Page 2184 - Sports
Murray pulls out of Australian Open with hip injury
Former world number one Andy Murray has pulled out of the first major of the season, Australian Open, after failing to recover fully from a hip injury.The former world number one sustained the right hip injury in 2017 and has not appeared in a competitive match since slumping to a tough five-setter defeat to American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals at the Wimbledon.As a result, Murray, who had enjoyed being world number one just 12 months ago, has fallen out of the top 10 to number 16 in the rankings.Murray, however, made a tepid return to the court, losing a one-set match 6-2 to Roberto Bautista Agut in the United Arab Emirates exhibitions on Friday.Confirming the news, Murray said he would not be playing in Melbourne this year as he is not ready to compete."Sadly I won't be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete. I'll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon", the ...
Sharapova eases into Shenzhen semi-finals
Russian former world number one Maria Sharapova marched into the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open here today with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victory over Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan. Sharapova, who has worked her way up to 59 in the world rankings since her return from a doping ban last year, will face either of the Czech pair Kristyna Pliskova or Katerina Siniakova in the last four in southern China. The 30-year-old Sharapova, who is unseeded in the tournament that serves as a build-up to the Australian Open, is embarking on her first full season since returning from a 15-month drugs ban in April. The five-time Grand Slam winner was never really in trouble against Diyas, who is 66 in the world, and joins Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu in the Shenzhen semis.
Qatar Open: Thiem wins; Rublev sets up quarterfinal against Coric (Lead, correcting intro)
Top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria survived the upset wave by getting past Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 6-4 in the Qatar Open tennis tournament here while Russia's Andrey Rublev withstood Spain's Fernando Verdasco to set up a quarterfinal tie against Borna Coric.
Palmeiras 'not interested' in ceding Mina to Barcelona
Brazil's Palmeiras have played down reports that their Colombian defender Yerry Mina could join Barcelona this month.
Sydney, Jan 4 (AFP) Scoreboard at the close on day one in
Scoreboard at the close on day one in the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England here today: England first innings A. Cook lbw b Hazlewood 39 M. Stoneman c Paine b Cummins 24 J. Vince c Paine b Cummins 25 J. Root c M. Marsh b Starc 83 D. Malan not out 55 J. Bairstow c Paine b Hazlewood 5 Extras (lb1, w1) 2 Total (5 wickets; 81.4 overs) 233 Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-88, 3-95, 4-228, 5-233. Bowling: Starc 16-4-63-1, Hazlewood 17.4-2-47-2, Cummins 17-4-44-2 (1w), Lyon 26-4-61-0, M. Marsh 5-0-17-0.
Root falls short of elusive century as Aussies hit back late
England skipper Joe Root again missed out on an elusive first century in the series as Australia fought back with two late wickets on the opening day of the fifth Test, here today. Root was out to a superb diving catch by Mitchell Marsh at square leg for 83 in the day's penultimate over before Jonny Bairstow was caught behind in the final over. Root slumped to his haunches in dismay after missing out on a hundred following his fourth half-century of the series. Root and Malan recovered England's first innings with a 133-run stand after the tourists had slumped to 95 for three following the loss of Melbourne double-centurion Alastair Cook. Malan lived a charmed life in his half-century, surviving a run out attempt and a dropped Steve Smith catch to provide stoic support for his skipper. At the close, England were 233 for five with Malan left unbeaten on 55 off 160 balls when Bairstow was caught behind off Josh Hazlewood for five. Root reached his half-century off 82 balls .
China's Chongqing Lifan sign Brazilian winger Fernandinho
Chongqing Lifan have announced the signing of Brazilian winger Fernandinho da Silva on a free transfer from Copa Libertadores champions Gremio.
Qatar Open: Thiem wins through; Rublev sets up quarterfinal against Coric
Top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria survived the upset wave by getting past Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 6-4 in the Qatar Open tennis tournament here on Thursday while Russia's Andrey Rublev withstood Spain's Fernando Verdasco to set up a quarterfinal tie against Borna Coric.
