British pair Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot defeated Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in four sets in Ottawa to give Britain a 2-1 lead ahead of Sunday's reverse singles.
We live in a wonderfully, weird world and here's the proof of it!
Man of many faces, Medvedev now a Grand Slam finalist
Our weekly take on the good, bad and ugly looks of the week. Take a look to check who fared well and who didn't.
Betis fans bow to 'extraordinary' Messi after sublime hat-trick Lionel Messi is used to receiving adulation at the Nou Camp but on Sunday he got a rapturous reception from rival supporters for a majestic hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis. Messi opened the scoring with an unstoppable free kick then combined with devastating effect with Luis Suarez to carve Betis open and score a second goal right before halftime. The Argentine saved his best goal for last, completing a victory which took Barca 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with a spectacular first-timed chip from the edge of the area after playing a one-two with Ivan Rakitic. Beaten Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez looked on in awe while the home supporters, renowned for devotion to their side, rose to their feet, bowed down to Messi and chanted his name. "Even though the opposition concedes goals to Messi they can still enjoy this unbelievable era which he has created, they enjoy it too and today they recognised that," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde. "It's significant that they gave him this ovation, it's an acknowledgement. Our rivals' supporters have to suffer him but they also appreciate him, because of the player he is. "Leo's performance was extraordinary, he got three goals but he could have got four, that shows you how good he is." Betis coach Quique Setien commended his supporters for their treatment of Messi while saying he felt honoured to work in the same era as the Argentine. "I really like the fact that our supporters showed their appreciation for a great player, today he really made us suffer," Setien said. "It's only fair and it's right to recognise this, our fans behaved in an extraordinary way and I'm very proud of them. I've seen some magnificent players do great things but no-one can match the things Messi has done over the last 12 years. "It's a privilege to have been able to start this era with him and see him in action every weekend." The five-times world player of the year moved on to 39 goals in all competitions this season with two months still left in the campaign. It was Messi's 51st career hat-trick but he could not recall receiving such applause from a rival team's fans. "I cannot remember anything like this before and I'm very grateful for the fans' reaction," Messi said. "I'm very grateful to them and happy for the victory, which was very important."
An unconvincing Real Madrid needed a controversial Cristiano Ronaldo penalty deep into stoppage time to snatch a 2-1 win at promoted Elche on Wednesday that kept them hard on the heels of La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Spain secured their place in the Davis Cup's elite World Group when Rafael Nadal teamed up with Marc Lopez to beat Sergiy Stakhovsky and Denis Molchanov of Ukraine 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in their playoff on Saturday.
Jennifer Lopez makes it to the 12th spot. Check out who made it to top spot.
Parmita Katkar, now Parmita Kurada, has accused a Times Square Cookie Monster impersonator of assaulting her son and calling her a bitch after she failed to pay a tip to him.
Costa, Alba excluded from Spain squad
Neymar stole the show from the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale when the Brazilian's strike set Barcelona on the way to a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Saturday's 'Clasico' at the Nou Camp.
But fellow Argentines Gaston Gaudio and the indefatigable Guillermo Coria won in straight sets as did Russian Marat Safin
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and former Bryant teammate Shaquille O'Neal were among the Basketball Hall of Famers who attended the memorial
Napoli brush aside lowly Crotone to go third in Serie A.
Cesc Fabregas struck what may prove a priceless away goal as holders Barcelona drew 1-1 at depleted arch-rivals Real Madrid in an entertaining and closely fought King's Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
These full-bodied women are proof that if you've got it, flaunt it.
Former champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand overwhelmed Belgian Kristof Vliegen in the ATP Chennai Open.
Spain's World No 5 Rafael Nadal has been ruled out of opening singles rubber against India in their Davis Cup World Group play-off in New Delhi on Friday.
Sania Mirza was the only Indian left competing in the Western and Southern Open by reaching the semi-finals as Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna were ousted from the men's doubles with their respective partners in Cincinnati.
Indian challenge ended at the ATP Indian Wells Masters with the shock first round defeats of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza in their respective events in India Wells.
Joaquin, 37, became the oldest scorer in a Seville top-flight derby when he rose to head home at the near post in the 79th minute, shortly after the visitors had had midfielder Roque Mesa sent off for two bookings.
Here are some facts about Federer and his ranking.
The 90th Annual Academy Awards have been announced. A quick glance at the winners, listed in bold.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has spoken out in support of goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who has been warming the bench at Real Madrid despite recovering from a broken hand.
The hottest arrivals at the NBCUniversal Upfront red carpet.
US Open has over the years seen an increase in celebrity attendance. Rediff.com takes a look at a few known names seen in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York.
The pain of not living up to the favourites tag in the previous ties still rankles the Spanish Davis Cup team as Rafael Nadal said "special things" can happen for lower-ranked Indian players in the World Group play-off tie.
Rohan Bopanna and Mahesh Bhuapthi advanced to the second round of the men's doubles at the Australian Open with their respective partners, in Melbourne, on Wednesday, even as Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza bowed out of the men's singles and women's doubles respectively.
American qualifier Steve Johnson is through to his first ATP Tour semi-final after an emphatic victory at the Delray Beach Open on Friday.
Continuing his impressive comeback post a shoulder surgery, Somdev Devvarman erased a one-set deficit to beat World No. 78 Evgeny Donskoy in his opening round of the ATP Miami Masters.
Roger Federer and Andy Murray advanced to the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open in contrasting fashion on Friday to set up a rematch of their Wimbledon clash.
Rohan Bopanna and Rajeev Ram's campaign at the ATP Indian Wells Masters ended in the first round itself after a straight sets defeat against Lukas Kubot of Poland and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
Viswanthan Anand got back into the reckoning by defeating compatriot M Shyam Sundar in a one-sided affair in the Isle of Man International chess tournament on Wednesday. On a good day for Indians, former World junior champion Abhijeet Gupta tamed the highly-regarded Liem Le Quang of Vietnam.
A pair of regular racing gloves worn by the late Ayrton Senna in the 1991 season when he won his third Formula One title sold for 22,000 pounds at a charity auction for grand prix mechanics on Monday.
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