brandNike decided to sever its eight-year-old tie with the boxer saying his comments were 'abhorrent'. Gay marriage is illegal in the Philippines due to strong resistance from the Catholic Church, with 80 per cent of the country's total population subscribing to the faith. His comments sparked outrage on social media as various celebrities slammed the boxer for his insensitive remark. Philippines' most popular gay comedian Vice Ganda slammed Pacquiao on Twitter by posting #PrayForMannyPacquiao to his 6.7 million followers.
A sneak peek into the lives of the prettiest faces courtesy their social media feeds!
The 'Everyone Wins' luxury hamper includes expensive beauty services and travel packages.
India's Jeev Milka Singh and Australian Richard Green shared the lead after the opening day of the Irish Open at Adare Manor on Thursday. Green, aiming for a place in next month's US Open, joined Singh at the top of the board with a six under par 66 in superb conditions.
England Lions cricketer Ben Duckett was suspended for pouring a drink on a senior England player reported to be paceman James Anderson after an argument in a Perth bar.
Bradley Wiggins has backed Chris Froome to emulate his 2012 Tour de France and Olympic time trial double success but felt his former Sky team mate's task is more difficult as next month's Games are in Rio de Janeiro.
Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes scored first-half goals to propel Jamaica to an upset 2-1 victory over the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals in Atlanta on Wednesday. The victory ensured Jamaica became the first Caribbean team to reach the Gold Cup Final since its inception in 1991.
Manny Pacquiao is more than three weeks out from his next title defence against unbeaten American Chris Algieri but the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight champion is already in devastating form, trainer Freddie Roach says.
'If there were ever a PR exercise to fix the seemingly irreparable image of Australian cricket in the aftermath of the most notorious on-field scandal in recent memory, then this is it,' observes Dhruv Munjal.
Did I cry? Yes. Did I smile? Yes. Did I get goosebumps? YES! Do I want to watch it again? Of course! Do I believe this is the end? Not quite. Sukanya Verma gets emotional watching Avengers Endgame.
Leander Paes will kickstart his US Open campaign with Czech partner Radek Stepanek against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Dmitry Tursunov of Russia.
Images from the third day at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, in New York, on Wednesday:
Britons David Millar and Bradley Wiggins will be the riders to watch when the Tour de France starts with a 7.9-km prologue in London.
Australia's Lleyton Hewitt delighted his home fans when he battled to a typically gutsy 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Swiss top seed Roger Federer in the Brisbane International final on Sunday.
Five-time world player of the year Lionel Messi of Argentina, Chile's Alexis Sanchez and Brazilian Dani Alves were among the big names in the final rosters announced on Monday for next month's Copa America Centenario.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Wednesday defended the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) system after some athletes' confidential medical data was leaked by a group of Russian hackers, shedding light on potential abuse.
Following his title win at the Traralgon Challenger event, Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri leapfrogged 73 places to 204 in the singles rankings on Monday even as Rohan Bopanna dropped out of the top-10 in the doubles chart.
Yuki Bhambri won his first ATP Challenger level singles title of the season and second of his career on Monday after humbling top seed American Bradely Klahn (ranked 123) in the rain-hit summit clash of the Traralgon event in Australia.
Karolina Pliskova reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Monday and is keen to prove right those tipping her for Grand Slam success.
Australia's Matthew Wade struck his maiden one-day century to help secure a comprehensive 92-run victory over a disjointed Pakistan in the first one-day international in Brisbane on Friday.
Rohit Sharma won the prestigious Maruti Suzuki ESPN Cricinfo award for the third year in a row.
'It's a warm evening, but people don't seem to be bothered by the heat as they watch the critically acclaimed film out in the open, where they can drink, smoke and talk, if they feel like.'
Younis, who became the first Pakistan player to complete 10,000 Test runs, made 58 while Azam stroked 72 in dominating a 131-run third-wicket partnership which gave the tourists an upper hand into the final session of the day.
Filipino Manny Pacquiao has sparked criticism in his country after describing gay couples as 'worse than animals'.
Facts on the Commonwealth Games to be held in Australia's Gold Coast:
The Indian claimed Bantamweight gold by beating Louis Richard Bruno Julie of Mauritius
Tiger Woods eased to a seven-shot victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday, earning his 79th win on the PGA Tour and sounding an ominous warning to his rivals ahead of next week's PGA Championship.
Australia's young skipper Steve Smith has warned India that any plans of sledging Mitchell Johnson in the future are likely to backfire just as they did in the second Test that ended in Brisbane on Saturday.
Nine Indians, including National Champion A L Lakra have made it to the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Boxing championship at Glasgow, Scotland.
Arsenal moved top of the Premier League table but were unconvincing in a 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough who were well worth their point on Saturday.
The ace golfer went down to American Stewart Cink in the opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play.
Umpires' poor performance comes to the fore even as India's stand against DRS costs them dear
Wales were adjudged winners as the final day was washed out on the Algarve
All the action from the recently concluded popular choice awards.
Shubhankar Sharma's magnificent year continued as the Indian grabbed a spot in next week's US Open Golf Championships with a solid display of 69-68 in the qualifiers, in Columbus.
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