Bellerin strikes late to rescue Arsenal in Chelsea thriller
Hector Bellerin came to Arsenal's rescue as the defender's last-gasp strike earned a dramatic 2 -2 draw in a heated London derby against Chelsea here today. Bellerin looked set to be the villain of the piece for Arsenal after the Spaniard's foul on Eden Hazard conceded a penalty that allowed the Chelsea star to cancel out Jack Wilshere's opener. When Marcos Alonso put Chelsea in front with just six minutes left at the Emirates Stadium, Bellerin's misery seemed complete. But the 22-year-old enjoyed a sweet moment of redemption in the 90th minute as he lashed in only his second goal of the season. The frenetic conclusion to a thrilling encounter actually did little for either team's prospects in the Premier League. Chelsea remain in third place, one point behind Manchester United and 16 adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City. Arsenal, who have now won only once in 13 league meetings with Chelsea, are languishing in sixth place, five points behind fourth placed Liverpool
Villarreal coach confirms Bakambu bound for China
Villarreal striker Cedric Bakambu looks certain to leave the club to join Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan, Villarreal coach Javier Calleja confirmed.
Santos name Brazil legend Jairzinho's son as coach
Brazilian Serie A giants Santos named Jair Ventura, the son of Brazil great Jairzinho, as their head coach for the 2108 season.
Costa back with a goal as Atletico cruise to easy King's Cup win
Diego Costa returned to the field for Atletico Madrid with a goal as his side virtually assured their progress into the quarterfinals of the King's Cup knockout football competition with a 4-0 away win to third-tier side Lleida.
Injured Murray out of Australian Open
Former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the Australian Open today after failing to recover from a hip injury, joining injured Japanese star Kei Nishikori on the sidelines. The 30-year-old suffered the injury last year and has not played on the ATP tour since losing in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. "Sadly I won't be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete," Murray said in a statement. "I'll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon." Australian Open's tournament director Craig Tiley said he respected what was a "very hard decision for Andy". "We are fully aware that Andy has been going through a difficult period with his hip and that he's done everything possible to prepare for the Australian summer," Tiley added. Murray's withdrawal comes amid a string of injury concerns that have plagued some of the world's top players and cast doubt on their ...
It was a frustrating day for all of us: ATK coach Sheringham
For ATK head coach Teddy Sheringham, it was a frustrating day in office where they had to wait forever for the match to start due to "unavoidable" circumstances which forced FC Goa to reach the city less than two hours before the Indian Super League (ISL) match got underway.
ISL: Former Chelsea coach Grant appointed NorthEast United advisor
Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant has stepped in to advise NorthEast United FC for the remainder of the Indian Super League (ISL) season, the club said in a statement on Thursday.
Arsenal spoil Chelsea's bid for 2nd place
Arsenal avoided their defeat to Chelsea here thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Hector Bellerin that left the two English Premier League sides deadlocked at 2-2.
Juventus grabs final spot in Coppa Italia semis
Juventus defeated Torino 2-0 to win the derby and qualify for the Coppa Italia semifinals.
Brazilian midfielder Lima 'closer' to World Cup
Lucas Lima said his move to Palmeiras will improve his chances of a recall to Brazil's national team ahead of this year's World Cup.
Zidane not asking for new signing at Real Madrid
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he has no wishes for 2018 other than good health and happiness and that he has not asked the club for any new players in the January transfer window.
Need a travelling coach, physio to break into top-100: Ankita
Enduring a stagnation on the professional circuit, India's top woman singles player Ankita Raina says she can certainly break into the top-100 barrier but for that to happen she needs a travelling coach and physio. She has remained in same rankings bracket in the last two years but the 24-year-old Ankita contends that she maybe ranked 259 in singles but there is not much difference between players below 300 and 200. In 2017, ending runner-up at the USD 60,000 ITF event in Luan was her best performance. En route the final, she beat world number 139 Fangzhou Liu in the quarterfinals but lost the title-clash to world number 124 and top seed Lin Zhu. Since then Ankita had a few semifinal finishes at similar events on the ITF circuit and also competed in USD 125K and 100k WTA events. "The level has really gone up. Players inside 300s are as good as inside 150. There is not much difference. The margin of defeat and win is very thin now. It's one or two points that makes a ...