Madrid: Roger Federer looked as sharp as ever in his first match following a two-month layoff as he beat Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 at the Madrid Open on Tuesday. The Swiss chose an eye-catching mint-green shirt for his first match since losing to Rafa Nadal at the Indian Wells Masters in March and secured a 12th victory over Stepanek in 14 meetings. The victory set up a possible third-round...
11:30 PM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: As many as 10,553 people were killed in road accidents due to drunken driving in 2011, parliament was told on Tuesday. Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Sarvey Sathyanarayana told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that road accidents occur due to the complex interaction of a number of factors which also include intake of alcohol and drugs. "Intake of alcohol/drugs by drivers resulted in...
10:55 PM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: World number one and defending champion Serena Williams continued her serene progress at the Madrid Open tennis when she eased past Spanish wild card Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2, 7-5 in the second round on Tuesday. Chasing a fourth title of the year and the 50th of her career, Williams had too much power for the slightly-built Dominguez Lino, who nonetheless managed to unsettle her illustrious opponent with some clever...
08:48 PM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has refused to tone down his rhetoric in response to a call from club president Florentino Perez for unity in an obviously divided dressing room during the final few weeks of the season. After some unsavoury sniping between Mourinho and members of his squad in recent weeks, Perez made a rare foray into the limelight on Monday when he called for the club to...
08:05 PM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: Fifth seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza advanced to the next round at the Mutua Madrid Open with a three-set win over Daniela Hantuchova and Anabel Medina Garrigues. The Indo-American pair have been in terrific form this year, winning Premier-level titles in Brisbane and Dubai and finishing runners-up in Stuttgart. The duo were down a break in the first set at 4-3, 5-4 and 6-5 yet broke serve each...
07:36 PM, May 07, 2013
Barcelona: Encouraged by their "best ever" start to season, Force India are determined to see their drivers on the podium soon as the side prepares "hard" to compete in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Paul di Resta came close to getting the team their first podium of the season but had to be content with a fourth-place finish in the last race in Bahrain. Team Principal Vijay Mallya said the team...
06:48 PM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: Sniping comments between Jose Mourinho and members of the Real Madrid squad have caused president Florentino Perez to make a rare foray into the limelight to call for unity at the club during the season run-in. The nine-times European champions host Malaga in La Liga on Wednesday in a rearranged fixture due to their involvement in the May 17 King's Cup final against Atletico Madrid. Second-placed Real must win...
12:14 PM, May 07, 2013
Milan: Although the title has already been secured by Juventus, there is still much to play for at both ends of the Serie A table, with AC Milan and Fiorentina fighting for the final Champions League spot. Milan is in pole position to finish third and earn a place in the Champions League qualifiers, as it is four points ahead of Fiorentina with three rounds remaining. Milan visits already-relegated Pescara...
12:10 PM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: Milos Raonic said he needed to iron out "crucial mistakes" after the Canadian 12th seed squeaked past former world number three Nikolay Davydenko 7-5, 7-6 in the opening round of the Madrid Open on Monday. Raonic, at 22 almost 10 years younger than his unseeded Russian opponent, managed one break of the Davydenko serve to secure the first set and edged the second-set tiebreak 7-5 to set up a...
11:59 AM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: Maria Sharapova rallied from a break down in the first set to beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 7-5, 6-2 on Monday and reach the second round of the Madrid Open. The second-seeded Russian said she was still adjusting to changing weather conditions in Madrid and "the altitude as well" after winning the title in Stuttgart last weekend. "It was a tough match," Sharapova said. "I was really happy that...
11:24 AM, May 07, 2013
Madrid: Britain's Laura Robson and Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro conjured up big first-round upset victories at the Madrid Open when they surprised fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and ninth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur on Monday. Robson, the world number 41, thumped Radwanska 6-3 6-1 on the clay at the Magic Box arena and 23rd-ranked Suarez Navarro ousted Stosur 7-6 6-2 to delight the home crowd with her seventh career victory...
09:43 AM, May 07, 2013
London: Got a drinking problem? Pop this pill! A new once-a-day pill which could help problem drinkers reduce the amount of alcohol they consume has been launched in the UK. Manufacturers claim that dependent drinkers who take the drug nalmefene and undergo counselling can cut their alcohol consumption levels by 61 per cent. The pill, also known as selincro, has been licensed for use by health officials in the UK...
04:25 PM, May 06, 2013
Madrid: American teenager Madison Keys was immersed in her algebra homework when she got the message that she was due on court in 10 minutes to play fifth seed and former French Open champion Li Na at the Madrid Open. Lucky loser Keys quickly abandoned her books in the players' lounge as she made a dash for centre court after being handed a place in the main draw following the...
10:08 AM, May 06, 2013
Madrid: Coach Tito Vilanova could miss the title celebrations if Barcelona are crowned La Liga champions on Wednesday as he will be in New York having a medical check up. Barca's 4-2 victory at home to Real Betis on Sunday left the Catalans 11 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with four games left to play, and requiring only two more points to make first place unassailable. Real host Malaga...
09:38 AM, May 06, 2013
Madrid: Top-ranked Serena Williams won her opening match on the red clay of the Madrid Open on Sunday. She and other stars are glad the tournament returned to the traditional surface after its trial with blue "Smurf" clay flopped last year. After dispatching Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 6-1, the defending champion said she liked the new courts at the Caja Magica. "I think these clay courts are really...
11:01 PM, May 05, 2013
Madrid: Former world number one Venus Williams has been forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open due to a back problem, organisers said on Sunday. The 32-year-old American, now ranked 21, was due to play her first-round match against Spanish wild card Anabel Medina Garrigues on the clay at the premier event on Sunday. She will be replaced in the draw by 56th-ranked Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. ...
03:52 PM, May 05, 2013
Madrid: Seventh-seeded Sara Errani advanced to the second round of the Madrid Open, beating Urszula Radwanska of Poland, 6-3, 6-1 on Saturday. The Italian will face either Sorana Cirstea or Ayumi Morita. Also, Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated Sloane Stephens of the USA 6-3, 7-5, Germany's Julia Goerges downed Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 6-1,and Lourdes Dominguez-Lino of Spain beat Simona Halep of Romania 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Alize Cornet, Sabine Lisicki,...
10:58 AM, May 05, 2013
Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo headed in two goals to help Real Madrid beat Valladolid 4-3 in the Spanish league on Saturday, but the entertaining win was overshadowed by growing dissatisfaction with coach Jose Mourinho for criticizing the club. Madrid's ninth straight home win in league play denied Barcelona the chance to clinch the league title this weekend. Madrid reduced Barcelona's lead to eight points, meaning the Catalan side can't seal the...
08:40 AM, May 05, 2013
Mahindra & Mahindra tries to redefine its product portfolio to beat the SUV classification. ...
11:55 PM, May 04, 2013
