Former world number one Maria Sharapova eased past defending champion Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-1 at the Tianjin Open on Saturday to reach her first WTA final in almost two and a half years.
Olympic champion Andy Murray restored some order at the Western & Southern Open by cutting down South African giant Kevin Anderson to reach the quarter-finals on an upset-filled Thursday in Cincinnati.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Asked which thoughts, the world number two from Constanta said: "The only one, very tough thought is one set, 3-0 up, that I couldn't take that game.
Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
Rediff.com recaptures these and other exciting sporting moments from the week gone by....
Images from all the action from Day 1 of the Wimbledon on Monday.
World number one Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Cristiano Ronaldo shrugged off the boos of his own supporters to fire Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka began her warm-up to the first Grand Slam of the year in convincing fashion with a 6-2,6-0 win over Russian Elena Vesnina in their first round match at the Brisbane International on Monday.
IMAGES from the matches played during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, at Wimbledon in London on Thursday
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
Maria Sharapova made a powerful start to the new tennis season on Tuesday, crushing Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-0, 6-1 at the Brisbane International on Tuesday.
Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of Lionel Messi's first-team debut with Barcelona, when the Argentine came on as a 16-year-old substitute during a friendly against Porto in Portugal.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
IMAGES from the PNB Paribas Open played at Indian Wells in California on Monday
Carlos Bacca claimed the plaudits with a superb double strike, including a late winner to decide a pulsating clash that began at a hair-raising pace with four goals in the first half.
Seven-time Italian Open winner Rafael Nadal lost 7-6(7), 6-2 to Stanislas Wawrinka.
Victoria Azarenka suffered a stunning meltdown and blew three match points against world number one Serena Williams before losing 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(1) in the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
The World No 4 is unfazed by rankings drop before Madrid tournament and the French Open.
Simona Halep is emerging as one of the few players on Tour.
Former world number one Garbine Muguruza was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open second round on Tuesday while an ailing Jelena Ostapenko lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men's draw which includes five-times US Open champion and 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer as seventh seed - his first time the Swiss has been placed outside the top three in a Grand Slam in over ten years.
The 36-year-old Swiss master needs only to reach the semi-finals at the ABN Amro tennis event to overtake Rafael Nadal at the top of the ATP rankings and become world number one for the first time since November 2012.
Quentin Tarantino, declares Sreehari Nair, will be remembered as someone who made just two great movies, and who then brought misery upon himself.
Photos from the La Liga matches played on Sunday
Defending champion Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw. The American will be looking to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record by sealing a 22nd Grand Slam triumph.
IMAGES from Day 8 of the US Open on Monday
Novak Djokovic barely got out of first gear but had more than enough in the tank to beat Briton Kyle Edmund 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Miami Open on Friday.
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Real Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's shock defeat at Real Valladolid with a 3-0 home win over 10-man Levante on Sunday that put Carlo Ancelotti's in-form side three points clear at the top of La Liga.
The seventh-seeded Bulgarian advanced to his eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Del Potro, who struggled with the intense heat in the closing stages of the one hour, 39 minute match.
Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the third year running after Kei Nishikori quit with a rib injury midway through their fourth round match on Monday.
Cilic's booming serve lacked its usual accuracy and Germany's Kohlschreiber was able to control long rallies, pushing the towering Croatian around the court with pinpoint groundstrokes en route to a quick victory.
Following the horrific collision during a Twenty20 match left two Surrey fielders injured, Rediff.com looks at the bizarre world of sports that can sometimes present unique oddities.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber's bid for consecutive Grand Slam titles ended when 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova defeated the German 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open third round on Saturday.
Meet the top contestants of Miss Grand International 2016. Beware: Hot curves ahead!
Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova glittered under the Rod Laver Arena lights on Monday, restoring order at the Australian Open after eight women's seeds crashed out in the afternoon sun on a manic opening day. The evergreen Federer strolled into the second round with a classy 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun before fellow-second seed Sharapova ruined Croatian qualifier Petra Martic's 24th birthday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Images from matches played on Day 5 at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park on Friday
Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych bulldozed his way into the second round of the French Open by thrashing Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 on Monday.
'Trump's stated strong stance against Islamist extremism and terrorism could play into the Indo-US relationship.' 'It could mould US attitude and exert pressure on Pakistan.' 'In the event of US military presence in Afghanistan increasing, however, Pakistan could gain an opportunity to again emphasise its importance.'
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