Nadal beats Ferrer to set up Rome semis with Berdych Rome: Czech Tomas Berdych snapped a run of 11 consecutive defeats by world number one Novak Djokovic to reach the semi-finals of the Rome Masters before Rafa Nadal was stretched to the limit against David Ferrer on Friday. Berdych clawed his way back from a 6-2 5-2 deficit to stun the Serbian top seed 2-6 7-5 6-4 and set up a semi-final meeting with Nadal, who for the second week...  
07:52 AM, May 18, 2013

Strauss wants Kevin Pietersen fit for Ashes
by AFP
London: Former England captain Andrew Strauss said on Friday it was important for the side's Ashes prospects that star batsman Kevin Pietersen regained full fitness. Pietersen is currently sidelined with a knee problem and in his absence England struggled to 232 all out in the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's. Strauss retired from all cricket following a 2-0 series defeat by South Africa last...  
12:32 AM, May 18, 2013

James Anderson joins England 300 club
by AFP
London: James Anderson became only the fourth England bowler to take 300 Test wickets when he dismissed New Zealand's Peter Fulton on the second day of the first Test at Lord's on Friday. Lancashire seamer Anderson joined Ian Botham (383), Bob Willis (325) and the late Fred Trueman (307), the first man in history to take 300 Test wickets, in a select quartet of England bowlers. The 30-year-old Anderson started...  
12:02 AM, May 18, 2013

James Anderson bowls England back into first Test
by AFP
London: James Anderson took his 300th Test wicket and then ended a bold counter-attack by New Zealand's Ross Taylor as England fought back in the first Test at Lord's. The two players lit up a Lord's bathed in artificial floodlight to counter the overhead gloom of Friday's second day which ended with New Zealand 153 for four in reply to England's first innings 232, a deficit of 79 runs. Anderson...  
11:50 PM, May 17, 2013

Djokovic, Rafa, Federer in contention for French title: Becker Bangalore: Former World No. 1 Boris Becker on Friday said Rafael Nadal has good chances of winning the French Open this year but added the Spaniard will face competition from Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. "Rafa's chances are looking good. But then you have others like Djocovic, who is world No. 1. You also have Federer, who is still very good. There is question mark about Andy Murrey though, who...  
11:43 PM, May 17, 2013

Sharath stretches world No.5 Timo Boll in World TT
by IANS
Paris: Sharath Kamal took a game off World No.5 Timo Boll before going down 1-4 in the men's singles second round at the World Table Tennis Championships here, ending the Indian challenge in the mega event. Germany's Timo Boll got the better of Sharath 9-11, 12-10, 11-1, 11-5, 11-2 in a round of 64 match Thursday night. The two paddlers play for the same club in Germany, Borussia Dusseldorf. Sharath,...  
08:32 PM, May 17, 2013

Top-ranked Djokovic beaten by Berdych in Rome Rome: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic wasted a chance to serve out the match and was beaten 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 by sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych in the Italian Open quarterfinals on Friday. It's the second consecutive week that Djokovic has struggled, having also lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the second round of the Madrid Open, where he was bothered by a right ankle injury. Djokovic said he had been playing pain free this...  
08:17 PM, May 17, 2013

Serena Williams extends winning streak to 22 at Rome Rome: Serena Williams is on the longest winning streak of her career. The top-ranked American beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-0 Friday to reach the Italian Open semi-finals and extend her victory run to 22 matches. Williams had twice won 21 in a row before, although both of those streaks came a decade ago, in 2002 and 2003. In the other half of the draw, two-time defending champion Maria Sharapova...  
06:43 PM, May 17, 2013

Snapshot: Sonam flaunts a voluminous gown at Cannes
by IANS
New Delhi: The actress flaunted a stylish gown at the premiere of 'Jeune and Jolie' after making India-inspired statements in apparel by Anamika Khanna and Shehla Khan on the first day of the extravaganza. She is at the Cannes fest as the L'Oreal Paris ambassador. ...  
06:17 PM, May 17, 2013

