Challengers to Serena Williams' throne have proved as fickle as a Paris spring and as the year's second grand slam starts the veteran American is again seemingly in a league of her own. The 34-year-old's charge to overhaul Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam singles titles may have stalled since she chalked up major number 21 at last year's Wimbledon. But after fine-tuning her claycourt game by winning last week's Italian Open she will begin the defence of her French Open title as the strong favourite. With twice French Open champion Maria Sharapova suspended pending the findings of an anti-doping hearing after she tested positive for Meldonium in Australia this year, the list of players capable of toppling a fully firing Williams is short.
Argentina won a record 16th Copa America title by beating Colombia 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal from substitute Lautaro Martinez.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic heads into the European clay court season in ominous form after his victory over Andy Murray in the final of the Miami Open on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic has formally withdrawn from the draw for the Indian Wells tournament, organisers said on Sunday in an indication that the world number one's application for a COVID-19 vaccine waiver to enter the US might have failed.
Novak Djokovic tamed World No 1 Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3 to claim his fourth Sony Open title on Sunday, denying the Spaniard a maiden win on the Miami hard courts.
Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame an error-ridden performance to beat China's Peng Shuai 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on a clear and cool day in Key Biscayne, Florida.
The Miami Heat got the better of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 101-91 victory in the Christmas Day return of the two-time NBA champion to his former team.
World number one Novak Djokovic defeated Britain's Andy Murray 6-1, 7-6 to win the Sony Ericsson Open for the second consecutive year on Sunday.
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska used her wits to defeat world number two Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open final on Saturday and once again deny the Russian.
Maria Sharapova advanced to the Sony Ericsson Open final by beating Caroline Wozniacki 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday in a two and a half hour battle.
A crowd favourite for her creative playing style, Ons Jabeur rolls into her second straight Grand Slam championship match brimming with confidence, with lessons learned from her heartbreaking loss at the All England Club to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina.
'It'll also be difficult for him, tennis requires that competitive rhythm, but Rafa is Rafa, even if he arrives without many matches, he'll surely show a spectacular level.'
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles beat Leander Paes and Paul Hanley 6-2, 6-7(8), 10-6 in the quarter-final of the Miami Masters.
The historic rivals will meet again twice in August in the Spanish Super Cup and this International Champions Cup match set the entertainment bar high, with Barcelona maintaining their 100 per cent record in pre-season.
Images from the ICC T20 World Cup match between India and the United States at the Nassau County Cricket Ground, in New York, on Wednesday.
India's Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands crashed out of the Sony Open Miami Masters after losing their women's doubles quarter-final match against world No.1 pair of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in straight sets at Crandon Park.
Ash Barty ended Australia's 44-year wait for a home winner at the Australian Open when the world number one staved off a fightback from American Danielle Collins to complete a 6-3, 7-6(2) win.
Veteran Tommy Haas backed up his upset of World No 1 Novak Djokovic with a quarter-final victory over Gilles Simon on Wednesday to advance to a semi-final against David Ferrer at the Sony Open in Miami.
While proof of vaccination is not required to enter France or any sporting event in the country, French tennis federation (FFT) president Gilles Moretton warned that things could change before the tournament starts on May 22.
Chicago and Miami opened the National Basketball Association post-season with comfortable wins on Saturday but the Bulls paid a steep price for their victory when Derrick Rose was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The elbow injury sidelined him for six months after he was forced to retire at the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last year. He underwent a surgery for the same in February.
Third seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi saved a match point en route to a hard-fought three-set win over Oliver Marach and Janko Tipsarevic to book a berth in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Miami.
The French Open, which Nadal has won a record 14 times including last year, starts on May 28.
Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic has continued his domination on an unchanged top 10 in the latest men's tennis rankings issued by the ATP on Monday.
The top-seeded duo battled past the Rodionova sisters of Australia, Anastasia and Arina, 6-7, 6-3, 10-5 in their opening round match of the US $731,000 clay-court event.
Andy Murray will not be the only top seed at the Sony Open without a trusted coach by his side as Novak Djokovic said on Thursday that Boris Becker will miss Miami to undergo double hip surgery.
A day after Novak Djokovic won his 23rd Grand Slam title, Serbia's Nikola Jokic was named Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek upset second seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Max Mirnyi of Belarus to win the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Saturday. The newly-formed Indo-Czech pair needed 82 minutes to prevail 3-6, 6-1, 10-8.
Sparks flew when they met for the first time on the ATP Tour in Miami, with Medvedev confronting the Greek over his on-court conduct.
Inspired Garcia goes from Cincinnati qualifier to champion
Ahead of the two-match Twenty20 series against West Indies, Indian cricketers, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar today visited the home of American basketball team Miami Heats in Florida.
Roger Federer, not known for serious slip-ups in his flowing run to a record 17 grand slam singles titles, has come clean about the left knee injury that sidelined him for nearly two months.
A smiling face at every corner, adulation that reminds him of family and to top it all off, a spicy, delectable plate of 'chhole bhature'.
India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won their respective doubles matches to set up a quarter-final clash at the Miami Masters.
18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz entered the top 10 at the same age, on the same date and after a triumph in the same tournament as compatriot and 21-times major winner Rafael Nadal did in 2005.
World No 1 Serena Williams overcame a wobbly start to open the defence of her Sony Open crown with a spirited 7-6(9-7), 6-2 win over Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova on Thursday.
His representative Benito Perez-Barbadillo said the results of the surgery were expected on Saturday.
'USA Cricket continues its instrumental work in supporting our national players and equipping youth and local communities with the tools they need to succeed in this sport.'
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz won his second ATP Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open after defeating defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in front of his home crowd on Sunday.
Six-time Miami champion Serena Williams and five-time runner-up Maria Sharapova remained on another Sony Open collision course after each recorded fourth-round wins on Monday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances