PARMA, ITALY (AFP) – American teenager Coco Gauff swept aside China’s Wang Qiang to win her second WTA career title on clay in Parma on Saturday (May 22) . Third seed Gauff won through 6-1, 6-3 against Wang, the sixth seed, in 74 minutes to add to her hardcourt title in Linz in 2019. After... » read more
BARCELONA (REUTERS) – Barcelona saw their hopes of winning La Liga extinguished as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Celta Vigo on Sunday (May 16). Barca were dominant in the first half and deservedly took the lead through Lionel Messi in the 27th minute, as the Argentine headed Sergio Busquet’s precise cross past Ivan... » read more
MCKINNEY (REUTERS) – Dustin Johnson has withdrawn from the final warm-up event ahead of next week’s PGA Championship with knee discomfort, the world number one said on Monday (May 10). Johnson, whose Masters title defence ended in a missed cut last month, said his decision to sit out the May 13-16 AT&T Byron Nelson in... » read more
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM (AFP) – Chelsea forced Manchester City to put their Premier League title party on hold on Saturday (May 8), winning 2-1 to boost their own chances of a top-four finish in a dress rehearsal for the Champions League final. Raheem Sterling gave the home side the lead just before half-time at an... » read more
LONDON (AFP) – Manchester City were on the brink of clinching the Premier League title after a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday (May 1), while Chelsea maintained their hold on fourth place after beating Fulham by the same scoreline. Pep Guardiola’s side moved 13 points clear at the top thanks to second-half goals... » read more
LONDON (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said winning felt much better with fans in attendance after beating Tottenham 1-0 at Wembley to lift the League Cup for the fourth consecutive year in front of 8,000 supporters on Sunday (April 25). Aymeric Laporte’s header eight minutes from time finally rewarded a dominant performance from... » read more
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (REUTERS) – Manchester City recovered from conceding a very early goal to win 2-1 at Aston Villa on Wednesday (April 21) and move a step closer to the Premier League title after a game in which both sides finished with 10 men. City, who are 11 points ahead of Manchester United with five... » read more
MIAMI (AFP) – Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova secured her maiden WTA title on Sunday (April 11), defeating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in straight sets to claim the Charleston clay court title in South Carolina. The 15th-seeded Kudermetova dominated from the outset to claim a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Kovinic, ranked 91 in the world. The 23-year-old... » read more
DUBAI (REUTERS) – Russian Aslan Karatsev continued his breakthrough year as he claimed his first ATP Tour title by beating Lloyd Harris 6-3 6-2 in the Dubai Championships final on Saturday (March 20). The 27-year-old wildcard overpowered his South African opponent with a barrage of winners to take his record to 12-2 for the season,... » read more
MARSEILLE (AFP) – Top seed Daniil Medvedev won the ATP tournament in Marseille on Sunday (March 14), beating Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 in the final. The Russian, who reached the final of the Australian Open last month, produced 13 aces and saved four of five break points as he racked up the... » read more
DOHA (AFP) – Petra Kvitova thrashed Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-1 to win her second Qatar Open title on Saturday (March 6). The fourth-seeded Czech needed just over an hour to see off her fellow two-time Grand Slam winner. It was Kvitova’s 28th career title from 38 finals played. “It’s been a great run – tough... » read more
BANGKOK • Top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying won the women’s singles badminton World Tour Finals title in a dramatic cliffhanger yesterday, blocking reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin’s bid for a hat-trick of titles in three weeks. The all-Danish men’s singles final was equally nail-biting as Anders Antonsen also denied Viktor Axelsen his third tournament win. Marin had... » read more
LOS ANGELES • Harris English sank a six-foot birdie putt on Sunday’s first play-off hole to defeat Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and win the season-opening PGA Tournament of Champions, snapping an eight-year title drought. The 31-year-old American collected his third career PGA Tour title after 2013 victories at the Mayakoba Classic and St Jude Classic and... » read more
Kim takes slim lead in hunt for Pelican title MIAMI • South Korea’s Kim Sei-young fired a five-under 65 to take a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the LPGA Tour’s Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida on Friday. The world No. 2, coming off her first Major triumph at the Women’s PGA Championship last... » read more
Rafael dos Anjos landing a punch on American Paul Felder en route to winning their UFC Fight Night lightweight bout via a split decision (47-48, 50-45, 50-45) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. The victory reasserted the Brazilian’s (30-13) intention for another lightweight title run. He held the lightweight title in 2015... » read more
Ex-England stopper Clemence, 72, dies LONDON • Former England, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Ray Clemence has died aged 72. He died peacefully after a long battle with illness, said media reports. Clemence, who played 61 times for England, began his career with Scunthorpe United before joining Liverpool and he made over 450 appearances in... » read more
LONDON • Jose Mourinho will not countenance Tottenham ever “being considered title contenders” despite being two points off leaders Everton after Monday’s 1-0 Premier League win at Burnley. Spurs fans could be forgiven for thinking otherwise after the narrow win at Turf Moor not only propelled them up to fifth in the table, but also... » read more