Bhupathi-Bopanna advance in Rome Masters Rome: Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna entered the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters but it was curtains for Leander Paes and his Austrian partner Jurgen Melzer, here. Sixth seed Indian combo of Bhupathi and Bopanna scored a 6-2 6-3 win over unseeded British team of Dominic Inglot and Jonathan Marray in the second round of the Euro 3,204,745 elite clay court tournament. However, Paes and Melzer made an early exit...  
05:19 PM, May 17, 2013

Sharapova withdraws from Italian Open before quarter-final Rome: Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Italian Open before her quarter-final with Italy's Sara Errani on Friday because of "physical problems", organisers said. The Russian is set to defend her French Open title later this month. Italian Open officials did not eleborate further on the reasons for Sharapova's Rome exit. ...  
04:17 PM, May 17, 2013

Bernard Tomic expected to play French Open Melbourne: Tennis Australia expects that Bernard Tomic will play in the French Open, despite coach John Tomic recently declaring his son's participation unlikely. The 20-year-old Tomic has resumed training after withdrawing from this week's Rome Masters following an assault case involving his father in Madrid, and has made no suggestion he will also skip Roland Garros which starts May 26. Tennis Australia's Todd Woodbridge tells Fairfax Media on Friday "my...  
03:31 PM, May 17, 2013

Feel honoured to be a part of Cannes Film Festival: Amitabh Bachchan

At 70, he has made his Hollywood debut with 'The Great Gatsby' and now he's taken that film to Cannes. Speaking to CNN-IBN Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand, Amitabh Bachchan says that the very fact that the Indian actors have been invited to Cannes Film Festival shows that the film industry has progressed. ...
03:18 PM, May 17, 2013

As it happened: England vs New Zealand, First Test, Day 2 James Anderson took his 300th Test wicket and then ended a bold counter-attack by New Zealand's Ross Taylor as England fought back in the first Test at Lord's. The two players lit up a Lord's bathed in artificial floodlight to counter the overhead gloom of Friday's second day which ended with New Zealand 153 for four in reply to England's first innings 232, a deficit of 79 runs. CLICK HERE...  
03:10 PM, May 17, 2013

ICSE 2013, ISC 2013 results announced, check now on cisce.in.com New Delhi: Results for the Class X Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE 2013) and Class XII Indian School Certificate (ISC 2013) examinations have been announced by the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). The results can be checked online as well as via SMS. ICSE and ISC results on the Web can be accessed at cisce.in.com. Candidates can view their individual results on the website and school principals...  
03:00 PM, May 17, 2013

Post Cannes, Vidya Balan to holiday in France with husband?
by IANS
Mumbai: Actress Vidya Balan, who was seen walking the red carpet at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival, will set out for a holiday with husband Siddharth Roy Kapur in France after the movie extravaganza. "Vidya is currenly at Cannes and Siddharth is expected to join her towards the end of the Cannes International Film festival. Both of them are expected to be in France post the fest for a...  
12:16 PM, May 17, 2013

Sabyasachi Mukherjee wanted 'purist ethnic look' for Vidya Balan
by IANS
New Delhi: Designer Sabyassachi Mukherjee, the man behind styling Vidya Balan's look at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival, says that as "India is known as a bling country" he used a "little embellishment" to bring freshness. Vidya made three appearances in traditional Indian costumes - maroon lehenga, an ivory sari paired with a brown blouse and light pink anarkali - on three different occasions on the festival inaugural day...  
11:26 AM, May 17, 2013

Viswanathan Anand looking for finish at Norway Tournament Sandnes (Norway): World champion Viswanathan Anand remains a contender for the title despite being 1.5 points behind the leader as he will take on the lowest-ranked players in the remaining two rounds of the Norway Chess 2013 Super Tournament here. Anand started with two draws and a fine victory against arch-rival Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. A loss in the fourth round pulled him back a little but then tormenting tournament...  
10:35 AM, May 17, 2013

Lotus boss Boullier unhappy with Pirelli tyre changes London: Pirelli's decision to change the Formula One tyres after just six races penalises those who have done a better job than others in getting the existing ones to work, Lotus principal Eric Boullier said on Thursday. "Just imagine for a moment that because a football team can't run as fast as its opponent, the dimensions of the pitch are changed at half time," the Frenchman said on the team...  
09:46 AM, May 17, 2013